James and Stacy McDonald began to first minister online through The Patriarchs Path, a website named after a men's forum (The Call of the Patriarchs) that was founded by James McDonald on December 11, 1999. On July 15, 2000 Stacy also launched a private forum, The Patriarchs Wives, for Christian women. It has grown to over 800 members over the last decade.Through The Patriarchs Path website, the popular discussion board (by the same name) was launched, but it was eventually shut down due to time constraints on the moderators. In these early days, God worked in amazing ways in the McDonald family, and they were eager to share what they were learning with others. During this time, James worked as an executive for a large technology company that supported the energy sector.
A few years later, on June 26, 2002, Family Reformation® ministries began as a website run by James and Stacy McDonald. It was populated with free articles and links designed to challenge and encourage Christian growth, with a specific emphasis on how God could use homeschooling as a catalyst for "Family Reformation."
Along with other Christian investors, the McDonald family formed Family Reformation LLC, and on August 1, 2002, announced that it had successfully acquired Homeschooling Today® magazine (HST), a leading home education publication. James McDonald hoped this would permit Family Reformation ministries to continue to expand its message and facilitate its goal of promoting the value and promise of homeschooling, and father-led discipleship to parents worldwide:
He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, "to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,’ and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord." (Luke 1:17, NKJV)
James was excited; he wanted every Christian family to know that they too could be blessed with the amazing "family reformation" that his own family had experienced. In a giant leap of faith, James resigned from his job in corporate America, and poured himself into the ministry, and the running of Homeschooling Today magazine.
James McDonald worked as publisher of Homeschooling Today magazine, while his wife, Stacy, served as editor-in-chief. The McDonald children helped in the family business in varying capacities: handling customer service calls, filling subscriptions, doing design and layout, fulfilling quarterly mailings (Have you ever folded, stuffed, and licked 20,000 envelopes?).
On February 16, 2004 the management of Homeschooling Today magazine announced the launch of Family Reformation magazine, which was designed to offer solid biblical answers for the issues facing today’s Christian families. Family Reformation readers were challenged to discover the reality and power found in God’s Word for all aspects of family interaction. Everyone in the McDonald family, and many of their friends, were very excited about how God might use Family Reformation ministries to impact Christian families around the world.
However, with time, the bookstore and the two magazines struggled to support themselves, and more space was needed for the equipment and running of each. James thought perhaps a storefront would prompt needed growth, as well as bring in much needed revenue. At James's request, the McDonald ladies dug out their favorite recipes, and began making sandwiches, salads, soups, and desserts in a new tearoom. Thus the physical bookstore and restaurant began. Unfortunately, as each additional venture was added, so did the growing workload.
These were exciting and challenging years. Between the years 2001-2005 the McDonalds gave birth to three more children; began a ministry; started an online bookstore; juggled an overwhelming speaking schedule; acquired a magazine (HST); published two books (From Dark to Dawn reprinted 2003 and Raising Maidens of Virtue 2004); remodeled a storefront and opened a physical bookstore and tearoom/restaurant; and launched another magazine, Family Reformation magazine! All of this, while attempting to juggle the responsibilities of pastoring a local church and living out what they taught in their own homeschooling family.
Every spring and summer, when the McDonalds travelled to speak at homeschooling conferences and family camps across the country, all of their children accompanied them. While the children enjoyed these family excursions, and they have many fond memories traveling together, the frequent, long summer trips were beginning to wear on them all.
The McDonald's left on their last long speaking "tour" in May 2005, when their youngest child was only two weeks old; the family was away from home for nearly six weeks. (Their oldest son stayed home from this trip to help manage the operations of the bookstore/tearoom, as well as the magazine.) By the end of that trip, Stacy was physically and emotionally drained, James's health seemed to be suffering, and the children were ready to get back to "normal," whatever that was. While the whole McDonald family desperately wanted to be home, they faced a crushing workload when they finally got there.
Needless to say, the McDonalds were overwhelmed, overworked, and nearly burned out. As a result, finances were stressed; they were spread too thin, and nothing was getting done with the excellence they so desired and required of themselves. They began to fervently pray for relief - for God's guidance in all of it. James was at a loss as to what to do. With mounting commitments on all fronts, an impossible schedule, a busy store that demanded more oversight, a needy church, customer service needs, a tired family, and not enough help, he wondered what God would have him do.
Since the McDonalds purposed to live out what they taught, training up their children in the ways of God each day; living out community in the local church; and glorifying God with a family that took time to be a family, something had to give. They prayed - hard. During that time, God brought the McDonalds through some tough times and He taught them many things. Through it all, they clung to a belief in His sovereignty and trusted fully in His Grace and goodness. And, of course, God was faithful.
In August 2006, the Lord called James to pastor a Presbyterian church in Central Illinois. Slowly, God removed every other full time venture from James's life: The tearoom/bookstore, the online bookstore, the magazines. They also scaled down their speaking schedule in an effort to give their family rest and to be more available to their local church. Since the printed publication, Family Reformation magazine, was not able to sustain itself financially, James worked to create an online version that would be free of charge to its readers. This venture has been slow in fully coming together; but, it is still in the works.
James now pastors a growing church in the Morton/Peoria area, and the McDonalds are able to minister in their local community with a renewed and relaxed focus. While still speaking at a few select conferences and family camps each year, as well as hosting some, the pressure of dragging along a 15-foot trailer filled with books and equipment is gone.
Since moving to Illinois, James now has more time to study his great love: God's Word. He hopes to continue his theological training as time permits. In 2007, Stacy co-authored the book, Passionate Housewives Desperate for God, with Jennie Chancey and is working on other writing projects with her husband, as the Lord provides the time.
The five oldest McDonald children are now adults and the five youngest are still homeschooling. As of this writing, the McDonald's oldest son is living on his own and working for an international Christian ministry, their oldest daughter is married (having given them their first grandchild last year), and the other eight are still living, loving, and serving at home [Update: Oldest son is engaged and next older daughter is married and expecting grandchild #2). James and Stacy McDonald continue to minister to thousands of Christians each day via their blogs:
James's Blog
Stacy's Blog
