Finding the Right Guide: Why the Teacher Is Everything
The Linchpin
After exploring church-based microschools, one thing is clear: the Guide is everything. Not the funding. Not the curriculum. Not the venue. The Guide.
You can have:
- A supportive pastor offering free building space
- A congregation full of families eager for alternatives
- TEFA funding covering $10,000+ per student
- Prenda's battle-tested curriculum and invoicing system
- A beautiful vision for faith-integrated education
And none of it matters if you don't have the right person willing to run it.
The Guide is a school entrepreneur. They're not just a teacher taking a job. They're starting something. They need the conviction, resilience, and ownership mentality of a founder.
What "Right" Means
The right guide isn't just qualified. They're called.
They see starting a microschool not as a career move but as a response to something God is asking of them. They've likely been feeling the tension for years:
- "I can help these kids better if people just left me alone"
- "The system is using my love for children against me"
- "I've been doing this on my own in my classroom anyway"
They're not starting fresh. They're finally being given permission to do what they've always wanted to do.
The Profile
The ideal Guide candidate often has:
Personal Experience
- Overcame their own challenges as a student (test anxiety, foster care, learning differences)
- Understands firsthand what it's like to be failed by the system
- Has broken generational cycles in their own life
Professional Frustration
- Years of experience in public or private education
- Track record of results despite the system, not because of it
- Has hit the ceiling of what's possible within institutional constraints
- Tired of paperwork that takes them away from children
Spiritual Conviction
- Believes education without God produces broken outcomes
- Sees teaching as ministry, not just employment
- Willing to take financial risk for kingdom impact
- Understands they're building "outposts" for the kingdom
Practical Readiness
- Knows they'll be in the area for at least 2-3 years
- Has either family support or savings to weather a transition
- Can start small without panic (as few as 3-4 students if serving IEP kids, or 8-12 for general ed)
- Willing to learn new systems (Prenda, TEFA, etc.)
The Two Archetypes
Two profiles keep emerging in conversations with potential Guides:
1. The Frustrated Teacher
Someone currently in public or private education who:
- Has tried to change things from within and hit walls
- Is watching their passion drain away due to bureaucracy
- Would make more money with 10 microschool students than they currently make with 30
- Needs permission (and a path) to finally leave
"I got a burning sensation for just quitting my job... because of the district. But then this little bit of voucher information came along and then Prenda... I do get to exit. I'm desperate to leave my job but I still get to do what I love without the district and the paperwork."
2. The Experienced Homeschool Mom
A mother who:
- Has already successfully homeschooled her own children
- Has older kids now (giving her capacity)
- Is respected in her church community
- Knows she could help other families
- Just needs the structure and funding to make it sustainable
Both archetypes share something: they've been doing this work already, just without support or compensation. The microschool model finally makes their calling sustainable.
Why Divine Purpose Matters
Starting a microschool is hard. The Guide will face:
- Cash flow delays - First TEFA payment may not arrive until August
- Parent uncertainty - Some families will back out
- Self-doubt - "Am I really qualified for this?"
- Logistical headaches - Venues, supplies, applications
- Spiritual warfare - Opposition to kingdom work is real
If they're doing it for the money or the flexibility, they'll quit when it gets hard.
If they're doing it because God told them to, they'll push through.
The best potential Guides describe an almost unbearable tension. They've known for years that something needed to change. They've felt trapped. Then suddenly, the pieces start falling into place: funding, curriculum, a supportive church. And they recognize it as God opening a door they've been praying for.
That's the person you want leading your microschool.
Must-Haves
Beyond calling, there are practical requirements:
Beloved in the congregation. Could they stand up on Sunday and have 10 families interested? If not, trust hasn't been established yet.
Faith maturity. Can integrate faith naturally, not performatively. Comfortable praying with kids, discussing Scripture, handling spiritual questions from children.
Character over credentials. Integrity, patience, genuine love for children. A credentialed teacher with poor character is worse than an uncredentialed person with excellent character.
Availability. Can commit to school hours (roughly 8am-2pm) consistently. This often means stay-at-home parents, retirees, or people with flexible work situations.
Teachability. Willing to learn the platform, receive training, take feedback. Doesn't assume they already know everything about education.
Stability. Likely to stay for multiple years. Kids need consistency. A Guide who leaves after 6 months creates chaos for families.
Strong Pluses
These aren't required, but they help:
Subject matter expertise. Maybe they're excellent at teaching theology, music, art, coding, or a trade. They can teach directly in areas the software doesn't cover.
Former teacher experience. They've seen what works and what doesn't. But this isn't required, and sometimes former teachers struggle to let go of traditional methods.
Parent of school-age children. Skin in the game. Their own kids are in the pod.
Administrative capacity. Some comfort with technology, communication, scheduling. The platform handles a lot, but not everything.
Watch-Outs
Red flags to consider:
Control issues. Someone who needs to be the expert, can't let kids struggle productively, can't let the software do its job.
Reputation concerns. Even minor issues get amplified when you're educating someone's children.
Theological misalignment. If they're teaching theology, it needs to match the church's convictions.
Burnout risk. Someone already overcommitted who's adding this on top.
How to Find Them
You probably don't need to recruit. You need to recognize.
They're already in your congregation or community. They've probably already expressed frustration about education. They may have brought up homeschooling or alternative schooling before.
Questions to ask:
- Who has teaching experience and seems frustrated with the system?
- Who has homeschooled and talks about wishing they could help more families?
- Who has overcome their own educational challenges and wants to pay it forward?
- Who has that particular combination of capability and calling?
When you find them, don't pitch a job. Share the opportunity and see if it resonates with what God is already stirring in them.
The Risk of Rushing
It's tempting to try to manufacture a guide. To find someone who's "available" and try to convince them.
This rarely works.
A Guide who's doing it because you asked (rather than because God called) will:
- Burn out faster
- Lack the conviction to push through hard seasons
- Treat it as a job rather than a mission
- Eventually leave when something easier comes along
Better to wait for the right person than to launch with the wrong one.
If you don't have the right Guide, Fall 2027 is a better target than Fall 2026 with the wrong person.
The Bottom Line
The microschool movement will scale when called teachers finally have permission to step out. The funding is here. The technology is here. The demand is here.
What we need are Guides who see this as their divine assignment. People who've been waiting for this moment without knowing what they were waiting for.
Find them. Empower them. Get out of their way.
Everything else is logistics.
See also: Starting a Church-Based Microschool for the complete launch guide.