Our Ministry

Clay & Sally Clarkson

whole heart ministries was started in 1994 by clay and sally clarkson

Prior to founding their Christian home and parenting ministry, Clay and Sally served in vocational ministry since 1975, both as single adults and as a married couple, in overseas missions, discipleship ministries, and church ministry. Whole Heart Ministries embodies the convictions and messages they have cultivated and taught as a couple, and as individual authors and speakers. Below is an overview of the ministry. (For the personal story behind the ministry, click here.)

ORGANIZATION

Whole Heart Ministries is a 501(c)(3) federally tax-exempt religious organization, chartered as a nonprofit in Colorado, with offices in Monument, CO (Colorado Springs area). We are Christ-centered, conservative, and evangelical in our doctrinal beliefs and ministry practices. If you have any questions about this ministry, please contact us.

MISSION

The mission of Whole Heart Ministries is “to encourage, equip, and enable Christian parents to raise wholehearted children for Christ.” We serve Christian families worldwide through ministries of speaking, teaching, training, and writing. We focus on forming faith in the family through discipline, influence, nurture, discipleship, and instruction. We give help and hope to Christian parents to prepare their children to serve Christ and his kingdom.

Ministries

  • Whole Heart Press — Publishing new and public domain books and resources

  • Whole Heart Online — Developing websites, virtual community, and social media

  • Whole Heart Events — Providing hotel and church conferences and events

Initiatives

  • Sally Clarkson Ministry — Encouraging Christian women and mothers in their faith.

  • Mom Heart Ministry — Equipping Christian mothers to minister to other mothers.

  • Storyformed Project — Promoting the imagination, books, and reading for children.

  • Family Faith Project — Promoting a biblical model of family faith formation.

  • Lifegiving Home Project — Promoting the building and beautifying of the home.

  • WholeHearted Learning — Promoting discipleship-based Christian home education.

STATEMENT OF FAITH

Whole Heart Ministries subscribes to the Statement of Faith of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE):

  • We believe the Bible to be the inspired, the only infallible, authoritative Word of God.

  • We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

  • We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious and atoning death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in His personal return in power and glory.

  • We believe that for the salvation of lost and sinful people, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.

  • We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.

  • We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; they that are saved unto the resurrection of life and they that are lost unto the resurrection of damnation.

  • We believe in the spiritual unity of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

HISTORY

  • 1988-1991 — CA/TN: Began homeschooling Sarah. Began speaking on homeschooling and motherhood. Seeds of future ministry first sprouted here. We started a support group in Nashville, TN that would later be called Whole Heart Academy.

  • 1992 — TN: The earliest iteration of our vision to minister to families and parents was called Family Faith Ministries. Our first (very) small workshop was The Lifegiving Parent, offered while on staff at Community Bible Church in Nashville, TN.

  • 1993 — TN/TX: Our first giant step of faith—selling our home and moving to the country in Central Texas to wait on God for direction.

  • 1994 — TX: Still under the aegis of Family Faith Ministries, we developed a new workshop called The Christian Home Education Workshop. Our first effort drew about a dozen people in our rural home. The workshop notes became our first book, published by Whole Heart Ministries, the first use of our new ministry identity. The WholeHearted Child Home Education Handbook is released in September, and Whole Heart Ministries is officially birthed into the world.

  • 1995 — TX: Released our first "Whole Heart Catalog" (seven more to follow). Began to take the WholeHearted Child Home Education Workshop on the road to other states. Started "The WholeHearted Mother Journal," which would eventually give birth to a workshop, then the conference, and a targeted ministry to mothers.

  • 1996 — TX: First version (the "classic" flip-chart style) of Our 24 Family Ways (WH Press) is released. Educating the WholeHearted Child, 2nd Edition (WH Press) is released. WholeHearted Child Workshop in Fort Worth. Published the WholeHearted Mother Journal (total of 4 quarterly issues). First WholeHearted Mother Workshop draws 120 mothers to our small Fort Worth, TX church.

  • 1997 — TX: Year of writing, moving to Fort Worth, working on ministry and catalog management, doing WholeHearted Child Workshops, and speaking at home school conventions (CAN).

  • 1998 — TX: Sally wrote and released the first edition of Seasons of a Mother’s Heart (WH Press), an immediate hit with moms. Held the first official WholeHearted Mother Conference at the Green Oaks Inn in Fort Worth, selling out by word of mouth with attendance of 650 mothers. A WholeHearted Child Seminar (with David and Shirley Quine, and Dean and Karen Andreola) draws about 500 homeschooling families to a church in Dallas.

  • 1999 — TX/CO: Moved the WholeHearted Mother Conference to The Harvey Hotel at DFW Airport, with 950 mothers in attendance (guest: Jean Fleming). Held our first sponsored conference for mothers in IN. Moved to Colorado that spring. Spoke in Hungary at the SHARE Conference (assisting missionaries with educational choices).

  • 2000 — CO: In addition to the TX event, we had our first out-of-state WholeHearted Mother Conference in CA (guest: Linda Dillow). Spoke in US and Canada.

  • 2001 — CO: Signed book contracts with WaterBrook Press/Random House. Conferences in TX, CA, CO, NC. Launched first Whole Heart Online website.

  • 2002 — CO/TN: Journeys of Faithfulness (WH Press) released, written by Sarah at 16. Just David and The Gold Thread released (first WH Press Public Domain reprints). WH Mother Conferences in TX, KY. Sold the CO house, moved to TN. Last issue of "Whole Heart Catalog" released.

  • 2003 — TN: WH Mother Conference in TX. Sally spoke to Congressional wives and staff women in the Capitol in DC. Mission of Motherhood and Heartfelt Discipline (WaterBrook Press) released.

  • 2004 — TN/CO: WH Mother Conferences in CA, TX (2), IN. Returned to Colorado. Launched email newsletters. Ministry of Motherhood (WaterBrook Press) released. First use of “Whole Heart Press” on a book published by Whole Heart Ministries is on the 2004 workbook edition of Our 24 Family Ways (replacing the flipchart version).

  • 2005 — CO: Announced we would no longer be doing WholeHearted Mother Conferences after the CA and TX events. Planned to move out of hotel events to church events, but that did not work out as anticipated.

  • 2006 — CO: Took a sabbatical year from conferences to rest and to work on new books. Sally and the girls minister in Australia and New Zealand. Sally speaks 39 times in three weeks. Sally keynote for Arlington, TX Home School Book Fair.

  • 2007 — CO: Revived the WholeHearted Mother Conferences in CO, GA, CA, and TX. Sally speaks in UAE, Macedonia, and Hungary for three weeks. The Mom Walk (Harvest House) released.

  • 2008 — CO: WH Mother Conferences in CO, CA, and TX. New version of Seasons of a Mother's Heart (WH Press) released.

  • 2009 — CO: Final WholeHearted Mother Conferences in CA, NC (x2), and TX. Sally, with the girls, speaks in six cities in China for nearly three weeks for release of Mission of Motherhood translation in Chinese. Seasons of a Mother's Heart, 2nd Edition (Apologia) released.

  • 2010 — CO: First official Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, TX, and NC. Our 24 Family Ways 2010 (WH Press), Read for the Heart (Apologia), and Dancing with My Father (WaterBrook Press) released. First three day Mom Heart Leader Intensive Training (Intensive) for 52 women in our home in Monument, CO to train moms for ministry.

  • 2011 — CO: Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, TX, and NC. Educating the WholeHearted Child, 3rd Edition (Apologia) releases. Second Mom Heart Intensive in August in Monument, CO for 25 women, and in September in Nashville, TN for 15 women (20th anniversary of Whole Heart Academy). Sally keynoted in October for the Relevant blogging conference in PA (Sarah Mae).

  • 2012 — CO: Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, and TX. Clay and Sally were Keynote speakers at the Arlington, TX Home School Book Fair. Sally spoke for the Allume Social Conference (Sarah Mae) in PA. Second editions of Heartfelt Discipline and The Mom Walk (WH Press) released. New version of Journeys of Faithfulness (Apologia) released.

  • 2013 — CO: Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, TX, and NC. Clay and Sally were featured speakers for the TTD Conventions in SC and TN. Sally, Sarah, and Joel attended the installation of C.S. Lewis in the Poets Corner of Westminster Cathedral in England. Nathan released Wisdom Chasers. Sally and Sarah Mae's book Desperate (Thomas Nelson) released. 10 Gifts of Wisdom (WH Press) released.

  • 2014 — CO: Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, and TX. New websites for WholeHeart.org and MomHeart.com. Sally moved her blog to SallyClarkson.com (retired ITakeJoy.com). Twentieth anniversary of Educating the WholeHearted Child. Sally and Angela Perritt releasedYou Are Loved (Tyndale), which made it to the Top 10 of all books on Amazon. Clay's Our 24 Family Ways (Third Edition) and Heartfelt Discipline (Third Edition) released (WH Press). Clay's Taking Motherhood to Hearts (WH Press) released.

  • 2015 — CO: Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, and TX. Release of Sally's Own Your Life (Tyndale), which reached number 9 on Amazon ranking, and Own Your Life Bible Study Guide and Planner (WH Press). Sally launched her podcast, “At Home with Sally,” on Sept 16, 2015 (the earlier podcasts were with Kristen Kill).

  • 2016 — CO: Mom Heart Conferences in CO, CA, and TX—the twentieth and final year (sold out events). Filmed the Texas event and created a CD album of the event. New website for SallyClarkson.com on Squarespace. Release of Sally's and Sarah's The Lifegiving Home, and The Lifegiving Home Experience (with Joel). Hired Josh West, our first full-time admin-tech assistant. Moved WholeHeart.org and Storyformed.com from WordPress to Squarespace. Sally's Your Mom Walk with God (WH Press) released (revised edition of The Mom Walk).

  • 2017 — CO: Renew My Heart Getaways in CO, CA, TX, NC, and OR—our final year of multiple hotel conference ministry. Release of Sally and Nathan's book Different, and A Different Kind of Hero study (with Joel). Release of Sally's The Lifegiving Table, and The Lifegiving Table Experience (with Joel and Joy). Sally spoke in March for the first Mom Heart UK Conference in London. Sally's 10 Gifts of Heart (WH Press) released (revised edition of 10 Gifts of Wisdom).

  • 2018 —CO & UK: Rented a home in Oxford, UK to develop the emerging Mum Heart Ministry UK. In the spring, Sally spoke for Mum Heart gatherings in London, Leeds, and Edinburgh, and hosted an Intensive leader training event in our house. Clay’s books, The Lifegiving Parent and The Lifegiving Parent Experience, released in May. Due to an injury to Sally’s eye (punctured cornea), she and Clay returned to the US for June and July. Sally returned to the UK in August (Joy moved into the house while studying in Oxford) and continued meeting with women, speaking, and training that fall.

  • 2019—CO & UK: Started the year with Girls’ Club Getaways in TX and NC to help launch the release of Girls’ Club (Sally, Sarah, Joy) and Girls’ Club Experience (Joel, Joy). Sally returned to the UK in February to continue speaking and training women for Mum Heart Ministry UK. Clay went over in May to speak for a Lifegiving Parent church event and help prepare for Sally’s return July 1. Had a Mom Heart Ministry Planning Intensive at our home one week after returning. Spoke for a VA moms conference and at Hutchmoot. Launched Mom Heart Moments (Sally) and Only You Can Be You (Sally, Nathan) in October.

  • 2020—CO & UK: The year of COVID-19, a perfect storm of viral pandemic, economic uncertainty, social unrest, and political conflict. Sally was in Asheville, NC for a national Ministry Team meeting in March just as the pandemic broke, and then life ground to a halt during quarantine. On July 1, we officially moved our offices from the Deer Creek location of 20 years to our home. That same week, Sally celebrated 10 million cumulative downloads of her podcast, At Home with Sally, since September 2015 (by the end of the year she would reach 14 million). The health crisis forced us to cancel three Awaking Wonder Weekend conferences in CO, CA, and TX for August and September. Instead, for the launch of her book, Awaking Wonder, we offered Awaking Wonder at Home Together, 12 days of free virtual video visits and giveaways with more than 20,000 participants. Sally was also featured for a Christianity Today online event in September (one of their most successful), and spoke for a virtual Wild + Free event in Nashville before heading to Oxford, with Clay following two weeks later. We went by faith on a visitor visa (180 days), renting a truly providentially provided home in Jericho and trusting God for the next step.

  • 2021—CO & UK: The next step came in January when St Aldates Anglican Church in Oxford, with a recommendation from our friend and pastor Glenn Packiam, offered to sponsor Sally for a one-year Tier 5 visa as an “intern” with the church to work with moms and women. But that meant returning to the states in February to apply for the visa, and then returning to the UK May 11. We were able to use our home for Bible studies, even with COVID restrictions (meeting in our garage or under a tarp in front of our house), but ministry would be shortlived. Hip pain from a fall in May worsened despite a variety of treatments, necessitating a return to the US in August for treatment, and a prognosis of the need for a full hip replacement. Once again God intervened and, due to a cancellation for her surgeon, she was able to go in for the surgery in mid-Sept. She recovered for two months and then returned to the UK. In the midst of all that she still provided her podcasts, and launched her hew book with Bethany House, Help, I’m Drowning. Also, Clay wrote her third book with Bethany for her while they were home, Giving Your Words. Sally resumed her Bible study and ministry to women upon return to Oxford until things slowed down with the holidays.

  • 2022—CO & UK: It was a year of tumult and travel. The ministry and one-year visa with St Aldates church ended in April necessitating a return to the US. Just before returning, a chance meeting for Sally on a street crossing island opened the opportunity to work with Pusey House study center. We returned to the US for six weeks then returned to the UK in June on a visitor visa. In the next two months, the new visa slowly was approved, and we were told our landlords wanted their house back. At the last minute, God provided a new flat in a choice location to begin Sept 1. Sally returned to the US in July to start her visa application, and Clay stayed to complete the flat rental and pack up the old house. Clay returned to the US in August, and Sally returned to UK not long after when her visa was completed in record time. She and Joel moved into the new flat, Sally started her ministry as a lay mentor at Pusey House, and Clay stayed in the US for ministry and house needs. Giving Your Words was launched on October 18 and did very well.

  • 2023—CO & UK: Sally continued her ministry as a Lay Mentor to women and doctoral students at Pusey House, a historic Anglican study center in Oxford. Her position was the first ministry to women since its founding in 1884 as part of the Oxford Movement. She launched her book Teatime Discipleship in April. After a transitional summer, a return to Oxford in September, and the launch of Teatime Discipleship for Mothers & Daughters, we sensed our ministry there was done and it was time to return to the states. By God’s grace, we were released from our lease and we returned to Colorado in November to begin planning for a new season of ministry for Sally and for Whole Heart Press.

  • And in Addition to the Above ... eight years of Whole Heart Catalogs of 200+ books and resources for homeschooling families (1994-2002); six years of Whole Heart Letters (1994-2000); many more WholeHearted Child Workshops (1994-2004); speaking for homeschooling conventions (1992-present); international speaking trips (Hungary, Australia/NZ, China, Poland, UAE, Macedonia, UK, and others); writing a regular column for Practical Homeschooling Magazine (1998-2001, Issues #25-45); and much more. And the story is yet to be written for the road ahead, however long it may be.