LifeWise Academy’s founder, Joel Penton, recently talked with The Stream’s Nancy Flory about his Bible education program that reaches public school students nationwide — during school hours. He explained the program’s legality, and how few people know about the 1952 law that makes it possible.

Joel recently released a book called During School Hours to explain how the program works. It covers what LifeWise is, why religious education was removed from America’s public schools, the consequences of its removal, why “reinstalling” it is a “game-changer,” and more. Here’s what Joel had to say to The Stream.

Nancy: What is LifeWise Academy?

Joel: LifeWise Academy provides Bible education for public school students during school hours. It is what’s known as a “Release Time Religious Instruction” program. Very few people realize that in 1952, the Supreme Court ruled that public school students can receive religious instruction during school hours, provided the program is off school property, privately funded, and they have parental permission. Very few people realize this is possible, but we discovered it was possible in 2018. In 2019, we launched our first two programs in the state of Ohio, and we are gearing up for this coming school year to serve more than 300 schools across 12 states.

Why did you decide to found the academy?

We know that students need the Word of God. Everyone needs the Word of God, especially students! Church attendance, Bible literacy, professions of faith are all at an all-time low among students. Things like anxiety, depression, suicide are all at all-time highs among students, and we know the Word of God can change their lives! So we want to do everything possible to get it to them. There is no better time than during school hours to teach the Word of God.

Is taking public school kids off property to learn about the Bible legal?

Yes, absolutely. It is legal.

What do you say to those who question whether this violates the “separation between church and state”?

Again in 1952, The Supreme Court ruled on this “Release Time Religious Instruction,” therefore it is legal in all 50 states. Not only that, 26 states have laws on the books specifically about release time.

Share a little about the curriculum. What does it look like?

We have a licensing agreement with a wonderful curriculum called The Gospel Project. We take students through the entire Bible from Genesis through Revelation over the course of what is typically five years in grades one through five. Students start in Genesis in grade one, they end in Revelation in grade five. Each and every lesson has a three-fold focus: head, heart and hands. We start with the head, asking and answering the question, “What does the Bible say in this passage?” Then we move to the heart, asking the question, “How does this passage connect to the bigger picture of the Gospel message? How does this point to Jesus the hero of the bigger story?” And number three, hands — “If we rightly understand the Gospel and we are changed by Christ, how are we changed? How is our character transformed by God?”

Are you seeing change in the communities where LifeWise is located? If so, what are those changes?

Yes, we are absolutely seeing changes! We have stories flooding in on a weekly basis about changed lives among students, and among the ways families’ lives have been changed! We have stories of families getting reconnected to church, getting baptized, and getting plugged into the community.

We also hear stories from schools! In fact, one school did a study on the students who received the most or who took the most trips to the principal’s office for disciplinary reasons. We found that the students who attended LifeWise — their office visits for disciplinary reasons went down over the course of the school year, whereas the students who did not attend LifeWise — their office visits actually went up. So yes, communities are seeing a change!

What are public school officials saying about LifeWise? Are they mostly for or against the program?

That’s a good question. Our numbers are showing that they are mostly for the program. By law, they cannot explicitly promote or discourage participation in the program. However, the vast majority of administrators that we talked to are opening the door for LifeWise to engage with their students. That is in part because it is so legal, but it is also in part because they see that it can be so impactful. While we receive some hesitation and we see some reservations, the truth is that the vast majority are very welcoming.

Why should parents not simply put their kids in Christian school if they want their kids to learn about the Bible?

Well, of course, we would never discourage anyone from putting their kids in a Christian school or using homeschooling. Those are wonderful solutions. However, we know that for many parents that those simply are not are not options, whether it’s not financially possible or if it is for other reasons. We know that the vast majority of parents right now have their kids in public schools. That does not mean they don’t want their kids to receive Christian instruction or Bible education. And of course, as we’ve already pointed out, it is legal to do so in the public school setting, or at least during the public school day. So while we would never discourage parents from taking their kids to a Christian school, we also want parents to know that this is an option before them.

If public schools allow Christianity, or the Bible, taught in Christian schools, should other religions be taught?

Well, based on the Supreme Court ruling and state laws, other religions could certainly take advantage of the same opportunity, and that does not give us any fear or concern. This is a free country after all, and so we would welcome that. We believe the Bible and the gospel can compete in the marketplace of ideas and the only tragedy is when there is silence on these issues, when we’re not sharing the gospel, and when we’re not teaching the Bible — that is the tragedy. And so yes, other religions are certainly welcome — welcome in the marketplace of ideas as well.

How does LifeWise work? How do kids fit them in their busy days?

That really varies from school to school. Some schools use lunchtime, some schools incorporate it into the “specials” rotation — things like art, music and gym. Some schools allow students to opt out of library time or tech time or other times that are not graded. What we found is that where there’s a will there’s a way, and schools have different ways of working those logistics.

How can people learn more about LifeWise? How do people get it started in their own communities?

Everybody can get engaged and involved, whether you want to be a leader of a local program, teach, or even if you just simply want to voice your support and learn more you can do so at LifeWise.org. Go to our website, feel free to watch videos and read articles, but before you leave, click “Find Your School” and look up your school district to see if there’s already a LifeWise effort underway in your community. If not, you can be the person who gets the ball rolling! It all starts with growing interest in your community for a local program. You can add your name to the local Community Interest List and share that web page from our website with others. Adding your name simply says, “Yes, I would like to see the Bible taught to our local public school students.” After we see 50 names on your Community Interest List we can move on with your 10-step process to launch your local LifeWise.

What else would you like to share with our readers?

I would just ask your readers, can you think of anything more important than sharing the Word of God with the next generation? Our students need a foundation for their lives and there is no better foundation than the Word of God. Here we have before us an opportunity that’s been lying dormant, almost sitting under our noses, for the last 70 years! And why not take this opportunity to invest in the next generation?

For more information, visit lifewise.org.

 

Nancy Flory, Ph.D., is a senior editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.