A Fresh Take on Bible Education and Public Schools
Today, public school systems are grappling with plummeting mental health, declining test scores and disrespectful behavior toward teachers and other students on a daily basis. While the world tries to remedy this problem with surveys and counseling solutions, Christians believe that the answer to a sin problem is a Biblical solution. BUT, most Americans believe it’s illegal to teach the Bible during the public school day.
This is false.
In the North Hills of Pittsburgh, Pine-Richland School District is doing that very thing. - teaching the Bible during the public school day; and the response has been overwhelming! Kristy Harrer, Director of LifeWise Academy in Pine-Richland SD and a mom of 4, responded to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to have the name of Jesus spoken during the school day. “This has been on my heart....I know LifeWise pleases God, to see these kids learning the gospel and reading their bibles therefore it pleases me and makes what I do that much more meaningful,” says Harrer who worked getting 50 petition signatures from the community to get the program started.
From forming a steering and leadership board to locating a host church to working with school administration, not to mention fundraising, Pine-Richland’s LifeWise Academy launched January 2024 with 30 students in the upper elementary school spanning 4th-6th grade. Very quickly word spread in the school and the numbers rose in a short period of time. Kids love the ability to start their day off reading God’s Word and learning about virtuous character qualities to help them deal with the pressures of the school day.
“My favorite part of LifeWise is that it’s a way my faith can be part of my school day. Plus, I get to leave school and meet other kids from my school that share similar beliefs.” says one of Pine-Richland’s 4th grade students. After a few weeks, the program has expanded to 40 kids and meets two times a week to match the growing desire in the community.
So with the success of this and so many more programs across the country launching, many ask “how is this possible?” The removal of the Bible from public schools is, for many Americans, the clearest expression of “the separation of church and state.” Which is why it’s so surprising to learn that the Bible and the public school day can legally co-exist. In fact, it’s been that way for over 70 years.
A 1952 US Supreme Court decision in Zorach v. Clauson stated unequivocally that “released time religious instruction” was not only legal, but that “government should recognize and accommodate the religious beliefs of its citizens.” Based on the Court’s ruling, “released time” was legal provided it met three criteria. The religious instruction must be:
1. Off school property
2. Privately funded
3. Parent Permitted
If you’re shaking your head in disbelief right now, you’re not alone. Joel Penton, the founder and CEO of LifeWise, had the same reaction when he first stumbled upon a released time program in Van Wert, Ohio in 2018. “My mind was completely blown,” Joel recounts. “I just kept thinking: Wait, they’re teaching the Bible to public school students DURING SCHOOL HOURS?! How is this possible?”
That day Joel sat in on the program’s board meeting and learned that over 90% of their elementary school was attending their Bible class. It was then they asked Joel a question that changed the course of his life, a question he would ever-after refer to as “the riddle”. The question was simple: “Why doesn’t every community have one of these?”
With the support of the steering committee, the Pine-Richland community of moms and dads sought out a location to house these weekly classes. And just as is His character, God provided. Next door to the school parking lot was a church that was also responding to the prompting of the Holy Spirit to share the love of Christ with the school kids that their building neighbored.
“Grace Reformed Church has welcomed us in to use their location to do our classes. They had the facilities available during the week and were very receptive to the curriculum, the process and oversight of LifeWise Academy.,” says Harrer. While the curriculum and staff are separate from Grace Reformed Church, the church’s facility and location could not have been more perfect for the needs of the program.
“The deacons at Grace Reformed Presbyterian Church in Gibsonia had been praying about how to serve the almost 700 4th to 6th graders just 100 yards from our church building. LifeWise was a perfect way for our facility to serve as a home for this community-driven program with help from more than half a dozen different churches.” (Mark Sampson, Elder at Grace RP Church)
Today, LifeWise is preparing to launch released time Bible classes in over 340 schools in 15 states for the 2023–24 school year. It would seem that they’ve answered “the riddle”. “It’s the barriers to entry,” Joel explains in his new book, During School Hours, in which he addresses this very topic.
“...they did exist, they were just all reinventing the wheel one school at a time. And there’s nothing wrong with that, but after 70 years less than 1% of public school kids had access to a released time bible education class.”
Since launching in 5 schools in 2019, LifeWise has reinstalled bible education into the public school day in rural, urban, and suburban communities, with many of those programs exceeding 70% participation rates within the student body. In addition to the over 15,000 students currently enrolled in LifeWise classes, communities in 23 states have begun the process of starting a LifeWise program.
LifeWise has experienced broad support from the communities they serve. In a recent survey with over 1,000 parental responses, 96% of parents said they recommend other parents enroll their children in LifeWise. Similarly, 76% of educators agreed that their school and students benefit from LifeWise.
“We believe this is the greatest missed opportunity to reach the next generation with the gospel,” Joel said in a recent interview with CBN.
Currently, LifeWise has launched in several schools in Allegheny County and is gaining traction as others, just like Kristy Harrer respond to the prompting of the Holy Spirit and step out in faith in their community to bring the light and love of the Gospel of Jesus to those unreached in our own backyard.
Visit LifeWise.org to see how you can get this started in your school district. There are also quick links to share this future-changing message via email, and social media with your friends, family, neighbors, and co-workers.
Amy Krahe is a wife and mother of 5 in the North Hills of Pittsburgh, PA. Actively defending Parental Rights in her local school district, Amy is the founder of Parents in Action, which seeks to inform, equip and support local parents in the district on school policy and curriculum. Serving on the board of Pennsylvania School Directors Coalition, she is helping to bring common sense education policies both locally and statewide that improve achievement and unlock opportunities for all Pennsylvania's children. Lastly, Amy lends a parent's perspective to the state legislature as a member of the State Representative Robert Mercuri's Education Council whose mission is to innovate education policies across K-12 and higher education in the Commonwealth.
