This story originally appeared in The Epoch Times

By Jeff Louderback

At about lunchtime, a group of children in Ohio’s Clark County leaves school to study the Bible, pray, and sing worship songs.

They are taking part in LifeWise Academy, a nonprofit organization that offers faith-based character education to public school students during school hours under “released time” religious instruction laws, which permit students to be excused from their regular classes with parental consent.

Nikohl Hamilton is the local chapter’s program director. Her 7-year-old son, Ethan, is one of the students. What started as a pilot program in March 2024 with 13 students grew to 30 students by year’s end and to 75 by the beginning of the current school year.

Although figures show that church attendance has increased since the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk on Sept. 10, attendance as a whole has been declining for a while now, according to Hamilton.

Children are not getting the same exposure to the biblical principles and values that they did decades ago, she said, and LifeWise provides what is missing.

She pointed to an example that illustrates how the program accomplishes its mission to bring the word of God to the next generation.

“One afternoon, a teacher was taking prayer requests, and one child was asked if he wanted to pray,“ she said. ”The boy said he didn’t know how to pray, so the teacher stopped and taught the kids how to pray.

Joel Penton is the founder of LifeWise, which is based in suburban Columbus, Ohio, and earlier this year received the Heritage Foundation’s Innovation Prize for “empowering parental choice through released time religious instruction.”

Penton, who is from the town of Van Wert in northwestern Ohio, was a defensive lineman at Ohio State University. After college, he traveled the country as a motivational speaker. He learned about a religious released time program in his hometown, and the organizers encouraged him to create a nationwide concept. That led to the birth of LifeWise.

When Penton launched LifeWise in 2019, his initial goal was to serve 25 schools by 2025. That number was eclipsed within a year, he said.

By the end of 2025, Penton said, he expects that LifeWise will have a presence in 1,174 schools across 34 states, reaching 100,000 students. In Ohio alone, the organization is in 305 out of 611 total public school districts.

In recent years, conservatives have expressed concern with public schools over LGBT issues, male students in women’s restrooms and on girls sports teams, sexually explicit books, and curricula that implement critical race theory, among other topics.

There was a time when most parents were not concerned about what their children were learning at public schools and the environment there, Penton told The Epoch Times.

“I don’t think many parents think that now,” he said. “They want stability for their children when they are at school and away from home.”

The LifeWise curriculum was developed in conjunction with the Gospel Project, a Bible study plan produced by an entity of the Southern Baptist Convention.

The organization incorporates a franchise-style, “plug-and-play” model that allows local groups to start new chapters. Community volunteers raise money and find a church to host the classes. LifeWise provides everything else, from curriculum to paid teaching staff to background checks, according to Penton.

Volunteers and staff members from the organization transport the students from school to the program sites or use locations close to schools and supervise children’s walks there.

Critics have chastised LifeWise and other released time programs, claiming that they violate the separation of church and state.

Under the First Amendment, public schools cannot promote any religion, but a 1952 Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for programs such as LifeWise, as long as they are conducted off campus, privately funded, and allowed by parents.

The organization recently released a documentary called “Off School Property: Solving the Separation of Church and State,” which details the removal of the Bible from schools and the efforts to return biblical education to students. The film premiered in October.

“When the Bible was removed from our schools, something vital was lost—not just spiritually, but culturally and academically,” Penton said.

“It’s no coincidence that when we kicked God out, chaos came in. Well, we’ve found a way to bring him back, and the movement is tens of thousands of families strong already.”

A LifeWise poll conducted with RMG Research between Feb. 25 and Feb. 26 showed that 78 percent of respondents support teaching character and moral education to public school students. It also showed that for 67 percent of respondents, it is acceptable for that moral education to be Bible-based as long as it is conducted legally.

POLL: 78% of U.S. Voters Support Teaching Moral and Character Education to Public School Students

“[The poll] should be a wake-up call for legislators across the country to support the kind of religious released time programs that the U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled constitutional and that Americans want and [that] has been proven to improve behavior and performance for students,” Penton said.

Public schools are struggling with a behavior and discipline crisis, according to Penton, and teachers and principals need a proven solution. He referenced part of the poll showing that 59 percent of respondents believe that behavior and discipline have grown worse in recent years.

According to a National Education Association study, many educators cited student behavior as a primary concern after disruptive and sometimes violent conduct escalated during the 2022 to 2023 school year.

A Pew Research poll mentioned by the association reported that 68 percent of the teachers who participated said they had been yelled at or threatened by a student.

Data research firm Thomas P. Miller and Associates gathered and analyzed information from 6,478 schools in Ohio, Indiana, and Iowa in 2023 to determine the effectiveness of LifeWise programming in these states.

LifeWise Academy on track to serve nearly 100,000 students across 34 states in 2025-26 school year

The survey found that schools with LifeWise programs reported improved “student conduct, academic engagement, and school morale.”

Attendance improved by 7 percent and student participation increased by 10 percent, according to LifeWise.

The study also found that schools that kept LifeWise programs for a second and third year saw improvements in discipline and decreases in suspensions.

In some states and districts that did not already have released time policies on the books, LifeWise moved to get approval from school boards. School boards usually voted to allow the program, according to Penton.

However, some districts have refused, citing concerns about disruptions to the school day.

Thirty-nine states have laws clarifying the practice of released time for religious instruction, according to LifeWise. Twelve states require school boards to adopt these policies for off-site religious instruction, and 11 states have pending legislation.

In 2024, Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb, a Republican, signed a law requiring public schools to accommodate programs such as LifeWise. That same year, the Ohio General Assembly passed a similar law.

A number of school districts in Ohio authorized a policy that prevented organizations such as LifeWise from distributing materials, snacks, clothing, candies, trinkets, or other items to students. The Ohio Legislature responded with a measure prohibiting public school districts from banning LifeWise program materials, putting the measure in the state’s two-year budget bill.

Penton told The Epoch Times that critics have “misconceptions” about LifeWise, which sometimes lead to opposition.

“[For example], it is natural for children to share what they learned about the Bible and God with their friends,” he said.

“The love of God, and his word, changes lives. Sharing that should be welcomed.”

He called LifeWise “a great manifestation” of the separation of church and state, since its model has the students participate in the program off school grounds.

“I travel across the country and hear from a lot of parents and public school educators,” Penton said. “Their feedback gives me even more confidence that our program is invaluable to students and the communities we serve.

“When students receive religious instruction, they experience spiritual growth and improved mental health. Their behavior and classroom participation improves, and teachers and parents are provided with a critical lifeline to help students become a more positive influence among their peers.

“Our Bible classes ensure students not only attain knowledge, but also are inspired with wisdom that will shape their character.”

Casey Coffey is superintendent of the New Lexington School District in southeast Ohio. New Lexington is a village of 4,435 residents.

“LifeWise has, without a doubt, made a major positive impact on attendance and behavior among our students,“ Coffey told The Epoch Times. ”It gives them added confidence, and they learn biblical values like compassion and kindness.”

Although New Lexington’s population is small, participation among volunteers is vast: 50 parents volunteer to help seven LifeWise teachers.

“These children get to be around positive role models in the community to complement the instruction they get from their teachers at school,“ Coffey said. ”They grow spiritually by learning about and getting a better understanding of the gospel. We’ve seen kids who have witnessed to their parents about their experience with LifeWise, and those parents have made decisions to re-establish their faith as a family.”

Hamilton agrees with Coffey.

She told The Epoch Times that she grew up in “spiritual confusion” because she had relatives who were Christian Scientists and Jews.

Hamilton said she, her mother, and her sister were “Chreasters,” meaning they went to church only on Christmas and Easter.

“We would find the largest church possible, sit in the very back, and leave as early as we could,” she said. “We weren’t practicing Christians.”

After marrying her husband and having children, Hamilton said, her faith was strengthened during a “rough patch” and has become central to the family’s life.

The couple’s oldest son, who is 17 now, was invited by a friend to a church youth group about five years ago, she said.

“We saw the influence that had on our son, and that moved us to start attending church and developing a personal relationship with the Lord,” Hamilton said.

“We’ve seen firsthand as parents how the power of a child’s influence can affect an entire family and bring an entire family to Christ. It was redemptive for our entire family. Being part of LifeWise is meaningful because it changes lives and impacts families beyond just the students who attend.”

Paul Robson is a board member of the LifeWise chapter of Mechanicsburg, a village in central Ohio. He has three children who attend.

“Some children are so inspired by what they learn that they ask their parents or grandparents to take them to church, and that builds faith as a family,“ said Robson, whose children are homeschooled. ”It also allows fellowship among other children. It’s something they look forward to.

“We’re conscious of what we teach our kids. And we believe that the Bible should be part of core education along with subjects like math, science, English, and history.”

LifeWise now has more than 1,700 employees and 10,000 volunteers.

In September, the organization moved into a 24,000-square-foot facility in suburban Columbus.

“The greatest obstacle we face is that not enough people around the nation know that release time is possible and LifeWise is possible,“ Penton said. ”We want to utilize this facility to amplify the message.

“In each community, we have a director, a board, teachers, and volunteers. We put together the resources at our headquarters, but this growth and success wouldn’t happen without our local communities.”

Penton has lofty ambitions for sustained expansion. The goal is fueled by what he said is God’s calling.

“There are 13,000 school districts nationwide, 90,000 public school buildings, 50 million public school students,” Penton said. “We think it’s our responsibility to make Bible education available to all of them. That’s our objective.”