Jess Geren’s four children are regular churchgoers — they participate in Christian youth groups and study the Bible at home. When LifeWise Academy, a fast-growing program that allows students to leave school during the day for religious instruction, came to Ayersville Local Schools, their northwest Ohio district, she saw it as a chance to spread the gospel.

“It’s not my kids that I worry about,” she said. “This is their opportunity to be a light. Their mission field is the public school.”

For many other Ohio parents, that’s a problem. 

Since he was 8, Cherie Khumprakob’s son, now 11, has been receiving written invitations from classmates to join them at LifeWise. She found one in his backpack.

“He hates getting these notes from his friends and having to tell them ‘no’ repeatedly,” said Khumprakob, who lives in the Columbus area. “Training kids to pressure their friends into religious activities while at public school, during school hours, crosses a line.”

The opposing views illustrate the tension in Ohio and other states where LifeWise is rapidly expanding. The $35 million organization expects to serve close to 100,000 kids in 34 states this school year. It has 1,600 employees and runs its own fleet of eye-catching red buses. 

Founded in 2018, LifeWise is the most visible group behind a movement to spread off-campus religious instruction during the school day. Since 2024, the nonprofit has successfully lobbied for legislation in Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas mandating that districts allow students to attend LifeWise or similar programs. Some say the requirements violate the separation of church and state. 

“That’s a big shift,” said Mark Chancey, a religious studies professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas. “This whole mandatory aspect is historically something different.” 

The organization faces pushback from parents and district staff who think Bible study should be relegated to afterschool hours. LifeWise programs that reward students with items like candy and encourage kids to recruit their friends have proven particularly divisive. 

But those are the strategies LifeWise recommends as a way to increase participation. “Send students back to school with ‘Invite a Friend’ flyers,” urges a tip sheet on “boosting enrollment.” A Q&A document says treats are “fun incentives” that are meant to foster a “positive and engaging learning environment.”

Especially in Ohio, LifeWise often enjoys strong support from school officials; one superintendent warned staff to avoid such activity while the district was “under the radar.” 

The classes, usually held once or twice a week, often coincide with non-core offerings like art and music. Some educators think students are losing out on important material. 

Alan Limke, a retired STEM teacher from the Milton Union district, outside Dayton, kept a list of the lessons that students missed every Tuesday when they left for LifeWise. They included simple circuits, building and launching foam rockets and 3-D modeling. Leading up to the 2024 solar eclipse, when Milton was in the path of totality, he planned a month of activities, including a visit from a mobile planetarium. 

“It’s insulting,” said Limke, who grew up Catholic, but now considers himself an atheist. “I work very hard to come up with lessons that are rigorous and fun and important.”