Christians Can Speak Their Values in Public

 I've recently learned about https://lifewise.org/ and was reminded about it from this short: 

Christians Can Speak Their Values in Public

LifeWise Academy is a nonprofit Christian ministry that gives public school students Bible-based character classes during the school day. It’s based in Hilliard, Ohio, and works with local communities to start programs at their schools.

How it’s legal. LifeWise uses “released time religious instruction,” which the Supreme Court upheld in Zorach v. Clauson (1952). A program has to meet three conditions:

• It meets off school property
• It’s paid for with private money
• Parents give permission

LifeWise says more than half of U.S. states have released time laws.

How it works day to day:

• Parents enroll their child. Nothing is added to the family’s schedule because the class happens during school hours.
• Students leave campus. They walk with volunteer chaperones or ride a bus or van to a nearby site, often a church.
• The schedule is set locally. How long classes run and how many days a week they meet depend on what each program works out with its school.
• Hired teachers lead the classes. LifeWise looks at teaching experience, certifications and pastoral references when it hires.
• The curriculum teaches traits like courage, kindness and respect, grounded in the Bible. LifeWise says it isn’t tied to any one denomination.

How it’s funded. Families pay nothing. Each program costs about $200 to $400 per student per year. That money comes from local donations and goes mostly to staff, the meeting site and transportation.

Starting a new program. Anyone can get one started. LifeWise staff guide a community through a 10-step launch process. The model came from a released time program in Van Wert, Ohio, which LifeWise says reaches 95% of the town’s public elementary students.

Results it claims. The homepage says LifeWise raises attendance and lowers suspensions, based on third-party testing. Those numbers come from LifeWise itself. Its FAQ also has a section answering common concerns and criticisms, since some people do push back on these programs.

LifeWise curriculum is adapted from The Gospel Project. Each lesson centers on one Bible passage and one character trait, using a threefold focus: Head (the Bible lesson), Heart (the Jesus Connection), and Hands (the LifeWise Quality). 

The big theme: the Bible as one story that points to Jesus. Every lesson goes from a Bible story to a Jesus connection to a character trait. The lessons follow the order of Scripture, starting at Creation.

1. Elementary (Year One)

The 24 Year One lessons cover Genesis through Numbers. Each story is paired with one trait.

Story	Passage	Trait
Creation	Genesis 1:1–25	Gratitude
God created people	Genesis 1:26–2:25	Respect
The Fall	Genesis 3	Obedience
Noah	Genesis 6–9	Patience
Babel	Genesis 11:1–9	Humility
Abraham tested	Genesis 22	Sacrifice
Joseph	Genesis 37–50	Perseverance, Forgiveness
Moses called	Exodus 2:11–4:17	Compassion
Ten Commandments	Exodus 19–20	Submission
Golden Calf	Exodus 32–34	Truthfulness
Joshua and Caleb	Numbers 13–14	Confidence
Bronze Snake	Numbers 20–21	Mercy

The sample lesson is the Tower of Babel. It uses:

• Key passage: Revelation 4:11 
• Big Picture Q&A: “What is sin?” (Sin is breaking God’s law.) 
• Jesus Connection: Revelation 7:9–10, where every nation worships together. This reverses the scattering at Babel. 
• Other passages: Genesis 1:28, 9:1, 10:32, 11:2, 11:4, 11:7–9 

2. Middle School

The middle school course has 112 lessons across three years:

• Year 1: The Law and the Prophets (38 lessons) 
• Year 2: The Life and Teachings of Jesus (35 lessons) 
• Year 3: Living Out Jesus’ Mission (39 lessons) 

Year 1 tells the story of God’s promise and His faithfulness. The lesson titles follow a few big ideas:

• God’s good world and human sin: God’s Good World, God’s Good People, then sin and God’s grace in the Fall, the Flood and Babel 
• God’s promise to the patriarchs: Abraham, Isaac, Rebekah and Jacob 
• God redeems evil: Three Joseph lessons, ending with “God Overrides Evil With Good” (Forgiveness) 
• God rescues His people: The Moses lessons, the Law, the Tabernacle, and the Day of Atonement (Mercy) 
• Mercy and judgment in the prophets: Jonah (Compassion), Hosea (Love), Isaiah’s Suffering Servant (Sacrifice), and Jeremiah’s New Covenant (Forgiveness) 
• Hope at the end: God Pictures a Future Hope: Ezekiel (Hope)

The sample lesson, “God’s Good World,” teaches Christ as Creator. It uses Genesis 1:1–26 with Gratitude, plus John 1:1–3, Colossians 1:17, Isaiah 40:26, Psalm 33:6, 9, Psalm 19:1, Hebrews 1:1–3, 10–12, Hebrews 11:3, Romans 1:20 and Romans 8:28–29.

3. Introduction to Biblical Worldview

This sample teaches the Bible as a grand story. It covers metanarratives, worldviews, and a six-act outline of the Bible. An activity asks students to place stories like Joseph, Jonah, Esther, Paul and Silas, and the Law at Sinai within that larger story. 

What stands out: The same traits come back across the books. Humility, Hope, Mercy and Forgiveness each show up more than once, so students meet them again in new stories.