The clich? goes that, as long as teachers give tests, there will be prayer in public schools.
But a more significant emphasis on Scripture and the gospel is taking place in dozens of elementary, middle, and high schools across South Carolina, thanks to South Carolina Baptist churches that provide the space, teachers, or volunteers (sometimes all three) for Bible education during the school day.
The program is called School Time Bible Education, and it was brought to South Carolina by Baptist layman Grayson Hartgrove in the mid-1990s. Through the program, students (with parental permission) leave the school premises for one hour a week for academic study of the Bible. The course, called “The Progress of Redemption,” is taught by trained volunteers from a local church or group of churches.
“We teach the Bible – major characters, events, and principles – chronologically,” said Hartgrove. “The material is rigorous and academic. This is not youth ministry, where you have some fun activities and some teaching time. It’s an instructional class like you have in school.”
Bobby Baston, youth minister at State Street Baptist Church, Cayce, agrees. “It’s very rich material. A lot of our students don’t get that elsewhere, not in Sunday school or other places. Some of our kids let me know how much it meant to them to tie the stories in the Bible together.”
It’s not just the “church kids” whose parents sign them up for the Bible classes. Hartgrove said almost half of the students are from unchurched backgrounds. And there is fruit from the ministry: Through a class offered at Crossroads Middle School this year, 40 students made professions of faith.
“It’s such an open door,” said Josh Eyler, minister of youth and outreach at Three Rivers Baptist Church in Irmo. “Schools are asking for it, and why wouldn’t we do it? Plus, there aren’t a whole lot of opportunities like this where you can jump right into the gospel with no lead-up time needed.”
Hartgrove’s organization works directly with local school boards to secure permission to offer the class. “In 16 years,” he says, “only one board has refused.”
By law, the class must be offered off-campus and cannot involve any school district resources (personnel or financial). Students’ parents must also give permission for their children to participate. The organization then provides the material and training of teachers and other volunteers from the church and other resources as needed. Churches are asked (but not required), in turn, to pledge at least $200 a month to support the organization.
The organization produces an “Adopt-a-School” kit for churches, which includes material for a nine-hour class, teacher’s manual, policy manual, student handouts and Bibles. Funds from the Janie Chapman Offering for State Missions are used to underwrite the cost of the kit.
This fall, School Time Bible Education was offered in 21 school districts, involving more than 238 churches and 1,000 volunteers. – SCBC