Last fall, LifeWise Academy in Madison began offering classes to Madison- Virgil Elementary students in grades first through fifth. As of last month, the academy had 56 students or 67% of firstfifth graders enrolled in the non-denominational program that is held at the conveniently located First Baptist Church. With the support of the community with them, the LifeWise team hosted an appreciation fish fry last month at the Sauder Community Center, in Madison, where they served 170 people.
LifeWise Academy, a 501c3 non-profit organization, is hoping to expand its services next fall, to include sixth-grade students. LifeWise lessons will be during the elementary teachers’ PLC block, which is when teachers are not with students and when paras and aides are supervising them. This block is every Wednesday afternoon for 30 minutes.
“Churched or not, a large percentage of parents are supportive of LifeWise and desire their children to have Biblical instruction, this is made possible for all by offering it during school hours,” stated LifeWise Academy board member Denise Stewart. She continued, “We have heard several comments from parents of LifeWise attendees, like, ‘This has caused our family to draw closer in our faith.’ ‘My daughter talks about LifeWise all the time.’ “Thank you so much for the Bibles, my child is reading it.’” The program helps to strengthen students’ character development and mental health and also benefits educators’ efforts to build strong students in their classrooms. Students study a portion of each of the Bible’s Old and New Testaments each week. Each lesson relates a Bible passage to a relevant character trait that the students are encouraged to practice in their families and communities.
Recently, the Madison location hosted an outreach meeting where they invited people from neighboring communities to share how they could start a LifeWise Academy in their school. Among those showing interest were Matt and Nicole Mettling of Hope Church in Eureka. Those wishing to show support for one in Eureka are asked to sign the community interest list online at Lifewise.org and search for “your school,” this will direct you to find “Kansas” and then “Eureka,” Those with additional questions or wishing to assist with the Eureka program are encouraged to contact N. Mettling at nicole@hopekansas. church or 620-9532802 or M. Mettling at [email protected] or 620-953-2758.
LifeWise Academy comes alongside administrators and teachers as a supportive ally in the fight for better character development, mental health and academic achievement.
LifeWise Academy is based in Hilliard, Ohio and is a released time religious instruction program that provides Bible-based character education to public school students. With parental permission, students are released from school during the day to attend the privately funded classes that are off school property for 30 minutes per week. Nationally, LifeWise has more than doubled as they jumped from being in 124 schools in April 2023 to 318 in April 2024. The number of students also increased, from 13,436 to 29,067.
For additional information about LifeWise Academy, visit lifewise.org.
