Educational Bible classes are on the rise and drawing in non-religious students.

“Released time” allows students to leave school for religious classes with parental permission.

Classes are geared toward students in 5th - 8th grades. Students leave during non-core classes to attend the academic Bible course.

In Lexington School Districts 1-5, School Time Bible Ministries sponsors the program.

CrossRoads Intermediate School, a 15-year program partner in Lexington-Richland District 5 - offers the School Time course for credit. It’s a semester-long, 18 hour pass/fail course held at the neighboring church.

In the other partnering schools, curriculum ranges from 5 to 9 hours annually.

School Time Bible Ministries buses pupils to partnering churches.

There, students are taught by volunteers.

Executive Director Grayson Hartgrove brought School Time to the Midlands twenty years ago.

It has been growing ever since. Even parents who don’t go to church enroll their children.

Program Director Tammy Adams thinks she understands why.

It costs parents nothing to sign their kids up, and it’s easy to do. They just fill out a form. Many believe biblical education is beneficial, regardless of their own religions, Adams said.

The course only teaches what the text of the Bible says - religious doctrine is not a part of the curriculum.

“We are completely non-denominational,” Adams said.

The classes are exactly the same from one hosting church to the next. Students attend the closest one.

Currently, Lexington Districts 1, 2, 4 and 5 participate.

“We simply have not pursued [District 3],” Adams said. It’s on the radar for the future.

Even so, the number of participating schools is growing year by year.

Two decades ago, there was one. Now, 21 schools and 19 church partners participate. They add 2-4 schools each year, Adams said.

This year, District 2 is extending program invitations to several additional schools.

“It’s just a slow process.” The biggest hurdle is getting the word out, Adams said.

The amount of partners has risen, but the rate of participating students hasn’t.

“Typically around 10 percent of a grade level opts to participate in Bible classes,” Adams said. “The numbers over the years have remained pretty consistent.” Class sizes range from 5 to 49.

Even so, a growing number of classes has made funding a challenge.

Adams says it’s a “never ending struggle” to raise the needed amount. She believes there will always be enough, though.

“[God] will supply what we need,” she said, and classes will continue.

Public funds can’t legally be used to fund the program. This is one of three requirements to run “released time” nationwide.

Parents and guardians must give permission, and the classes must also be held off-campus.

Occasionally, the program will get a call from offended parents. Some are irritated to receive mail regarding potential enrollment.

Adams recommends that those uninterested in the opportunity throw away the letter as junk mail.

The program is completely voluntary, she said. Parents aren’t pressured with phone calls or emails.

For some, School Time Bible class means a lot.

“Our family recently experienced a tragedy. My son provided Biblical insight—even leadership in this crisis,” said a parent of an eighth grade student. “Later, my husband and I asked him where he learned the things he had shared with us and he told us, ‘the School Time Bible class...’” Another parent said the classes are “one of the best things” she could have done for her children.

Adams is a former teacher of Northside Baptist Church Bible class.

She has found that most kids are “terribly illiterate” on the Bible’s text.

She wants to change that dynamic.