Bible Clubs Growing in Public Schools

Ryan Duncan | Updated: Apr 09, 2014

Bible Clubs Growing in Public Schools

In the small town of New Bethlehem, PA, over half the student body of Redbank Valley High School meet once a week for Bible club. The club is overseen by Joe Harmon, who believes these after-school meetings not only teach students that the Bible can be fun, but also inject much needed hope into the community. According to CBN News, Harmon hopes the success of his School Bible Club will inspire neighboring towns to open their doors to similar programs,     

“Club adviser Joe Harmon and past president, Doug Gundlach, recently traveled to Boston, where churches, parents and students asked if the two men could share suggestions on how to create and sustain such wildly successful Bible clubs throughout the Boston area. Some 500 Bostonians gathered at a largely Hispanic church in the Chelsea area to take in what the Pennsylvanians had to share.Harmon has been the Redbank club's adviser since it started and believes its success can be copied anywhere.”

Harmon also sees these clubs as a way to educate young Christians on the realities of religious freedom. Many schools believe Christian clubs violate the separation between Church and State, but Harmon asserts this is not true.

“Harmon said some resistant school administrations may just need a bit of gentle ‘schooling’ about what the law says they must allow. ‘These students here in Boston and students across America have the right to have Bible clubs,’ he stated.”

The School Bible Clubs have drawn praise from Christian communities and celebrities like Erik Estrada. Currently, its members are trying to teach other students how to begin their own Bible clubs.

*Published 4/9/2014



Bible Clubs Growing in Public Schools