The nonprofit that created what’s become the largest program to offer religious instruction during the school day to students in Ohio has a new headquarters in a z Columbus suburb. And LifeWise, which provides Christian learning to kids away from their public school free of charge, also has a documentary hitting cinemas soon.
LifeWise is celebrating the opening of a 24,000-square-foot headquarters in Hilliard in suburban Columbus. It’s housed in a former aquatic facility that the Christian nonprofit purchased in 2024 for $2.4 million. There’s no final cost estimate for the facility as renovations are still ongoing.
LifeWise founder and CEO Joel Penton said the organization has grown substantially, from a few schools in 2020 to nearly 1,200 schools and as many as 100,000 students nationwide, including many in Ohio.
In Ohio, LifeWise started under a 2014 state law that said schools could provide time for students to be released for religious instruction, as long as it was off school property. Districts are required to provide that time under House Bill 8, passed by Republicans earlier this year, though the bill provided for districts to set the duration and frequency. That law takes effect Sept. 30.
“They’re trying to figure out that balance between how they protect this right of parents while, at the same time, making sure schools have the flexibility to make it available in a way that works for the school,” Penton said.
Penton said LifeWise’s new facility, which includes a podcast and television studio, large meeting spaces, a café and dozens of workspaces, will allow the organization to “amplify the message nationwide, help us equip local leaders, and help us sustain local movements."
LifeWise has its opponents, including Honesty for Ohio Education, a coalition of unions and progressive groups.
“If it is truly something that is attracting a lot of people then they wouldn’t have to mandate it,” said Natalie Hastings with Honesty for Ohio Education.
Critics have said LifeWise isn’t transparent about the curriculum it’s teaching. Hastings said LifeWise programming and the transportation to and from the sites where it’s offered off school property disrupts the school day Pent-on causes conflict between students who attend and those who don’t.
“That seems to create a sense of othering and leaving people out,” she said. “[LifeWise’s programs] don’t exist for students who already attend a place of worship. They exist to try to convert other students to their specific brand of Christianity.”
LifeWise officials explained they have support from different Christian denominations. Penton said he doesn’t hear "real reports" of children who attend LifeWise ostracizing others who don’t attend. Parents must give approval for their children to go to the off-campus LifeWise activities, with transportation provided by LifeWise.
One way the group wants to spread its message is through a documentary was produced at the new headquarters. “Off School Property” will air as a limited release in theatres nationwide on Oct. 23.
