Keeping Jesus in the Classroom

I am often asked if Inspire Learning Academy (ILA) is a ministry or a secular business. This is a complex question with a clear and simple answer for me. ILA is not recognized as a “faith based nonprofit”, however as one of the founding members and director from the beginning I KNOW this business has a calling. It would not exist without the deep faith and commitment to follow Jesus that our staff continually demonstrates.

At our recent open house, the church where we rent our space had written a scripture on the white-board which we chose to leave intact for our event. Several families mentioned the scripture and expressed their concern that their family were “not religious” and that they didn’t realize there would be religious lessons. The instructor’s response, as she conveyed to me later, was a perfect example of the heart of ILA. “No”, she replied to the parent. “We don’t teach religion at all. I do talk about Jesus and how each of us can have a relationship with Him and how much He loves us.”
”Do you pray all the time?” The parent then asked. “No, of course not. I never ask the kids to pray or force any of my students to participate in prayers. But, I do bless our lunches and often the students ask if they can pray or if I will pray for them if they’re scared or got hurt or something like that. The students like praying for one another, but nobody has to pray…it just kind of happens.”

When I speak with new parents I tell them that the staff work hard to create a learning environment that feels safe and calm. We often have worship music on in the background or you may see us praying with parents. We seek out opportunities to encourage someone! It doesn’t matter to us if you share our faith in Jesus, we only care that you feel loved and served.

This is how we keep Jesus in the classrooms. We carry him with us…everywhere and all the time. And the little rainbow drawing over Jesus, photo? That simply showed up one day in one of our classrooms and we snapped a pic. What a great reminder to live, learn, and laugh with Jesus. :)