Hundreds of thousands of Bibles are about to flood into public schools across the nation, as students in every U.S. state prepare for the annual “Bring Your Bible to School Day” campaign.
The concept is simple: On Oct. 5, young people from kindergarten through college-level are encouraged to “bring their Bibles to school and talk about it with friends,” according to a website from co-partners Focus on the Family and Alliance Defending Freedom.
“Bring Your Bible to School Day” encourages young people to bolster their faith, stand up for religious liberty and talk with their peers about Jesus.
“The event is designed to empower you as a student to express your belief in the truth of God’s Word–and to do so in a respectful way that demonstrates the love of Christ,” an official description reads. “Participation is voluntary and student-directed — meaning it’s completely up to students, Christian clubs and youth groups to sign up online and then lead the activities in their school.”
In 2016, 356,000 students from across the U.S. were estimated to have taken part in the effort, with hundreds of thousands of children, again, planning to bring their Bibles to school this year.
“The good news is students do have the religious-freedom right to bring their Bible to school and read it during ‘free time,'” Focus on the Family recently explained in an article on the organization’s website. “Together, we can empower these students to know their rights and live their faith, so they can take part in this nationwide event.”
The event’s focus is on young people becoming “a powerful voice of hope” inside their schools, with these youths serving as leaders for the culture by standing up for the gospel and for their religious freedom.
“Duck Dynasty” star Sadie Robertson has also gotten into the mix and is encouraging young people to take part:
The “Bring Your Bible to School Day” website explains the legal rights that students have to express their faith so long as doing so doesn’t impede instruction time. This can be done “through verbal or written expressions, as long as you follow school policy and do not engage in these activities during classroom or instruction time,” the website notes.
Find out more about the effort here.