LifeWise Barnesville Brings Families Together
LifeWise Barnesville is gearing up to bring families together this summer with a community event featuring swim, food and fun.
LifeWise Barnesville’s first community event of the summer, Rise Up Barnesville, will take place from 6-10 p.m., Friday, June 27 at the Barnesville Memorial Park.
This free, family-friendly event will feature activities for everyone.
“We’re looking forward to families getting a chance to meet our board members, teachers and volunteers, so they know who’s involved with the program,” LifeWise Barnesville director Liza Spence said. “And that will help them be more comfortable knowing who’s teaching their kids.”
LifeWise Academy is a nonprofit organization that takes public school students to teach them Bible-based education during school hours that started in 2018 nationwide.
The program is privately funded, completed off of school grounds. Parental permission is required to participate.
LifeWise Barnesville began in 2023 as the second program in the county after St. Clairsville. Spence said LifeWise uses Bible stories to teach character traits and qualities to the students, such as responsibility, respect, sacrifice, kindness, generosity and wholeheartedness.
LifeWise Barnesville served 7,000 hours of these Bible-based teachings to 358 students in grades 1-8 during the 2024-2025 school year. While there is a different curriculum for elementary and middle school students, they are still learning the same thing—that God loves them, Spence said.
LifeWise Barnesville sent out a survey at the end of the school year to obtain feedback on the program from parents and public educators. Last school year, the program had students learn in individual classrooms, but this coming school year, there will be stations allowing students to move around and do more activities.
Churches, individuals, businesses and different organizations in the village help fund the program through donations. The LifeWise program raises approximately $30 per month per student to fund the program.
All of the teachers, drivers and volunteers of the LifeWise program must go through a background check and training.
Spence said statistics report depression, anxiety and suicide rates have increased a lot and children attending church is low. The hope of the program is that members can help the children emotionally, especially those who have never heard the gospel.
“There were so many kids that said they feel safe and are happier now that they learned about Jesus”, Spence added. She has heard a lot of positive feedback from the parents and students.
She noted children now understand the power of prayer and are excited.
“We just want to fill them with hope and knowledge so that they know somebody loves them,” Spence said. “And it’s God and all of us.”
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