Focus on the Family Invites Kids to 'Bring Your Bible to School' on Oct. 5 - But That's Just Step 1

A small act of faith is rippling across the nation leading thousands of students to bring their Bibles to school on the first Thursday in October to pray, share the Gospel, and celebrate religious freedom.

This year, "Bring Your Bible to School" day kicks off on October 5th.

The annual event, sponsored by Focus on the Family, has been going strong for nearly a decade. It began with 8,000 students and grew to nearly 800,000 participants last year. 

"And this year we are hoping for over a million," Emerson Collins, program manager for Bring Your Bible to School Day, told CBN News. 

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Focus on the Family started the event to let kids take the lead in sharing the Gospel with their peers.

"Our culture is searching and hurting for truth, and, perhaps now more than ever, the unchanging truth of Scripture and the healing power of the Gospel are exactly what we need," said Collins. 

The ministry wants the movement to be more than a one-day event and encourages families to sign up for the "Live It Challenge" – a monthly initiative that outlines tangible steps to strengthen their faith.

"My prayer is that this would be a day that students can launch into a faith movement at their schools," Collins shared. "That they can gather with other students and bring their Bibles to school to start a club, to start a Bible study, to start a faith activity group where you can begin to advance the Gospel consistently throughout the year."

Collins adds that the event also allows students to understand their First Amendment rights. 

"I would hope programs like this would re-enlighten the rights that we have, as citizens of this nation, that we can bring our Bible to school. The one comment we get on every social post is, 'You can bring your Bible every day.' Yes, you can because we are protected under our First Amendment rights," Collins explained.

Collins knows firsthand how the Word of God can change young people.

"It was the Bible that changed my heart and my mind on Jesus. It's God's love letter to us and it's also our weapon against the enemy," he said. "I began personally carrying my Bible with me, not even knowing about 'Bring Your Bible To School Day' towards the end of high school into college."

"I said, 'Hey, this is my weapon and I'm a soldier in battle and I would hate to be caught in the middle of a battle, in the middle of this field of war without my weapon,' and so that was a personal conviction of mine," he continued. "When I came to Focus on the Family, I was so glad to hear that we had an initiative and a movement for students to be equipped with God's Word and to go and share it with others."

Last year, hundreds of parents posted pictures of their kids with their Bibles on social media with the hashtag #BringYourBible. 
 

"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path." (Psalm 119:105) Bring Your Bible To School Day #bible #bringyourbibletoschoolday #freedomofreligion #bringyourbibletoschool pic.twitter.com/ZrfPup3AKU

— Vida Church Miami (@vidachurchmiami) October 6, 2022

As CBN News has reported, many Christian celebrities have partnered with Focus on the Family to promote Bring Your Bible to School Day, including Skillet frontman John Cooper, Duck Dynasty's Sadie Robertson Huff, singer Tauren Wells, and the rock band Newsboys.

Last year, Will Witt, a conservative media personality, told young students to see the day as a catalyst for evangelism and standing up for religious freedom. 

"The Bible is the ultimate truth," he shared. "You have the power to share with the other students and the other people the ultimate truth and the testimony of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Our religious liberties are at stake every single day in America with people trying to take them away, and you bringing your Bible to school shows you're not going to take these people trying to take it away from you."