All aboard.

Bible2School Penn Manor (B2SPM) will kick off the school year with a bus prayer drive from 3 to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 24.

Anyone interested in making the trip should arrive by 2:50 p.m. at Faith Bible Fellowship Church at 151 Donerville Road, Lancaster.

"We will go to all seven of the elementary schools, stopping at each one to pray over them and pray for the children that will be attending the Bible2School Penn Manor classes," said B2SPM executive director Jocelyn Hrovath. "Everyone is welcome to join, and we'll be riding the new-to-us Bible2School Penn Manor bus that God provided for us."

B2S Penn Manor contracts with Shultz Transportation Co. and Eschbach Bus Service to help with transporting students from their schools to places of worship.

"Our board had been praying and fasting for God to provide something with busing because it plays such a huge part in our weekly classes," said Hrovath. "We had reached out to Eschbach to ask if they would consider working with us to get a bus for this ministry, and they offered a deeply discounted used bus."

A few days earlier, Kim and Greg Smith had reached out to B2SPM and stated they had been praying about providing a gift to B2SPM through the Ryan Smith Foundation they started in memory of their late son. Unbeknownst to them, the monetary gift was the same amount as the cost of the bus. Two anonymous donors came forward to help cover costs of CDL training for volunteers, and Fleet Graphix provided a discount on a wrap for the vehicle.

Hrovath stated that people should come on the bus excursion "if they have a heart for children to learn about Jesus during the public-school day. This prayer drive will promote that and will encourage the families to register their children for this program."

B2S Penn Manor is an elective class that students can sign up for at their elementary schools. "In these classes, we talk about morals and values from the Bible, and the children are impacted by it, and the teachers and the school see a difference in children after they've been attending these classes," Hrovath said. "So the point of the prayer drive is to get families to understand the need for this program in the district and also register children."

B2SPM is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that began in 2021 when a group of LeTort Elementary moms got together for coffee and learned about release time, which is a national statute that allows children attending public school to receive religious education of their choice during the public-school day, Hrovath said. "One of those moms, Heather Myer, knew that God was calling her to start this program, and she started it in the fall of 2021 with about 20 children from LeTort Elementary," Hrovath added.

B2SPM has grown to serve over 400 children last school year across all seven elementary schools in Penn Manor. There were 19 weekly classes held across the district. This coming school year, B2SPM is planning for 26 weekly classes to be held for second- through fifth-graders. Registration forms for the elective class are sent home with students early in the school year.

B2SPM is not affiliated with the Penn Manor School District. No taxpayer money is used, and there is no cost for students to attend B2SPM. "We provide every child with a Bible and a T-shirt and an hour Bible lesson once a week," Hrovath explained. "We do crafts and activities that support the lesson, and we do worship time." Classes are typically held during lunch or recess.

All of the classes are held off of the school campus within a short bus trip. "Local churches in the Penn Manor School District have stepped up and offered free of charge to host these programs," Hrovath said. All of the funds for the program are provided by local business owners, individuals, and churches.

"A lot of families want their children to learn biblical values," Hrovath said. "Families today have very busy schedules, and so this is so convenient for them to be able to sign their children up and not have to provide transportation either way or take from after school activities or weekend activities. Our hope is that they will connect with the local church. We've had several families who have decided to start attending church because their children enjoyed the Bible2School Penn Manor program so much, or the local pastors were able to meet with their families or assist them in time of need when they were going through a difficult physical ailment or something and they didn't have a home church. They looked to Bible2School Penn Manor to connect them with that local church."

Hrovath noted that B2SPM needs volunteers willing to commit to two hours one time a week to work in the classrooms or serve as bus drivers. "The main requirement is that they love Jesus and they love kids and that they want children to hear the Gospel," she said.

For more information about the bus prayer drive or Bible2School Penn Manor, call 717-584-4595, email info@b2spennmanor.com or visit http://www.b2spennmanor.com.