Watchdog group accuses a Kentucky middle school of letting church 'proselytize' students

Valarie Honeycutt Spears, Lexington Herald-Leader on Jul 30, 2026

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An organization focused on the separation of church and state has accused a Lexington middle school of letting church representatives “proselytize” local middle schoolers.

The Freedom From Religion Foundation on Wednesday demanded that Fayette County Public Schools “immediately stop allowing pastors from a local church to proselytize middle school students through school-sponsored activities” at Jessie Clark Middle School.

The watchdog group said in a news release that a concerned community member had informed the Freedom From Religion Group that pastors from Lexington’s Southern Heights Baptist Church have been proselytizing students at Jessie Clark Middle School.

“FFRF is urging the district to investigate these reports and, if confirmed, immediately end the unconstitutional arrangement,” the news release said.

FCPS officials did not respond to request for comment prior to publication.

Southern Heights Pastor Shane Maples on Wednesday night referred questions to Fellowship of Christian Athletes, a nonprofit Christian sports ministry. Officials from Fellowship of Christian Athletes did not immediately comment.

The watchdog group’s news release said the school district had allegedly allowed two pastors from the church to lead the school Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.

The group cited a post from the Southern Heights Baptist Church Facebook page which said that on April 16, the pastors led a Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting for students at the middle school. At that meeting, church officials said “three students gave their lives to Christ.”

Additionally, the middle school named one of the pastors a “character coach” for the middle school lacrosse team, apparently to encourage “growth in character, leadership and faith as they develop as athletes and individuals,” the group said.

Facebook posts show the church is at Jessie Clark regularly. Two posts from February indicated the church was at the school, in addition to April’s events.

“Please join us in praying for the team, the coaches, and the relationships that will be built throughout the season. We are thankful for the doors the Lord continues to open for ministry and outreach,” the church said in a Facebook post.

The watchdog group wrote to the school district with its concerns on July 20.

“It is inappropriate and unconstitutional for the district to allow staff members or an outside adult to lead a religious club for students, FFRF emphasizes,” the watchdog group’s news release said Wednesday. “Public schools may not show favoritism toward, or coerce, belief in or participation in religion. Here, it appears that Fellowship for Christian Athletes meetings are led by the pastors, violating both the First Amendment and the Equal Access Act.”

The group wants the school district to investigate the situation.

“Public schools are not recruiting grounds for local churches,” FFRF Co-President Annie Laurie Gaylor said in the news release. “Students have the constitutional right to decide for themselves what religious beliefs, if any, they will embrace. School officials should never use their positions to give pastors privileged access to impressionable students.”

The Freedom From Religion Foundation is a U.S.-based nonprofit dedicated to defending the constitutional principle of separation between state and church and educating the public on matters relating to “nontheism,” the news release said.

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