ATLANTA -- Parents in Gwinnett County, Ga., have accused local ministers of crossing the line during their lunch visits at local schools by sharing their faith with students and inviting them to church.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia is looking into the matter, according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Ministers with the Christian Fellowship Young Life and North Metro Baptist Church of Lawrenceville usually walk among the 4,000 students of Collins Hill High School twice a week.
Their visits are monitored by school administrators who have warned them against proselytizing on school grounds, Collins Hill Principal Glenn McFall told the paper.
"They are not supposed to do it. It's a matter of professional trust," McFall said. "So far they have held to that bargain."
The ministers deny overstepping their bounds, but Georgia's ACLU legal director said church has no business in schools.
"This is the kind of stuff that should happen in church or on city streets, but not in school and not with the government's helping hand," Gerry Weber said. "The government is not supposed to be helping a religion recruit new congregants. That's what the First Amendment is all about."
Young Life organizer Scott Spears said the intent is not to pressure students.
"We are not (at Collins Hill) to push Christianity," Spears said. "We are (there) to be a friend for students to talk to."
