Those who did not follow the Bible would go to hell when they died, the teens were told.
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- Between calculus and European history classes at a West Virginia public high school, 16-year-old Cameron Mays and his classmates were told by their teacher to go to an evangelical Christian revival assembly.
Flowers said the event was voluntary, organized by the school's chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He said there was supposed to be a signup sheet for students, but two teachers mistakenly brought their entire class.But in this community of fewer than 50,000 people in southwestern West Virginia, the controversy has ignited a broader conversation about whether religious services - voluntary or not - should be allowed during school hours at all.
During the assemblies, students and their families are encouraged to join evening services at the nearby Christ Temple Church. More than 450 people, including 200 students, have been baptized at the church, according to Walker, who said he was scheduled to go to another public school and nearby Marshall University soon.
Walker said he has never contacted a school about coming to speak; it's always the students who reach out to his ministry, he said. Walker said he sees a lot of"hopelessness" in the Huntington area: students struggling with addiction, anxiety and depression.