Positive Action for Christ

Positive Action for Christ is a K-12 Bible curriculum publisher founded in 1977 by Frank Hamrick, best known for its themed elementary courses, middle school survey texts, and the high school worldview course widely adopted by Christian schools and homeschool co-ops seeking a standard Bible credit.

Last updated: 2026-04-24 · Every Homeschool Editorial Team

At a glance

Method	Subject-specialist / traditional textbook-based Bible curriculum
Worldview	Christian-evangelical (broadly Baptist; doctrine-forward framing)
Grades	PreK-12
Formats	Print student workbooks, teacher guides, optional PowerPoint and test packets; some titles available in digital
Cost tier	Standard
Parent intensity	3 (teacher-presented at the elementary level; more student-directed at high school)
ESA-common	Varies by state (religious-curriculum restrictions)
Accredited	No (curriculum publisher; not a school)
Established	1977
Website	positiveaction.org

Our scoreboard (1-5)

Criterion	Score	One-line reason
Academic rigor	4	Dense content at the middle-school and high-school levels; doctrine courses are genuinely demanding
Ease of teaching	4	Teacher guides are thorough and well-scripted; parent can deliver without prior theology training
Content quality	4	Consistent editorial voice across grades; themed elementary courses are engaging
Flexibility	4	Bible-only scope means the program plugs cleanly into any spine
Value for money	4	Fair per-grade pricing; thorough teacher support included
Worldview scope	2	Explicitly evangelical doctrinal content; designed for that audience
Visual/design	3	Functional full-color at elementary; plainer at secondary
Support resources	4	Dedicated customer support, sample packets, teacher resources

Who the publisher is

Positive Action for Christ was founded in 1977 by Frank Hamrick, a Baptist minister and Christian-school educator, to produce Bible curriculum specifically for Christian schools and homeschool co-ops that needed a dedicated Bible subject textbook rather than a devotional add-on. The publisher operates from Rocky Mount, North Carolina, and has remained a family-run company. Hamrick and his successors have led it continuously since founding.

The scope of the catalog spans every grade band. PreK and early-elementary materials run as themed courses organized around a character-and-doctrine theme: Wise Up! focuses on wisdom literature and character, Enduring Wisdom on Old Testament narratives, In His Image on Genesis and the nature of God. Middle school adds New Testament and Old Testament survey courses; high school runs dedicated doctrine, Gospels, Pauline Epistles, and worldview courses. The high school worldview text, Worldview, is the publisher's best-known secondary title and is frequently adopted by Christian schools and homeschool co-ops as a senior-year capstone or a dedicated elective.

Doctrinally, the publisher is broadly evangelical and Baptist-influenced. The texts are doctrine-forward in a way that distinguishes them from literature-based Bible programs like Sonlight's Bible track or from devotional-only programs like BJU Press's Bible series. Positive Action's texts teach systematic theology categories alongside scripture exposition; they name doctrinal positions, distinguish them from alternatives, and expect students to know the distinctions. A family looking for a doctrinally substantive Bible curriculum with a clear evangelical voice typically lands on Positive Action after reviewing the alternatives.

The core pedagogy

Positive Action is a textbook-based Bible curriculum in the traditional sense, a student workbook, a teacher guide, and a test packet per course, with the workbook organized around discrete lessons and the teacher guide providing presentation notes. Each lesson follows a consistent structure: a scripture reading, an exposition or biographical study of the passage or figure, a doctrine or application point, and a worksheet that assesses recall and reflection. The publisher's scope-and-sequence pages present a grade-by-grade progression in which the annual theme is coherent and the cumulative theological framework builds across years.

The elementary courses are themed. Wise Up! covers the book of Proverbs across a year. Enduring Wisdom walks Old Testament narrative history. In His Image focuses on Genesis, creation, and the nature of God. The middle school sequence runs a New Testament survey and an Old Testament survey across two years, typically paired with a memory-verse program. High school titles include Studies in Doctrine (systematic theology), the Gospels and Epistles courses, and Worldview, a year-long examination of competing worldviews and a defense of a Christian position.

Signature mechanics: (1) Teacher-presented lesson structure, the teacher guide reads like a classroom lesson plan, with an introduction, presentation, discussion questions, and assessment. (2) Scripture memorization built in, each course includes a memory-verse sequence appropriate to the theme. (3) Doctrine-forward framing, doctrinal categories are named and taught, not merely alluded to. (4) Optional PowerPoint and media, teachers in school settings often use the publisher's PowerPoint presentations; homeschool families can buy or skip these.

A day in the life

A seventh-grader using Positive Action's New Testament Survey begins Bible class at 8:30 AM, after morning Scripture reading. The parent opens the teacher guide to the day's lesson, reads the introductory notes, and asks the student to read the assigned scripture passage aloud, typically 20 to 40 verses. The parent then walks through the lesson's exposition, which often runs a page or two, pausing at the discussion questions. The student completes the corresponding workbook page independently, usually ten to fifteen questions mixing recall, scripture reference, and short-answer application. Total session time: thirty-five to fifty minutes.

A tenth-grader using Worldview studies differently. The high school courses are more independent-learning-oriented: the student reads the assigned chapter, answers the chapter questions, and periodically engages in essay-length reflection. The parent's role at this level is quiz grader and occasional discussion partner rather than presenter. Families using Positive Action high school courses in a co-op setting typically have a meeting-day teacher deliver the exposition and assign the student work for the week.

What they do exceptionally well

Doctrine-forward content with a recognizable evangelical voice. Positive Action's texts do not avoid doctrine or soften it into general inspiration. Students using Studies in Doctrine at the high school level encounter systematic theology categories, the attributes of God, the person and work of Christ, soteriology, ecclesiology, eschatology, with definitions, scriptural support, and distinctions from alternative positions. For families who want their teenager to complete high school with a working theological vocabulary, the program delivers this reliably.

Elementary themed courses. Wise Up! and the other elementary themed courses have been among the publisher's strongest-selling titles since the 1980s. The themes, a year on Proverbs, a year on Old Testament narrative, a year on Genesis, give elementary Bible time a coherent organizing structure that isolated daily devotionals cannot provide. Children using these courses often remember the specific themed year well into middle school.

Teacher support for non-specialist parents. The teacher guides are written for classroom Bible teachers in Christian schools, many of whom are not formal theological specialists. The guides walk the parent or teacher through the scriptural argument of each lesson, provide context, and offer discussion questions with expected answers. A homeschool parent without seminary training can deliver the middle school survey or high school doctrine course competently using the teacher guide alone.

What they do poorly

Production values below the full-color Christian-publisher standard. Positive Action's materials are cleanly produced but not as visually polished as BJU Press or Abeka Bible texts. Elementary workbooks use full color; secondary texts are often two-color with limited illustrations. Families coming from the major evangelical textbook publishers sometimes perceive Positive Action materials as comparatively plain. This is partly a function of the publisher's smaller scale and partly a stylistic choice toward utility over polish.

Limited adaptability across Christian traditions. The publisher is broadly evangelical with a Baptist-leaning doctrinal voice. Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Reformed, and Pentecostal families will find specific doctrinal positions in the high school Studies in Doctrine and Worldview courses that do not align with their tradition. The program's transparency about its own doctrinal commitments is a feature for aligned families and a mismatch for families outside the evangelical-Baptist orbit.

No digital-first delivery. Positive Action is a print-first publisher. Some titles are available in digital versions through the publisher's site, but there is no video course equivalent to Abeka Academy or BJU Press Distance Learning. Families who prefer a video-delivered Bible class for their teenager will need to combine Positive Action's text with a separate video resource or look at alternative providers.

Who it fits / who it doesn't

• Pick Positive Action for Christ if: you want a doctrinally substantive Bible curriculum with a clear evangelical voice; you value themed elementary courses that organize a year of Bible study around a coherent topic; you want a dedicated Bible-class workbook and teacher guide that a non-theologian parent can deliver; you plan to homeschool through high school and want a worldview or doctrine capstone; you are in a co-op where a lead teacher delivers weekly lessons from a structured curriculum.

• Skip Positive Action for Christ if: you prefer literature-based or devotional-only Bible instruction rather than textbook-based; you are Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, or Reformed and want a Bible curriculum aligned with your tradition's doctrinal emphases; you want video-delivered content; your family practices daily family worship as the primary Bible instruction and wants materials for children to use alongside that rather than a standalone class; you are looking for a secular or faith-neutral ethics curriculum rather than a Christian Bible course.

Cost honest assessment

A complete Positive Action grade-level course typically runs $55-$95 per the publisher's pricing pages as of April 2026, including the student workbook, teacher guide, and test packet. Optional PowerPoint CDs add $20-$40 per course. Middle school survey and high school courses are at the upper end of this range; elementary themed courses at the lower end.

Compared to Abeka Bible (roughly $70-$110 per grade for comparable Bible materials) and to BJU Press Bible (roughly $80-$130 per grade), Positive Action sits at the lower end of the Christian Bible curriculum market. Against Sonlight Bible's literature-based approach (roughly $180-$350 per grade for the Bible spine within a core literature package), Positive Action is substantially cheaper because it is Bible-only rather than integrated. A family running two elementary children and one high schooler through Positive Action typically spends $175-$260 per year on the full Bible curriculum for the family.

ESA eligibility notes

Positive Action for Christ materials are listed on several state ESA marketplaces where religious-curriculum purchases are permitted. Families in Arizona using ClassWallet, Florida's Step Up For Students and MyScholarShop, and West Virginia's Hope Scholarship can typically purchase Positive Action titles directly or through approved distributors as of April 2026. Iowa's Student First Scholarship and Arkansas's LEARNS marketplace have also included Positive Action materials in recent cycles. Utah's Utah Fits All handles religious-curriculum eligibility on a case-by-case basis; families should verify before purchase. Some states restrict religious-curriculum spending altogether, in which case Positive Action titles are ineligible regardless of the publisher's presence on other state marketplaces.

Alternatives

• BJU Press Bible, a family would choose BJU over Positive Action for the full-color, heavily illustrated presentation and for the availability of BJU Distance Learning video courses as a companion option.
• Memoria Press Christian Studies, a family would choose Memoria Press over Positive Action for a classical, narrative-driven, ecumenically broader Christian Bible curriculum that draws Catholic, Orthodox, and Protestant students into a shared framework.
• Sonlight Bible, a family would choose Sonlight over Positive Action for a literature-based approach that weaves Bible reading through missionary biographies, devotional readings, and character studies rather than through a survey-textbook structure.

How we verified this

Our editorial team reviewed the Positive Action for Christ catalog, sample workbook pages, teacher guide previews, and scope-and-sequence documents at positiveaction.org in April 2026. We cross-referenced against Cathy Duffy Reviews' published assessments of Positive Action titles and against HSLDA forum discussions of Christian-school Bible curriculum adoption patterns. Pricing and title availability verified April 2026.