Christian Pastor, George Nathaniel Fired For Praying With Kids on School Bus 

Pastor of Elite Church of the First Born and Grace Missionary Baptist Church, George Nathaniel was fired from his position as a local school district bus driver for leading students in Christian prayers on the bus.

Nathaniel was in his second year of driving students for the Burnville-Eagan-Savage School District when he received a complaint from the district about his prayers. The Durham School Services gave Nathaniel a warning and assigned him two new routes serving Edward D. Neill Elementary School and Metcalf Junior High School in Burnsville.

Despite his warning Nathaniel kept praying and preaching the Gospel with his student passengers as he did every morning.

"We start out with a song, and then each person will pray if they want to pray. If they don't want to pray, they don't have to pray. Then I will pray and ask them if they want to join me in prayer. Just give them something constructive and positive to go to school with," Nathaniel said during an interview.

Nathaniel says that on October 30 he received termination papers stating, "There have been more complaints of religious material on the bus as well as other complaints regarding performance. In accordance with the previous final written warning you received, your employment is hereby terminated."

Nathaniel feels his dismissal is a violation of his first amendment rights saying, "To fire a bus driver for praying for the safety of the children. I let them know I am a pastor and I am going to pray."

Legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota, Teresa Nelson said, "The school bus driver has the right to pray on his own time, but when he has a captive audience of kids on a school bus, that would violate the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment."

49-year-old George Nathaniel closed his interview by saying, "We got to get Christians to be able to be Christians and not have to be closet Christians. [When] You have something good; you are going to share it with somebody."

Stay tuned for more news and updates.