It started with a question.
What are we actually preparing our children for?
Not for a test. Not for the next grade level. For life — for marriage, for money, for hard conversations, for leadership, for a faith that holds when it's tested.
The more we looked, the clearer the gap became. Children were leaving school unable to read at grade level. Young adults were reaching their thirties without ever being taught how to manage money or navigate a relationship. And the values being handed to them were pulling them away from truth rather than toward it.
Meanwhile, the curricula available to Christian families were either expensive, worksheet-heavy, or built for a classroom rather than a kitchen table.
So we built what was missing.
Full Life Institute is a complete early childhood curriculum for children ages 18 months through Pre-Kindergarten, and a life-development community for adults 18–40. Both are built on the same conviction: education should form the whole person — mind, heart, body, and spirit — and it should be anchored in God's Word.
Three words carry everything we do. Build. Impact. Finish.
Built by a family, for families.
Full Life Institute was founded by Dale Banks, who serves as Executive Director, alongside Kara Banks, who serves as Administrator. It grew out of Cornerstone Full Gospel Church in Baltimore, Maryland.
The conviction behind it didn't come from theory. Over 22 years working with city and county youth — and serving as a licensed and ordained youth and young adult pastor — Dale saw firsthand what happens when young people reach adulthood without a foundation under them, and what changes when someone finally gives them one. At the same time, he and Kara wanted something better for their own children: an environment where academics, character, and faith grew together instead of separately. Full Life Institute came out of both.
What began as a vision became more than a year of building: 69 complete units, over 710 parent coaching scripts, and a full framework for whole-person growth — all built on established early-childhood research and a biblical worldview.
We're not a faceless publisher. We're a family building this for families like yours — and we use it ourselves.
What We Believe
Scripture is the foundation
Every lesson, every course, and every conversation is anchored in God's Word. We use the English Standard Version throughout.
The whole person matters
Academics alone don't produce a full life. Our Seven Pillars develop mind, heart, body, and spirit together
Parents lead
We equip parents rather than replace them. You know your child. We give you the words, the plan, and the support.
Where would you like to begin?
Explore the curriculum for your children, or join Full Life Builders for your own growth.