High school students at the Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville ditched their pens and notebooks to show support for a struggling teacher. The Christ Presbyterian Academy in Nashville, Tennessee, where he worked told ABC News that Ellis died early Friday morning. Since last December, millions of people around the world have prayed for Ben to be healed of his cancer.
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The moving video of students serenading Ellis with hymns was shared on country singer Tim McGraw’s Facebook page, and has since gone viral.
It has been watched more than 29 million times since it was posted on September 10 and was shared by more than 500,000 people.
News Channel 5 reported that Ellis was diagnosed nine months ago with an aggressive form of cancer.
Last week, he and his family made a decision to discontinue his treatment, deciding “the time that would be needed for any type of treatment to be effective would nearly certainly exceed the time that Ben has left”.
She said the precious act of them singing was just them giving back to him ‘some of the love he has given to them’.
‘He wrote the kids a letter telling them he is even more certain now that God is Good and with us’.
Nate Morrow, the headmaster of the school, said Ellis was one of the most attractive things he has ever seen in his entire life. I wish all of this for you.
“Ben is my son”, Bob Ellis wrote. “Look to Jesus to know, to believe, and to be filled.'” Ellis taught Latin and Bible studies, but recently had to stop teaching while undergoing chemotherapy and radiation.
Students and faculty took buses to Ellis’ home to sing hyms to him.
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According a statement from the school, Ellis himself had five children who now attend Christ Presbyterian Academy.
