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Kristina Sears

How to be Successful

By Nehemiah

The reality is that when you get busy doing the things that matter to you, you actually have more time to do the things you love and less time to do the things you like.”  Jon Acuff in his book Quitter.

Cory in Flagler said it this way, “I have spent my life walking the beach and picking up shells.  The shells represent great things that I enjoy doing.  But then I came across my starfish and i knew that this was my life’s calling.  But my hands were full of shells.  In order to pick up my starfish, i had to put down some shells.”  He finished the illustration by saying, “When First Priority came along, I knew it was what God had been preparing me for.  But I had a lot of other things going on. I had to give up a few responsibilities with my church youth group and adult ministries.  I had to clean up my personal life as I was also getting ready to be engaged to my future wife.  But I knew it was worth it to be able to hold First Priority.”

A successful businessman wanted to take his company to the next level, so he brought in the best consultant money could offer.  A very simple strategy is what he left with the businessman.  When asked for the bill for the consulting, the consultant said, “Wait six months, implement the strategy, and send me a check for what it is worth to you”.  Six and a half months later the consultant got a check for $10,000.

Here is the strategy the consultant left: Each night before you go to bed, write down the three top priorities for First Priority tomorrow, the three “if I did nothing else today but these three things and I would be successful” things.  Then, when you wake up, you know what you need to do.

Now, if you aren’t full time FP, and you have a wife, three kids, two dogs, and a job and a half, then maybe you write down on Sunday the three things for the week.  But, the results are still the same.

This is why we have redone our Phase process to simplify launching a new First Priority movement.  Whether this is your first week reading or you’ve been around for a year, here are the three things for today:

1. Pray and Fast

2. Learn First Priority

3. Build a Team

Very straightforward.  Probably not going to be done in a day.  But if you stick with these three for a month, you will be on your way to seeing students reach students at school for years to come.

In Christ,

Brad Schelling

350 students and teachers @ Mill Creek Middle School

By Faculty Sponsors
Through First Priority and FCA Clubs in Cherokee County, God has allowed us to reach over 1500 students per week this year!!  We are humbled and blessed with the privilege of working with local churches and businesses to reach our next generation with the Good News of Jesus Christ.  The 253 decisions that have been made on our campuses is absolutely incredible, however, we believe this is just the “tip of the iceberg” of what God has in store as His Church unites for the purpose of spreading the Gospel in our schools!

Ephesians 3:20 tells us that God is able to do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us”.  I truly believe that God is about to do just that through First Priority of Metro Atlanta!!!

Will you join us in continuing to pray for our Campus Missionaries as they reach their peers with the Gospel??  Will you prayerfully consider partnering with us financially to reach our next generation for Christ??

First Priority National Retreat

By Nehemiah

FIRST PRIORITY NATIONAL RETREAT

Hosted by: First Priority of America

Starts Sunday, April 28, 2013 at 6:00 PM

Ends Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at 12:00 PM

Gulf Shores Beach Retreat Center, Gulf Shores, AL

Who: First Priority Staff, Spouses, and Ministry Leaders

What: Cross Training, FP Leadership, FP Swag, Good Food, Great Conversations, The Gulf Shore Beach

 Where: Gulf Shore Beach Retreat Center – Gulf Shores, AL

How much: $80 per person includes all meals, housing, swag, and leadership materials

Options: ***FPOA Covenant Participating Communities retreat fees included in 2013 covenant giving

Electives are: 

Monday Morning Golf – $75

Tuesday Private Boat Deep Sea Fishing – $100

Everyday walks on the Gulf Shore Beach – FREE

Register HERE.

 

Nehemiah’s Burden starts with Prayer and Fasting

By Nehemiah

You are reading this because God has burdened your heart for the students in your community. Your adventure with First Priority is based on the book of Nehemiah and we highly recommend you study through that book.

The Call of God on Your Life:
The walls and gates of Jerusalem had been torn down for over seventy years. During those seventy years, there were probably hundreds, maybe even thousands of people who thought to themselves or said to a friend, “We need to fix these walls.”

How many times has it been said in our country that, “We need to reach these schools?” Everyone in the church would agree with the statement and might even go so far as to try to do something about it, but they get busy with all their other obligations and it becomes just another great idea. Many churches are doing good things, but nobody is organizing them all to share the hope of Christ with every student. Like in Nehemiah’s example, if there is not a person waking up every day to organize the work, it will not happen.

When Nehemiah inquired about the Jewish remnant and the conditions of the city and was told of the situation, he was moved to tears. Nehemiah 1:4, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.”

The difference between all of the thousands who had seen the condition of the walls and Nehemiah was that Nehemiah was burdened. He was burdened to the point that he spent days fasting and praying to God. If you are similiarly burdened, fast and pray.

We tell others who are thinking about starting First Priority in their community to pray, familiarize themselves with First Priority, and with the conditions of their community. If they can’t sleep, then it is a good indication that God is calling them to do something about it! We like to call it the “sleep test.”

The call of God to unite your community and reach students is very important. This is no easy task! If it were easy, someone else would have already done it. There will be very hard times and a lot of frustrating moments, but the call God places on your life is what will keep you keeping on.

There is Hope,
The FPoA Team

As soon as I heard these words I sat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the God of heaven. And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants.

Nehemiah 1:4-6

Save the Date. Register Now!

By Nehemiah

First Priority Retreat

April 29 – May 1

Gulf Shores Beach Retreat Center

1054 Beach Blvd

Gulf Shores, AL

Join us Monday afternoon through Wednesday noon to rub shoulders and sit at the pool with other First Priority leaders from around the country.  From leaders who are thinking about starting First Priority new in their community to the tried and tenured veterans, these few days will be a time of encouragement and renewal for everyone.  There are also several options for additional activities including golf and deep sea fishing.

Register HERE.

 

 

Taking the Role of Nehemiah

By Nehemiah

As the Intiator of First Priority in your community you take the role of Nehemiah. 

In the first chapter of Nehemiah, you may notice that Nehemiah is burdened because he became aware of the condition of the city and the people of Jerusalem.

  • He mourned, wept, prayed and fasted for days.
  • He prayed for favor and an opportunity to share this with the king.
  • He was given the opportunity to ask the king and queen for what he needed to accomplish the task.
  • He surveyed the condition of the city with a team of people and they said, “Lets rebuild.”
  • Nehemiah organized the people to work on their section of the wall.

God has made you aware of the conditions of the schools and students in your community. Have you mourned, prayed, wept, and fasted for them? He will give you an opportunity to influence the community of believers!

Will you take on the role of Nehemiah? 

Praying with and for you,

Brad Schelling

FPOA Director of Expansion

Student Testimony

By Nehemiah

It was early. 7:10 a.m. to be exact.  I was sitting there, there being a middle school library.  School had not yet begun, but students were starting to walk the halls.  As more people rolled in, so did two boxes of donuts and two ladies.  The ladies were the First Priority faculty sponsor and campus coach.  It was the First Priority morning.  Focus week was upon us.  This is the week where students ask each other the standard questions: What are you learning in Church? How can I help you in your walk of faith? What is God doing in your life? Who are you inviting to Hook Week to hear the gospel of Jesus?

As the campus coach started the meeting, she asked the question, “We had D-now this past weekend.  Many of you were there.  What did you learn?”  Silence.  One 13-year-old boy was volunteered by a few friends so he got up and started talking.  Talking about what they ate, when they went skating, how they got in trouble for doorbell ditching later.  Laugh, laugh.  High fives all around.

A few other students shared. Each a little deeper than the last. Thoughts were good.  It was evident that God was moving in the students’ lives.  Then silence hit again. The campus coach began winding the meeting down, reminding students of next week and what the student leaders were planning. As she spoke, the first boy walked up behind her and whispered something into her ear.  She finished her thought and gave the floor back to him.  He looked off to the left, into the distance and began to talk.  Shared from his heart about his life. He shared about his home life and the influence his older sister and friends had on him.  Of being out late and doing what they did.  Drugs. Drinking, Cutting. Girls.  Being taken from his home and going to live with his grandpa. Grandpa passing away.  Thoughts of suicide. Going into foster care. Did I mention he is now 13 years old? Then, last September, God intervened in his life. He didn’t share the details, but he did share the hope he now has.  We saw the brotherhood that laughed with him before surround him with hugs and words as tears streamed down their faces. Did I mention these are 13-year-old boys?  Did I mention that this was in the open library as the student body walked by entering school for the day?  Do I need to remind you that God is alive and well in the lives of our students? How about that students influence students?  That by giving God a place in the school that Jesus will do his great work?

The spiritual lives of our students are broken. Someone needs to help organize the churches in the area so that God can do his great work, much like Ezekiel when God showed him the valley of dry bones.  Could God have given them life all on his own?  Yes!  Did he?  No.  He asked Ezekiel to be a part.  He wants to use his people to bring life to the spiritually dead.  Will you be the one in your community?

Until the Hope of Christ in Every Student,

Brad Schelling

Director of Expansion

First Priority of America

Our Number Is Now 808

By Priority Parents
“Our number is now 809!”
 
That’s the message I received one night last week from a First Priority Student Leader at Unicoi County High School.
Several weeks before, I had visited the school and sat down with him and 3 other Student Leaders to discuss how they could reach their campus for Christ. We all agreed that the first thing that must happen, before they began sharing the gospel with their peers, was that they must develop a burden for the students at their school who do not know Christ as their Savior.
Together, they came up with a number. That number was 810. 810 is 90% of the estimated 900 students that attend their school. 810 was the estimated number of students at their school that did not know Christ as their Savior. (90% is a conservative percentage. Most studies say that the percentage is closer to 95%).They began writing the number 810 wherever they could, starting with the upper left hand corner of the white board in the room they meet in each week. They began writing 810 in such places as their notebooks, Facebook pages, and bathroom mirrors.

When I received the message “Our number is now 809!” I knew what it meant. Excitedly, I asked him to explain.

That week, he had begun a discussion with a classmate in gym class. His classmate claimed to be an agnostic. Each day throughout the week, he told his friend of the Personal, Transcendent God who had revealed Himself through the Bible, and had even come to earth to interact with His Creation. Then he shared the story of how this All-Powerful, Personal God is going about the task of restoring Creation and redeeming us from our sins through His Son, Jesus.

That weekend, the student contacted him and told him that he had come to the conclusion that there is a God and that Jesus died for his sins. He had just asked Jesus to be his Lord and Savior.

The number for their school had just gone from 810 to 809. Guess what number they are now writing everywhere?

One student began asking God to burden his heart for 810 of his schoolmates. He identified one and built a relationship with him. He prayed for him, ministered to him and spoke Truth into his life. God did the rest, and now he not only has a deeper friendship at school, he has an eternal friendship in God’s Kingdom!

Now the number is 809!
 

Ministry Report 1-2013

By Uncategorized

At FPOA we focus on doing one thing and doing it to the best of our ability.  Launching training and developing cities and communities to reach students with the “Hope of Christ”.

The Spirit of the Lord went before us on many occasions is 2012 but there is still much work be done. Our goal is to expand First Priority into more than 100 cities and communities in America.Training and developing those local First Priority movements to reach students in their local communities with the Hope of Christ. As we communicate with you each month and throughout the year know that we pray for you and are thankful that God has made you a part of the movement.

We are blessed to have you as a part of the First Priority plan through whatever role your serve.  Just like we have a plan to reach more communities, the gospel is a plan that reaches people with the love and message of Jesus Christ.   A plan that has always worked, a plan that still works today and a plan that will work until Christ returns.

Thank you for being a part of God’s Kingdom and for also being a part of the First Priority family.

We look forward to partnering with you again in 2013!!

 

Church Leader Update 1-2013

By Church Leaders

 

I believe there are students in your community who do not know Jesus. I also believe that many of them not only do not know Jesus, but have never heard the truth of the Gospel spoken to them. They have heard the name of Jesus used in vain and they have heard Jerry Seinfeld, Ray Romano, or Charlie Sheen make an off-handed church joke, but have they ever heard that God is Love (John 3:16; 10:10), that man is sinful (Romans 3:23; 6:23), that Jesus is God’s provision for man’s sin (Romans 5:8), and that when you receive Him, you experience a new birth (John 1:12)? I BET NOT!

This week, we want to highlight what First Priority means to youth pastors. Sometimes people ask us how we convince youth pastors who already have a full plate to take a campus for First Priority. The answer is simple. Once a youth pastor sees that First Priority is an avenue to extend their ministry beyond the walls of the church to the public school campus, they cannot wait to get involved. Instead of First Priority being another item on a “to-do” list, we become a tool for them to accomplish their ultimate goal… winning students to Christ and helping them find a life full of Him!

Phil Bixby, youth pastor at Trinity Church in Dade County, Florida, has seen the value in connecting the church to the campus and is recruiting his peers. He took Matt Shull, the new youth pastor at Words of Life Church in Miami, to several campuses to check out the ministry. Matt was so excited that he created a video clip to show his pastor and church. In just 3 campus visits, they saw 68 students come to Christ! .