Kristina Sears

First Priority of America, a 501c3 nonprofit ministry focused on empowering students to reach their friends with the HOPE of Christ, announced today that the ministry has hired Morristown, Tennessee resident David North as the District Director for the Tennessee 1 Region. The Tennessee 1 Region of First Priority of America mirrors the First Congressional District of Tennessee.

“We are extremely excited to be adding David North as the new Director of the Tennessee 1 Region,” said President of First Priority of America Mark Robbins. “David brings with him a wealth of both business knowledge, nonprofit experience, and most importantly, a passion to see students hear about the gospel from fellow students. ”

North grew up in the mountains of East Tennessee, where he met and married his wife, Julie. They have been married for 28 years and have three children. He has spent the last 21 years working in medical sales, where he has won performance awards with several companies, including Forest Pharmaceuticals, Johnson & Johnson, and Medtronic. In 2020, North formed his own company Moriah Medical, a medical device distribution company with a focus on providing minimally invasive therapies for the treatment of chronic pain.

He has been involved in various ministries inside and outside of the church walls. He served as a youth leader, deacon, Sunday school teacher, worship leader, and orchestra member, led a Bible study for young men in his home. In addition to all of that he helped to found a Classical Christian school in 2006.

“I desire to see young people introduced to the saving grace of Jesus Christ and to cultivate a deeper walk with their Savior,” said North. “My wife and I have prayed about ministry for more than a decade and have served in numerous ministry capacities. Last year, I decided to close my medical business and sought God for the next steps in our life. We were praying for God to show us what we were supposed to do in ministry and to open a door for us. I began to enter in a combination of words searching for a new opportunity that combined my business skills, fundraising skills, and passion for ministry. The first thing that popped up was the Tennessee 1 Director Position for First Priority of America. The job description combined all of my experience and passions for ministry. I was astonished and felt I needed to apply. I am excited to be able to use all the gifts and talents God has given me to reach more students.”

(NASHVILLE, Tenn. — March 16, 2022) First Priority of America, a 501C3 non-profit ministry focused on empowering students to reach their friends with the HOPE of Christ, announced today that they have hired a District Director and Area Coordinator for the newly launched Fort Worth District. Will Sherman has been hired as the new full-time District Director and Matt Armendarez has been hired as the new full-time Area Coordinator.

Mark Robbins, President of First Priority of America says, “We are excited to continue expanding the mission of First Priority of America with Ft. Worth Texas being our newest district.  Our local team will be focusing on mobilizing students into the 184 middle and high schools to impact their peers with the message of the gospel.”

Will Sherman is originally from Birmingham, AL, but grew up in Tennessee and Arkansas. Will has been in student ministry since 2002 and has been leading worship since he was a teenager. He is a graduate of Arkansas Tech University and will soon have his Masters from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Will is married to his lovely wife Elizabeth and has two children – Skylar and Emily. Will is passionate about connecting youth with Jesus and the local church. He will be leading the ministry of First Priority of America in the Fort Worth area and is excited for his call to serve the Lord in Tarrant County.

Matt is a native Texan and grew up in the south Forth Worth. In 2014 he graduated from East Texas Baptist University and several years later got his masters degree from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. While attending undergrad, Matt met his wife Hannah and got married in 2015. In July of 2021, they welcomed their first born son Josiah. He has spent the last 9 years working in student ministry in the local church and is excited about First Priority coming to Fort Worth. Matt enjoys traveling, hiking, eating good food, playing disc golf and cheering on the Rangers.

First Priority of America is excited about Will and Matt joining their staff and getting the Fort Worth District up and running so that together we can see The Hope of Christ in Every Student!

(NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Feb 21, 2022) First Priority of America, a 501C3 non-profit ministry focused on empowering students to reach their friends with the HOPE of Christ, announced today that Executive Director of First Priority in Nashville, Tennessee, Steve Cherrico, and Executive Director of First Priority Permian Basin in Texas, Shane Kenney, have been hired part time as new Regional Managers for the growth in Tennessee and Texas.

“Cherrico and Kenney are both proven leaders and have helped grow First Priority of America,” said First Priority of America President Mark Robbins. “Our goal is to reach 10,000 schools in the next five years. We are growing and expanding in Tennessee and Texas and across the nation.  Their help and leadership are vital to our continued growth.”

Cherrico has been married to his wife Jessi for 24 years, is a father of three children, all adopted out of the Greater Nashville area, and has more than 25 years invested in youth ministry across the United States. He has served as a Youth Pastor, Next Gen Pastor and Campus Missionary through First Priority. He brings a unique view to youth ministry as he was brought to Christ through a peer at his school sharing the gospel at 15 years old and has been involved in youth ministry ever since. You can connect with Steve at steve@fpofamerica.com or @stevecherrico on social media.

Kenney has been working with students since 1998. He has served as a youth pastor in Florida for many years as well as coaching at the local school. It was during that time that he got a burden for campus ministry. In February of 2011 he joined First Priority in West Florida. In July of 2013, he moved his family to West Texas to become the Executive Director in the Permian Basin. Shane lives in Odessa, TX with his wife, Natalie and oldest daughter Tori. His youngest daughter Tristan currently lives in Anchorage, AK.

In their new roles, Cherrico and Kenney will be helping with the expansion into Forth Worth, Texas and The Northeast Tennessee markets.  First Priority will be hiring area coordinators, and directors for each market.  Other new markets and expansion for First Priority include Orlando, Kansas City, Dallas, Richmond, and more.

“God continues to send us the right leaders, support and team members that are empowering students.  The 10,000 schools in five years are goals we feel we can reach as we empower more leaders and student leaders to share the HOPE of Christ.  We are thankful to have these two First Priority Veterans join our expanding national team,” said Robbins.

I am constantly challenged as I hear about students sharing the Gospel with their peers week after week in their FP clubs. They are eager, ready, and willing To Take the Hope of Christ to Every Student.

Are we willing to do this? Are we willing to spread the Gospel to those around us who don’t know Jesus? For two weeks, a student leader in Missouri, went to her principal every day asking to get the FP Club approved at her school so they could begin meeting. Her persistence paid off when the principal finally approved the club and they get to start meeting this month. Are we persistent enough to share the Gospel with others like this student from Missouri was in order to get a club going in her school?

On GivingTuesday you can start impacting the life of a student by partnering with us in our mission To Take the Hope of Christ to Every Student!
First Priority of America needs you to partner with us to reach students and connect them to the local church. For $37.00 per month or $444 per year, we can lead one student to a saving relationship with Christ through our peer-to-peer evangelism model. This GivingTuesday, we are focusing on five areas of expansion. We are looking for 100 people who will partner with us to start giving $37 a month today toward one of these new areas. Will you give Jesus today so that together we can impact our future generation?

Give Now

Thankfulness

There are so many things available to us instantly. We can receive orders from Amazon the same day, groceries can be delivered in hours, and we can even watch movies on demand. We don’t have to wait for anything. And because of that we get impatient or ungrateful when things take longer than we want.

How do we get back into a season of thankfulness? How do we return to the simpler life we used to have where we had time to talk to neighbors, write a letter, or make a phone call. When we take time to give to others, whether that is time, resources, or money, it increases your mental and physical well being and helps us have a heart of gratefulness.

Did You Know?

GivingTuesday started as a simple idea in 2012. It’s a day that encourages people to do good and it inspires people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. This year, GivingTuesday will be on November 30th. We encourage you to mark your calendar and start this season filled with love and generosity.

The hope found in Jesus allows us to change our attitudes, worries, fears etc. into a love, joy, and a spirit of thankfulness. What are you thankful for this season? Let’s focus on what we have instead of what we don’t have. You can record what you are thankful for here.

It is hard to believe that summer is over and schools everywhere are back in session, or soon will be next week. Some FP clubs have already begun to meet and students are showing up! Most FP Clubs will begin meeting later this month and we are excited and hopeful for what God is going to do as these students come together and share the Hope of Christ! A club in Texas has already been meeting the past two weeks and has seen more students coming this year than previous years. Praise God!

See you at the Pole

See You at the Pole™ is simply a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school, and nation to God. See You at the Pole™ is a student-initiated, student-organized, and student-led event.

Join us in celebrating our country’s freedom!

Today is July 1st and this weekend we will celebrate the freedom that our nation gained after signing the Declaration of Independence. We want to celebrate not only our nation’s freedom, but the freedom found in Christ and a life serving the One who created us all.

Did You Know?

This next school year, we are offering three different training guides for students to use in their weekly FP clubs. They will have a chance to use the one that will work best for their FP club and audience. We are excited to share these guides and can’t wait to hear how they will impact the lives of students. Click the image to view the three guides.