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By First Priority Of America

We have turned the corner of January and are nearing the end of the first full week of February. God is at work in so many little stories and in so many kids’ lives through their FP Clubs. It’s amazing to hear the stories of students reaching students with the hope of Jesus. Here is one story from a club in FP Lakeshore.

A 6th grader attended FP Club after being invited and reminded about the club through the school announcements. At the first club meeting in January, the student leaders wanted to share the story of Jesus birth as they had missed the opportunity due to a snow day in December. During a turn and talk to your neighbor time, the girl who was visiting said she was confused. She didn’t know that Jesus was born in a manger, she thought he was born in a crystal. The leader who was sitting at the table was able to share the truth with her. She’s been back at FP Club every week. It was a good reminder that even though we have a church on every corner, there are still those who have never heard the truth of Jesus.

Another beautiful story out of FP Permian Basin also involved a 6th grader. “One of the six graders wanted to be the host of their club that day, but was afraid because she had never prayed out loud before. Before I as a club mentor could say “hey, it’s OK I’ll help you pray,” another student who is in sixth grade, said “here, let me teach you!” God is so good!”

May we leave a legacy of love for Jesus that remains long after we are gone

By FP Success Story, Local FP Communities

by Rachel Gardiner, Executive Director

We have truly had a year of unprecedented growth here at FP Johnston County. From volunteers to clubs to student leaders we are blown away by how God continues to grow and provide for our ministry. To be honest with you, I wasn’t too sure what would happen as students returned to campus post-COVID. I, like many of you, felt nervous, unsure, but still hopeful. Yet, I had no clue what God had in mind for us.

The past two years for our team at FP Johnston County have been marked by prayer. We’ve added staff members, board members, two paid interns, and countless student leaders and volunteers. We’ve seen God build, tear down, re-build, and make new. He’s provided for us financially. He’s been faithful to give wisdom, clarity, unity, and encouragement. This is His work after all, not ours. We are building His Kingdom, not our own castles.

Through the growth and provision, I found myself leaning into God’s presence more than ever before. As we build, we must build upon His firm foundation and as we grow, we must be guided by His Spirit. We do not want to make one decision, one action without His authority and guidance.

Through this period of growth, I began to reflect on where we have come from and dream about where we can go. God has graciously allowed me to be a small part of this ministry for the past 4 years and it has been such a sweet season to be a part of the work He is doing. As I reflected and as I dreamed, I felt as if God gave us an “anthem” that would keep us faithfully grounded to our mission through it all:

This is our anthem. This is why we host training events. This is why we gather for prayer walks on campuses all across the county. This is why we equip, encourage, and disciple students. This is why we wake up early and get to bed late. This is why we send emails and write letters. This is why we raise money and gather for fellowship. This is why we don’t give up.

Our mission remains to see the hope of Christ in every student. Our goal for each aspect of ministry under that mission is to leave a legacy of love for Jesus that remains long after we are gone. I see generations and generations, their children and their children’s children, carrying a revival of the faith that we are a part of now. Long after our names are meaningless dust, may the work of our hands leave a legacy that boasts of the name of Jesus. Amen.

Look what God has done this school year!

By First Priority Of America

We are already two weeks in to a new year. It’s hard to believe that 2023 is upon us. We are excited to report what God has already done this school year and can’t wait to see how He moves this second half of the year. Since the start of the 2022/23 school year we have seen almost 30,000 students attending 732 FP Clubs. Almost 5000 students have begun a relationship with Jesus Christ and over 4200 student leaders have been trained. And that’s just since September. Please be in prayer that these numbers will continue to rise the remainder of this school year so that more and more students will find the Hope in Christ.  

What an exciting time to be a part of this ministry that is focused to see the hope of Christ in every student. A club mentor at a school in FP Permian Basin shares this: 

“First Priority has not only created an awesome opportunity for kids to hear the gospel it has helped grow my junior high and high school youth groups. It is so heart warming to see kids excited about Jesus! I know First Priority has blessed my church and I hope it has blessed other churches in our small town as well.”

If you are interested in partnering with us to take the hope of Christ to every student, there are many ways we need your help. You can become a prayer partner here. You can get involved in your local area to either spread the word about First Priority or get involved in supporting a local club. You can also partner with us financially by clicking the button below. Thanks for all you do and for caring about the future generation. 

Partner

What a start!

By Local FP Communities

What a start!  We wrapped up our first full week of clubs in the new year and we had 25 students put their faith in Jesus last week! What a way for these young people to start 2023 – new life in the new year!

Sometimes I think we forget the unbelievable privilege and responsibility we have as believers in Jesus. Paul sums it up in 2 Corinthians.

“…in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us.” ~2 Corinthians 5:19-20

Wow! We have been handed the keys! We have the message of HOPE, FORGIVENESS, and FREEDOM!

Thank you for supporting the work we do at First Priority with your time, your treasure, and your prayers. We do not underestimate the value of those prayers – after all, this is a spiritual battle that we are in.

Keeping our eye on the prize…

The TN1 First Priority team

Have you written in the snow?

By Local FP Communities

Growing up in the South, a good snow was something of an anomaly. A couple of inches is all it would take to close schools early and bring the whole town to a halt. I can remember my younger brother and I rushing around the house frantically pulling winter clothes out of storage hoping the snow would still be there by the time we got back outside. In seconds, I would be dressed and out the door, usually wearing an oversized Eskimo coat handed down from a cousin in Montana, and two mittens that never seemed to match. Outside, the whole world lay sound asleep under a soft white blanket. It was magical!

But there was always a bit of sadness hovering over our winter wonderland, knowing that it would all be melted away in a day or two. After a couple of snowball fights and a few fledgling attempts at sledding, we would set ourselves to the task of resurrecting Frosty, always trying to beat last year’s record for longest surviving snowman. I left my legacy to the neighborhood with my seven-foot opus magnum that lasted two whole weeks!

I suppose there is a desire in all of us to leave something behind us that will last, something to show that we were there, and that it mattered. Over 120 years ago C.H. Spurgeon penned these words;

“Have I written in the snow? Will my life’s work endure the lapse of years and the fret of change? Has there been anything immortal in it, which will survive the speedy wreck of all sublunary things? The boys inscribe their names in capitals in the snow, and in the morning’s thaw the writing disappears; will it be so with my work, or will the characters which I have carved outlast the brazen tablets of history? Have I written in the snow?”

I want to sincerely say thank you to those who gave in November to First Priority and the work going on in Tennessee’s first district (TN1). Through your gifts we have trained over 500 students who have shared the Gospel with over 600 of their friends at school, resulting in 16 students putting their faith in Jesus! In addition, over 48 more indicated they wanted to talk to someone about Christ after the First Priority club meeting!

Dear friends, when you give to the work at First Priority, you are NOT writing in the snow. You are exchanging the currency of this world for an eternal reward. This December, please consider giving a gift that can change someone else’s story, for Eternity.  Your gifts are tax deductible and go directly to First Priority’s work in your area. Thank you for partnering with us!

Merry Christmas!                                                         Give

Aaron, David and Haley

The Battle of the Leaf Blowers

By Local FP Communities

Fall is my favorite season by a long shot. I love everything about it. Crisp mornings with striking blue skies, hot bowls of chili, hayrides, football, and to top it all off, the leaves are just gorgeous. It kind of makes me sad when I hear people complain about them. I love them. I know, I know, they clog gutters and kill grass and are a fire hazard etc., etc. 

But still, I sigh when I am forced to pile up my colorful little friends at the road and watch that vacuum truck suck up all my childhood memories. Those days of raking leaves into a huge pile just to dive in and mess it all up again were magical. Remember the rake? It ruled when I was kid, before the mighty leaf blower came to power. That’s when all the trouble began in my old neighborhood. 

I had recently won an electric leaf blower in a sales contest, so caving to the pressure, I headed for the back yard where maple and oak leaves lay a foot deep. A hedge separated my back yard from the street where curbside pick-up took place, so the challenge was getting the leaves through the gaps in the hedge and down to the road. But me and my new leaf blower were up for it. I blew leaves over, under, and through that hedge with gale force winds. An hour later, I was nearly finished.  And then I saw it, down at the other end of the yard, leaves were flying back up from the street, through the bushes in my direction!  “What new devilry could this be?”

Unable to see over or through the hedge, I shut off my electric leaf blower to investigate. The deafening roar coming from the other side of the hedge left no doubt about the nature of my foe. I snuck to the end of the hedge row and peered around to discover my neighbor with a gas-powered, hurricane-force leaf blower! My electric blower was no match for this Balrog of leaf blowers, mercilessly blasting the leaves back through the hedge and into my yard.

When she spotted me, she startled, but recovered quickly and launched into a tirade about how the leaves in my yard were blowing across the street into her yard and how I should take them all the way around to the front yard because the truck wouldn’t pick up for another week and how I should be more neighborly and, and, and. Too shocked and amused to be angry, I just smiled in disbelief as she educated me on proper leaf piling technique.

Recalling the incident made me think about all the Gospel ministries in our area and the work we do at First Priority. I am happy to report that I have seen Kingdom minded churches, Kingdom minded ministries and Kingdom minded people, all working TOGETHER to “move the pile” in the same direction. 

In Greeneville, First Priority has partnered with Holston Home for Children to train students at four different schools to share Christ with their peers at First Priority clubs. A recent partnership with another campus ministry in the Kingsport area resulted in 3 decisions for Christ. And just last week, First Priority coordinated volunteers for load out/load in and drivers for the Matthew West concert. 

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and partnering, we invite you to join us in supporting this ministry with your time, talent, treasure and most of all, your prayers, as we Take the Hope of Christ to Every Student. God loves a cheerful giver and so do we! 

A one time gift of $149 puts a club leader kit in the hands of a student leader to start a new club. Would you consider giving $149 or a monthly gift of $12.50 to to help provide the resources a student leader needs? Thank you for your generosity.

Give

Happy Thanksgiving!

David North

Are you prepared?

By First Priority Of America

Are you prepared to join in the global generosity movement taking place on November 29th? GivingTuesday inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity. At First Priority of America, we are committed and prepared to fulfill our mission “To Take The Hope of Christ To Every Student”. YOU could help us do that this year by giving a Student Leader, a Leader Club Kit with all the resources they need to start a club.

For a one-time gift of $149 you can provide the resources for a student leader to run a club. This includes:

  • Bibles
  • Club Leader Guide
  • Prayer and Invite Cards
  • Student Response Cards/Pens
  • Posters and advertisement
  • Everything else needed to start a club

Please consider giving a one time gift of $149 on November 29th to help a student leader have the resources they need to start a club.

 

Hey I know you, you’re a Christian too?

By Local FP Communities, First Priority Of America

The 2022-23 school year has begun everywhere across the nation and we are already hearing some amazing stories. One of our newest Districts, Cincinnati, is seeing God move in many ways. Here is just a small part of what God is doing there.

From District Director, Justin Theriot, “On Thursday 8/25 FP Cincinnati did our first club training with students, campus coaches, and faculty sponsors! We had eight students present, 5 churches represented, the campus coach and the faculty sponsor. I was not really sure what to expect. The high school students represented every grade and also did not run in the same circles at Batavia HS. Some did not even know each other.

I heard multiple times, “Hey I know you, you’re a Christian too?” Friendships and bonds were being formed.

I asked the students to be bold and pray us out. Two students raised their hands and gave that awkward,” oh you can do it” almost simultaneously. I chimed in with, “how about you both pray? You dial and you hang up.” As we were praying you could feel the thankfulness and sincerity in their voices. One student prayed, “God, you know I have been praying for a way to share you at my school. I think this is it.”

I am so thankful for what we are already seeing God do in FP Clubs across the nation. God is on the move. Will you help support the furthering of His Kingdom so that together, we can take the HOPE of Christ to every student? Thank you for being a part of the First Priority movement. Sharing our mission with others helps our future generation be able to share their story and see their peers come to know the love of Jesus.

Mark Robbins, FPoA President

FPoA hires Janice full-time and hires a new Event and Resource Coordinator

By First Priority Of America

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 promoted Janice Blanchett to a full-time role of Executive Assistant and Bookkeeper and has hired Susan Cagna as the part-time Resource and Event Coordinator.

“We are excited that Janice will be available full-time in the Nashville office to meet the growing needs of First Priority of America. She is a huge asset as we expand to reach new areas,” said Brad Schelling, Director of Ministry Operations.

Janice serves as the Executive Assistant to our President, Mark Robbins and EVP of Development and Ministry Relations, Warren Robold. She also works closely with our accountant as our Bookkeeper. Janice is responsible for “all things” administrative, keeping our FP Office running smoothly and recording all donations and expenses. She is a graduate of Oral Roberts University, and earned a Bachelors of Science degree in 1985 with an emphasis in Journalism.

She also writes children’s books in her spare time. Janice and her husband, Mark have been married 34 years and have 5 children: James, Jared, Jillian, Jessica and John Mark. They also have two grandchildren, Liam and Porter.

Susan works for First Priority of America as the Resource and Event Coordinator. Susan is married to Thomas Cagna, and has two children: Sarah, who attends Lee University, and Alex, who is a junior in high school. She has been a Congregational Pastor at Christ Church Nashville for over 24 years. She also serves on the altar care and prayer teams. She helps lead the Married Life Sunday School class and also serves as the Special Event Pastor for the Women’s Ministry.

She owns and operates an etiquette business that teaches self confidence, interview skills, speech, and table manners to children and teens.

Susan loves the outdoors, beautiful flowers, a good book, and spending time relaxing with family, friends, and her three cats. Her favorite scripture is Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know:.”

Systems and Communications Director, Kristina Hedstrom, adds, “We are thrilled to add Susan to our team here in the Nashville office and are thankful for the opportunity to add more staff as we continue to grow.”

Looking towards the new school year

By First Priority Of America

Summer is flying by. Students are headed back to the classroom as schools in many states across the nation begin this month. Other schools will start in September, but all of them are gearing up for their FP Clubs to kick off this 2022/2023 school year and to see more and more students come to know Christ than ever before. We are excited to see so many prayer walks, student leader training events, fundraisers and more, filling up the calendar and getting the word out about students reaching students with the hope of Christ!

Two of the states where we have a lot of club concentration, are having a ‘weekend of prayer over students’. In both Tennessee and Alabama, there will be believers gathering at schools praying over students, teachers, staff, and administrators as they head back to one of the biggest mission fields. Will you join us in praying for everyone heading back to school soon? You can let us know you prayed here.

 

 

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