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.
Happy Thanksgiving!
David North
For a one-time gift of $149 you can provide the resources for a student leader to run a club. This includes:
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.
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.
Season Tingler is the District Director for Kansas City. She lives in Missouri with her husband Jerad, daughter Elle, and son Cross. Season is an ordained pastor who served full-time on a church staff before joining the First Priority of America team. She has been a High School & Young Adult Pastor, Pastor of Spiritual Formation, and a Public School Teacher. Season founded and launched her first ministry in 2003 as a sophomore in high school, and has been serving in ministry ever since.
College in 2008 with his bachelor’s in history and education. He will soon have his Master’s in Educational Leadership from Northwest Missouri State University. Before joining First Priority in June of 2022, Stephen spent 11 years as a high school Social Studies teacher for Grandview C-4 School District. Stephen also serves in the Air National Guard as an officer for the 131st Force Support Squadron out of Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
Director of Ministry Operations, Brad Schelling said, “I am happy to add Maggie to the team in Nashville. With the growth of the ministry, we needed someone with her gifts and passion to take the lead on the resources and events. I am excited to see her take these areas to the next level in order to best serve the students, clubs, district, and chapters around the country.”
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.
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.
