In this video, Layton, a student in NC, shares her story of how she has become a role model in her school by making a public profession of faith in Christ through baptism. It has made her a role model where she gets the opportunity to be asked questions about God in school.
This video is from FP Greater Clayton
Joel Rowland, Director
http://www.fpgreaterclayton.com/
Justin Theriot is a dad of three, husband to one great lady, and friend to a bunch of us! 
To our benefit, he is also our FPGN Rutherford County Director in the FP Greater Nashville chapter. He has been mostly volunteer up until the turn of the calendar year. Today, Justin is serving part-time, overseeing the 11+ schools with First Priority clubs in Rutherford County and it continues to grow. He has a potential to see 23 schools have a First Priority club in his county. He is passionate about the Hope of Christ in every student and is working tirelessly to get there! We are grateful that he has joined the team in the First Priority Nashville movement!
The turn of the calendar year has seen the intensity of the First Priority movement in Birmingham increase under the leadership of Greg Davis as President.
Greg brought his staff down to Fort Lauderdale at the end of 2018 to see how FP South Florida staffs and structures their growing 234 club chapter. Below you see old and new leadership in the Birmingham chapter getting fed physically and spiritually by Greg.
These are exciting times to be a part of the First Priority family! If it is time to get a club going in your community, start today! If the school down the street is calling, let’s get together and help unite the local churches to see students reach students in all the schools of your community.
Do you often wonder if faithfulness really pays off? In a culture built on immediate satisfaction and the pursuit of comfort, it seems to be a value that has fallen by the wayside. But, among God’s people, it is a virtue worth guarding and worth displaying.
Many students come to mind when considering this, but one in particular stands out to me. She wanted to launch a First Priority group at her school last year, but had little support going in. In fact, there were many weeks (and months), when she and one other student were the only ones in the meetings. This did not shake her, though. She continued to pray, to attend the weekly meetings, and to invite friends. There was not a time that she faltered or questioned her calling. Her faith amazed my staff and me.
Then, the group began to grow and last week they had their biggest turnout. As she described it: “this is truly God’s group; a safe place for students to come into and grow in relationship with him.” Wow, what a wonderful example of faithfulness and God’s willingness to provide.
It is my prayer that First Priority will always be a place where students find their purpose, remain steadfast in their faith, and faithfully share the hope of Christ with others.
Blessings Abundant,
Amber Johansen
Executive Director, FP Tampa
Last week we talked about letting students lead. Sometimes, leading can be something simple. It doesn’t always have to be someone standing up in front speaking. Students can lead by being a good example to those around them or simply sharing something with someone just like this middle school student did in Birmingham, AL. Read this testimony of a middle school student who had the best day ever!
Testimony – “It was 7th period and my science teacher had asked us to take out our books and read for the rest of class. My fellow table partner could be a helpful type but was the kind of person that would slip up from time to time as any human, but I was recognizing a pattern. Homework, incomplete. Words, unkind. Character, unhappy. So as you would have guessed, he didn’t have a book. So he asked me to borrow one from my, “library”. I browsed through and carelessly handed him the book, “The Biggest Story”. I thought he might enjoy it because of all the art in it. He yanked it from my hands and ran his fingers through the pages. By the end of the class he had finished the book and was overjoyed during 8th. He was full of happiness and wouldn’t stop telling me about the book. It made him smile and it made me happy. The next morning, we had a guest speaker in our First Priority club and there was a special person that I had never seen in any Christian club, and he was from my 7th period. Can you guess who it was? Yes! The boy from 7th period! He came up to me later during class and told me that he had become a Christian that morning. It was the best day ever!”- Student, Berry Middle School
I don’t mean to start with the obvious or to be too simple, but the way we think affects the way that we see the world and ultimately how we act each and every day. So, we begin here.
Either way, we are convinced that one of the largest groups on school campuses are Christian students. The problem is they are not organized. The school system helps organize the football team. They buy equipment, hire coaches and give the players a place to practice and play. The same is true with the band and other sanctioned organizations on campus. What if we organized the Christian students? Would that not be a game changer? Would that not change student ministry in your community? Would that be worth asking God to use you to help organize and unite the body of Christ in the middle and high schools of your community?
We received the email below from a new club that launched this year and we just had to share it!
“I know I recently sent you an email but I just had to send another one after experiencing the launch of First Priority this morning at our school.” This group took jumping multiple hurdles to begin! It started the first time 6-8 weeks ago. Everything seemed to be moving along, but it was quickly shut down by the administration. There was confusion of what First Priority really was. After much parent and student involvement, conferences with staff and emails, today finally arrived as our new official launch. The leader team is 5 7th grade girls and their faith will inspire yours in minutes! They are oozing with excitement for the Lord and preparing days in advance. (Something quite notable with their younger age!) It is the only group that is meeting before school and at 7:15am! But that did not stop students from coming. 47 students came this morning!! They had to borrow chairs from the other teacher’s classrooms next door. It is the first meeting and we are at our max! We will look into meeting in the media center next. The teacher host told me she was up at 4am praying over this meeting. The director of FCA is supporting First Priority by graciously sponsoring all of the donuts this year. Today he met me in the parking lot at 7am with 48 donuts and two boxes of donut holes. While picking up the donuts, he strikes up a conversation with someone who just so happens to be a past substitute teacher for our school and he tells him that he has been praying over that school to experience God. I am so amazed at what God is doing here!
The girls opened the meeting reading about love from 1st Corinthians and shared that THIS is how God loves us. Then they went around the room and every single person gave a suggestion of what loving others could look like on their school campus. I was speechless. It was so beautiful. Afterwards, a student said, “Wow, that was so soothing.” Next week, we are going to jump right in to Engage week and let a male student share his faith story. Apparently, it is an amazing story and he is excited to share it. He will be moving soon, so we are changing things up a bit to give him the chance to speak.
Please be praying over this student and the gal who will share the Gospel afterwards.
“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” Luke 19:10
We are thankful and excited that First Priority trains students, our future generation, to share the love of Christ with their peers. Students are seeking the lost. It’s incredible to hear week after week the lives that are being changed on school campuses across the nation. Just yesterday, 44 students in the Permian Basin began a relationship with Jesus. That’s amazing! God is on the move and He is not done yet!
Be encouraged to get involved and live out your faith with those around you. Students are doing it in one of the hardest places of all. Be in prayer for ways you can be involved and for the students that are rising up and being bold in their faith.
This student leader in FP North Alabama chose to lead despite her circumstances.
A 10th grade girl name Jenna just became a student leader for her first priority club that just started their 1st year at her school. Jenna is one of the student leaders that helped organize SYATP to pray for her faculty, administration, fellow students and community. What people don’t know is that her mom is battling cancer and was having surgery that same day and yet she believed God was on the move in her school. We make so many excuses all of the time of why we can’t show up and lead. But these students, in the middle of their own battles are getting on their knees to pray for people who can’t pray for themselves and to encourage others with the HOPE of Christ. Read more here
We as the body need to support the movement that God is pouring out on this generation, they are our future and our future looks great with First Priority student leaders like Jenna. Her school had 77 in attendance for prayer, multiple teacher sponsors and 5 churches in support. Look at our great God working through young women and men that are willing to say “Here am I send me”
First Priority clubs are a great way for youth pastors to be able to step into the lives of their students on campus and meet them in a place where they spend most of their time. Being a campus coach provides this opportunity, and not only does it help youth pastors connect with their students, it helps churches unite locally. Listen to Casey, a youth pastor from the FP Great Plains community talk about her role as both a youth pastor and campus coach for the FP club she is involved with.
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