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Mar 05
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Church Partnerships: A Conversation with Ryan McMichael

By Podcast

This blog was written by Hannah Blackburn. 

In this week’s episode of the First Priority podcast, Brad Schelling sat down with special guest Ryan McMichael to continue the conversation surrounding church partnerships. Ryan is an area director with First Priority Greater Nashville, which includes Maury County and South Williamson County. First Priority Greater Nashville has been there slightly less than five years. Before joining First Priority staff in September, Ryan was the student pastor at First Baptist Columbia. He is very passionate about student ministry and felt God calling him into First Priority for this reason!

Ryan has always felt called to equip students and student leaders with the tools needed to share the gospel, and has always had a heart for evangelism. First Priority was able to bridge the gap between the students in the local church’s youth group and the students in the local school who may have never stepped foot in a church before. One of the ways Ryan has seen First Priority serve the local church during his time as a student pastor was through watching students step up as leaders to share the gospel with their school campus. Through these experiences, he has been able to share the First Priority mission and network with other student pastors from other local churches to get their students plugged in as well!

Brad and Ryan also discussed some of the things Ryan has learned since coming on board with First Priority. One thing he has seen consistently is the willingness of local churches to pray for First Priority’s mission, despite many of them never having heard of First Priority before! Another amazing thing Ryan has seen is the power of giving students ownership of First Priority’s mission and model. When students are given ownership of a club and the tools to share the Gospel and network with their peers, they’re empowered to step up to the plate, become leaders, and ultimately lead their peers to Christ!

Ryan’s final note is this: if God is calling you somewhere or to something it is always the right place or thing, even if it doesn’t fully make sense to you or people around you. If God is calling you there, it will always be the right step. On a related note, we might not know the impact we make now or in the long term, but we should remember that even small actions can have a huge impact on someone’s life. Ryan reminds us that God isn’t limited, and encourages us to follow His calling no matter where it takes you!

Feb 16
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Campus Coaching Chronicles ft. Special Guest Larry Crawford

By Podcast

This blog post was written by Hannah Blackburn.

In this week’s episode of the First Priority Podcast, Brad Schelling and Steve Cherrico sat down with special guest Larry Crawford. Larry has been a campus coach at a local middle school in the Murfreesboro, TN, area for just over one year. He and his wife have been attending Living Water Church for about ten years. Larry works in sales and goes to the middle school once a week to coach their First Priority club.

Larry’s story on how he became a club coach happened quickly. For Larry, it all goes back to being servant minded and sacrificial. One of the kids at the middle school noticed there wasn’t a Christian based club at her school. Her father is the pastor of Larry’s church, and she told Larry that the middle school needed an adult to lead a First Priority club. Larry jumped in with First Priority resources and training and thus began his journey as a club coach.

How many students does it take to start a First Priority club? The answer: only one! At Larry’s first club meeting, there were five students. The next week there were seven, then ten, then twelve, then twenty-five students in the club. Now, there are somewhere between forty to fifty students! This growth happened 100% from word-of-mouth between students inviting their peers to the club. As the club continues to grow, students have more and more ideas on how to grow and connect, they just need the confidence to do so.

Students are very instrumental in inviting their friends to church, a story that Larry has seen multiple times. It’s hard to break out of the assumption that students already know who Jesus is, because that’s simply not the case. Seeing middle schoolers step up for Bible reading and teaching has been very inspirational for Larry to see. As the club grows, Larry has watched it mature to be increasingly student led, which is the goal for First Priority clubs to become.

How do we understand the difference between a small church versus a big church? There is none! There is the local place we worship together, but the definition of the church is God moving through people as the body of Christ! First Priority focuses on being the church by connecting students with each other and giving them the resources needed to bring their peers to Christ. Ultimately, it’s not about First Priority or any one person or organization, it’s about leading people to Jesus and furthering God’s Kingdom.

Feb 13
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Church-Based Training: Equipping Leaders for School Ministry | The FP Podcast

By Podcast

This blog post was written by Hannah Blackburn.

In this week’s episode of the First Priority Podcast, Brad Schelling and Steve Cherrico sat down to discuss the importance of church based leadership. This process involves training and equipping leaders for ministry and keeping a focus on the local church. Although First Priority clubs aren’t in existence everywhere around the country, churches are! One of the goals of First Priority is to empower the church to train students who will then lead their peers to Christ within their school.

What is the process for church based training and where does it fit? The process involves a guide called EPIC. Thousands of students have come to know Christ through this resource! But the process for equipping student leaders to lead their peers to Christ starts before EPIC. The process starts with finding key influencers in each city who can rally the troops, raise funds, and hire staff. Together, they network with the local church to train club leaders.

How does First Priority network with the church? Ultimately, it is about being Gospel focused as we become one with the local church, spanning denominations, and keeping an emphasis on partnership with one another.

Who do we engage when it comes to a local church? Where do we even start? We start by identifying a group of “key influencers” in a local community. These could be business leaders, parents, or church leaders, and they make up the key influencers who are passionate about making sure the gospel goes forward. It comes down to a group of about 5-7 people who guide or impact the community in some way, shape, or form.

Why do we need key influencers? It’s easy to identify Christians who want to work with students: youth pastors and youth ministers. But if those people are the only points of contact, they may not have enough influence to sustain a First Priority club. Most youth pastors are incredibly passionate about fellowship, worship, and discipleship, but not every youth pastor is passionate about evangelism. Key influencers are a vital network between First Priority resources, students, and the local church.

One of the things First Priority does well organizationally is keeping its focus on seeing the local church win! There are countless ways that our clubs assist the church. For example: plugging new believers into a church’s youth ministry, which leads to their families coming to church, which leads to whole families coming to follow Jesus! Churches already encourage members of their youth ministry to invite their friends and families to church, and First Priority clubs give students an opportunity to do so.

First Priority clubs also benefit businesses and business leaders. The clubs lead students to a transformative Gospel. Through this transformation, students become trustworthy employees; they desire for truth, build morality, and ultimately become future business leaders! It’s a great example of the butterfly effect! Although we have no idea how far this impact goes, we know God can use First Priority clubs to raise this generation to become the next generation’s key influencers.

Feb 06
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A Podcast Conversation with Special Guest Debi Deboer

By First Priority Of America, Podcast

Last week, Brad Schelling and Steve Cherrico sat down on the First Priority Podcast with special guest Debi Deboer, Director of First Priority Alabama. Debi has been with First Priority for 26 years and had a wealth of knowledge, stories, and encouragement to share.

Debi likes to say that she “grew up” in First Priority, since she started volunteering at Oak Mountain Middle School 27 years ago and continues her ministry there to this day. Her excitement to witness multiple generations of First Priority is what can be only described as contagious.

The stories and statistics in Birmingham reflect her excitement, and are only growing day by day. With a 5-year plan to start 30 new campuses each year, First Priority Birmingham has 4 full-time staffers and are looking to hire more. One of the strongest aspects of the Birmingham network is the thousands of reports from each club, highlighting the individual stories of students and ultimately what God is doing within their community.

One of the biggest hurdles Debi’s campuses have experienced is mobilizing the church to invest in students. They have been able to overcome this obstacle by plugging in local churches through prayer lists. These lists contain meeting times of each club so that the congregation can pray before and during club meetings. Another way Debi has mobilized the church is through utilizing local college students and plugging them in with local First Priority Clubs. 

Debi’s heart for First Priority clubs lacks no passion or excitement, and she encourages us all to be excited for what is to come!

Listen to the podcast today to hear more about Debi’s passion to bring the hope of Christ to every student!

This blog was written by Hannah Blackburn. 

Dec 14
Love0

Qualities of a Shepherd

By First Priority Of America, Leadership Development, Podcast

Mark Robbins spoke at our 2023 Fall Conference in October. His talk followed the conference theme, shepherding. As you read the thoughtful things Mark spoke about, open your mind to ways that you can better shepherd your flock. John 10:14-15 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep.”

When you are a shepherd, you need skills to be able to lead your flock. You have to make tough decisions. Go with your instinct, only you and God know what is best for your flock. Rely on the Holy Spirit to help make these decisions. Be willing to do the hard work, humbling yourself and being able to open your mind to learn new things. As a shepherd, it is important to put your ego aside and humble yourself for your community.

Endurance is a key quality of a shepherd. Some days it feels as if you cannot keep going, but rely on your shepherd, God, to lead you to water and rest to continue shepherding your flock. If God has called you, you can’t quit! You are meant to be shepherding and leading your flock. Don’t deny the things the Lord has brought you to do.

Start observing your clubs and getting to know them fully. Engage with them, keeping your eyes and ears open. Notice the condition your sheep are in. But most importantly, keep them safe! Make sure your flock all feel as if they have value, from volunteers, campus coaches, to students!

The best way to learn how to be a good shepherd is learning from God himself. In Psalm 23, the passage describes ways that the Lord is our perfect shepherd. He has given us the ability to be an example of Him, and we get to shepherd those around us and involved in our lives. Bring your flock peace, protection, and lead them to the table that God has set for us.

If you would like to hear more on what Mark Robbins said about being a shepherd, click the link here.

This blog was written by Kenley Kizer

Dec 08
Love0

Crediting God with what we Learn

By Local FP Communities, Leadership Development, Podcast

This week’s podcast revisited Chris Lane speaking at our Fall Conference. He touched on the fact that God is at work in First Priority of South Florida, and God is bringing Him along for the journey. He is God’s faithful vessel, and Chris calls others to be God’s vessel too. God has called you to bring the Gospel to the unreached community, students. Chris goes on to list the 10 things that God has taught him in his 25 years with First Priority.

Get to versus got to attitude: There is nothing too small, the kingdom of God is at hand, and we should be glad we get to do it. Our attitude matters!

Satan hates me and you, and he wants to ruin our lives: Satan is working non-stop every day to prevent us from doing ministry. He is a thief (John 10:10), and he hates you! But stand strong in the Lord who gives you life.

People are greater than accomplishments: We cannot sacrifice our family for accomplishments in ministry. Not only family, but even your team! Relationships are important, and we need to make sure we are intentional in maintaining them.

Having an eternal mindset: We have to be careful about this! What are the things in your life that you can bring with you to Heaven? The Word of God and souls, the things that matter most.

Stay focused and fight missional creep: Over the course of time, you may feel a bit off-mission. Our strategy-based mission helps us set us apart from others! Stay focused on your clubs’ journeys.

Be bold and share the God-sized vision he has given you: Expand your vision for Him. Pray and ask God to show what he has in store for you to bring his vision into reality.

Be teachable: It is important to ask questions, be coachable, and always be willing to learn. We have to start out by learning. We cannot do things if we previously haven’t learned how to do them yet. God has given us His Word as our textbook, use it!

Do you spend time with people or invest in people? We aren’t going to live forever. Have you made the investments into people to take over for when you won’t be here anymore? The legacy we need to leave needs to be better than before, to help bring the next people to success.

We must celebrate regularly: Celebrate what God is doing in your area! When we celebrate, we don’t forget what we are doing and why we are doing it. But we also don’t get burned out. Remember God is faithful, and don’t lose trust in his plan.

Reflect over the ways Chris has learned from God these last 25 years. Find ways God has taught you in your time with First Priority, and how it can help you in ministry for the years to come. You can listen to the podcast here.

This blog was written by Kenley Kizer

Dec 01
Love0

Shepherding the Flock

By First Priority Of America, Leadership Development, Podcast

Natalie Kenney spoke at this year’s Fall Conference. She spoke about the theme of the year, shepherding! Natalie was told that we are so busy shepherding, we forget that we are sheep. But if we are shepherding in a way to honor God, we are still his sheep and should smell like our flock!

1 Peter 5: 2-3 says, “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.”

To start shepherding, you must show up! Show up for your community and show up where they can see you. Whether that is a football game, choir concert, or helping your local youth groups. Find ways that you can show up in your community and where God wants you to be. When you’re in the community, it makes it easier to talk about First Priority. Never underestimate the power of showing up and how the Lord will reward you for doing so.

Another way is to start looking for volunteers outside of the church realm. It limits us when we only have pastors and youth pastors partnering with us. Find active and patient parents or family members. Though church leaders are great volunteers, local volunteers will be able to show up year after year! Natalie challenges her listeners to show up with First Priority gear and to be intentional about having a conversation. Does your community know that you are involved with First Priority?

People want to be surrounded by love. When people watch how you serve, lead others and love, they may want to serve alongside you! Loving people is showing your volunteers they have value. Through your actions and speech, show your volunteers what they mean to you through love.

Lastly, communication is key anywhere you are. Natalie asked, “Are you communicating with your volunteers weekly or weakly?” As an expert of First Priority in your city, it is important to communicate with your volunteers weekly! Communication will help you and your clubs to succeed. It can help you retain relationships with your volunteers. Train your volunteers by equipping them with what they need, so they have a desire to stay with you.

First Priority is a relational ministry. It is important to be more about the people than the program. We cannot do this by ourselves! Show up, recruit volunteers, and shepherd your flock.

This blog was written by Kenley Kizer

Nov 21
Love0

Fall Conference 2023

By First Priority Of America, Events, Podcast

This year’s fall conference was a blast! We saw so many of the amazing people that make up our First Priority community. To start us off, Justin Theroit welcomed us all to kick it off this year!

Matthew 18:20 “Where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am with them.”

At the Fall Conference, we gathered as believers and worshiped the Lord. We gathered in breakouts to learn and talk all things First Priority! When the body of Christ is together, we are more aware of the work He is doing in our lives and clubs. We are capable of learning new ways to serve our clubs and communities better. Whether that be through finding donors or learning how to work our new app.

Fall Conference was filled with fun too! Steve Cherrico and Stephen Summit set up this year’s First Priority Olympics. The games included a scavenger hunt, brain games, and even dodgeball!

We were able to take a tour of Black River Entertainment, and it was incredible. The tour was followed by a Hattie B’s dinner at The Well, where we heard Gordon Kerr give his personal testimony and his daughter Hannah perform.

To end the conference, we had a great Wednesday morning filled with more worship, another opportunity to join different breakouts, and hear one final take away from John Carruth! We are so thankful for all who joined us this year! If you didn’t get to make it to our Fall Conference, we hope to see you next time!

Stay tuned for our podcast to listen to some words from those who were with us at Fall Conference!

This blog was written by Kenley Kizer

Nov 18
Love0

Faithful Disciples

By Local FP Communities, Podcast

As Christians, letting go and recognizing where Jesus can lead us is difficult. We may be fearful of the next chapter, or content at the place in life we are at. But when Jesus calls, we should answer! Ministry is a gift from the Lord to expand His kingdom. God calls us to be willing to expand it, to make disciples of many nations.

Matthew 4:18-19 “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon also called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. “‘Come follow me’” Jesus said, “‘And I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.”

Larry Bragg is the area director for First Priority of St. Louis Metro East. Larry has been with First Priority for 10 months. Before First Priority, he was the Managing Director of a Chick-Fil-A in his town. While making a delivery to a local high school, Larry was introduced to First Priority. God made it very clear that the door was wide open for him to join the First Priority family.

Larry has a passion for students since he was previously a youth pastor. He knew that First Priority was a way to get Christ to the kids in school. Larry trusted God and knew that where God calls, he should go. Larry is an example of what it looks like to surrender to God and follow what His will is for our life. In doing so, Larry is impacting students’ lives.

If you would like to watch this week’s podcast, click the link here.

This blog was written by Kenley Kizer

Oct 20
Love0

The Three E’s

By First Priority Of America, Podcast

The Three E’s help Brad Schelling and Steve Cherrico tell their “Why” for the First Priority podcast. The podcast is a platform they use to be able to Encourage, Equip, and Empower.

Encouragement is the first E. We tell stories to encourage one another. Encouragement helps us to know that we are not alone in this movement. Steve Cherrico used an example of a leaking cup. Our cup will leak into others, but we also need people to leak into our cup. So the more we encourage, the more we also need encouragement. We weren’t meant to walk alone! Make sure you have the people in your life who will encourage you every step of the way, so you may also do that for one another.

The second E is Equip. We are here to equip volunteers, staff, and students. FP wants to bring in staff that can help equip one another to share around the country.

Empower is the final E. Once there is enough encouragement and equipment, it is time to activate empowerment. The First Amendment allows the students to be able to tell their peers about Jesus. We are here to empower students to go and share the gospel.

Jeremiah 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Because everyone brings their own gifts to FP, it strengthens and betters us. We all have the ability to encourage, equip, and empower others in our community.

Listen to the podcast today to hear how Brad and Steve use the Three E’s:
https://firstpriority.club/fppodcast/

This blog post was written by Kenley Kizer

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