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Working with students and student pastors for over 30 years, has given me insight on a few things. Of course, the older I get the more I realize I know nothing. But here is something I have learned. There is nothing more powerful in the life of a believer than to be used by God! When I was still a teenager and newly surrendered to the ministry, God taught me something that would steer my thinking for the rest of my life.
I was in Birmingham, Alabama when my twin brother Todd and I took some college students to a place called South Side on a Saturday night. It was an area of town that attracted some interesting folks. It kind of reminded me of the bar scene in the Star Wars movies. We went down to hang out and invite people to church. We had taken a church van, you know the one with the hand waving in the back window that tells everyone to follow them to vacation Bible school. Well needless to say, we parked it around the corner where nobody saw us. To make this very long story short, I will jump to the end of the night. We had been out talking with people all night and having a great time, when my brother told everyone to wrap it up and head back to the van. As soon as I told the last guy good night, I started heading down the street back to the van. My attention soon focused on this big dude leaning against a light pole. I have never heard the audible voice of God(I would die of course if I did), but I did hear a small voice inside of me that said go talk to him. Well as we all probably do, I started looking this guy over and sizing him up. He was huge. He had long hair to the middle of his back with a bandana to keep it out of his face, and big old motorcycle boots on that I’m sure would be used to put up my butt if I said anything to him. This guy was staring up into the sky and he looked mad. He did not look like he wanted to talk to me or anybody else. I started making excuses why I could not stop and chat, so I headed to the van. I jumped into the passenger seat and my brother pulled up to the stop sign where I could see this guy. I told my brother to hold on a minute. I needed to go talk to him. I really felt like the Lord wanted me to. I asked him if he would go with me and he said “God had told him nothing!” Todd and everyone else in the van said, “just go over there and tell him God loves him and if he gets mad just run. We are praying for you, now go”!
I stepped out of the van and was a little afraid, but it was like I made the step and boom, I was standing in front of this guy. You know when you are standing on top of a high cliff above the water and you want to jump but are hesitant? This was the same kind of thing. We all get in those situations where we know God has told us to do something and it seems crazy or intimidating and we start to hesitate. The freedom comes when you jump, when we step out of the boat. The thrill and exhilaration that comes from the encounter is amazing.
I found myself suddenly staring at this mountain of a man and ended up just saying “I think God wanted me to tell you He loves you.” After I said those words, I was ready to run back to the safety of the van, but something miraculous happened. He started to cry, I mean flat out bawl. After a few seconds (felt like minutes) he said something I will never forget. “I came out of that bar five minutes ago, leaned up against this pole, looked up in the sky and said if there is a God in heaven show me.” Five minutes earlier I had walked by him. He told me his grandmother had been praying for him for fourteen years. Like a child he dropped to his knees and prayed a simple prayer for God to forgive him and come into his life. WOW!! Here is the lesson I have learned that has shaped everything I think about ministry. God did not need me that night but He chose to use me. I got the blessing. I have never been so fired up for the Lord in all of my life, because here it is….I got to partner with the creator of the universe to redeem His creation! Once that happens to you or one of your students they will never be the same.
Why First Priority? Because it gives us the opportunity to equip our student leaders to go partner with God in the greatest mission field in our country.
Mark Roberts
Associate Director
First Priority of America
From First Priority Tampa Bay:
First Priority was able to provide training to almost 100 students in Hillsborough on August 12th and to 50 in Pinellas on August 19th. Training will continue through local church youth groups throughout the months of August and September.
The purpose of training is to equip and prepare students to lead First Priority Christian groups/clubs on campus, where faith stories and the gospel are shared.
In each weekly meeting, First Priority students have access to our resources and meeting materials, including the H.O.P.E. strategy. The strategy is an acronym for Helping each other seek God, Overcoming their fear of sharing their faith, Preparing their faith stories, and Engaging their friends with the gospel.
Thank you so much for your prayers and support. Please continue to pray for students as they launch their campus groups, and for new groups to form.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” Romans 10:14 (NIV)
Amber Johansen, Executive Director & Jennifer Atkinson, Pinellas County Director
Unity in the local church gets results. Check out the numbers from the Tri-County chapter based in Corbin, KY:
First Priority is a community-wide and community-owned movement. As a First Priority leader, this means you will most likely go from leading followers to leading leaders in your arena. One of the first steps in developing a new First Priority is putting together a team to help get the clubs off the ground. From teachers to parents, from church leaders to business leaders, your team will be filled with people who are overseeing others as well. This is a time for 2 Timothy 2:2 to come into effect in your life if it hasn’t already: and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. If this is a little intimidating, that is a good thing. You are on the edge of a God ordained call for your community. Your role is to help leaders see the crisis (students haven’t heard the gospel of Jesus – and sometimes what they have heard on the news has caused them to distrust Christians), understand the solution (working together as the body of Christ in our community makes us stronger), and how to fulfill the call (networks working together – each playing their role).
As you build those networks, I’d like to give you a tool to help put the right people on your team using the S.W.O.T. analogy. S.W.O.T. helps you and your team to know your individual and corporate Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.
Everyone is different, which is why we have various roles to get a club started. A business leader generally needs a different set of strengths than a mom or a teacher or a youth pastor and vise versa. Different Network leaders have different opportunities as well. Youth Pastors have the opportunity to invest in student leaders’ spiritual development alongside the parents, where the teacher does not. But the teacher is with the students for eight hours a day, which makes their consistency and influence key. EVERYONE plays a role and is important to the launch, health and success of a First Priority Movement.
Have open conversations with your new and growing team about what each person can bring to the table (prayer, accounting, influence, school leadership, community grants, etc). Whatever it is, everyone has strength, weakness, opportunity, and threat.
Notice, I did not speak on the threats. But know that spiritually the threat you face is the battle against darkness not flesh and blood.
Ephesians 6:12 So be sure that a prayer warrior is present and utilizing his or her strengths from the beginning.
Psalm 133
How good and pleasant it is
when God’s people live together in unity!
It is like precious oil poured on the head,
running down on the beard,
running down on Aaron’s beard,
down on the collar of his robe.
It is as if the dew of Hermon
were falling on Mount Zion.
For there the Lord bestows his blessing,
even life forevermore.
Unity is key. So key that God tells us that this is the place that life forever resides. I had never thought about it that significantly before hearing a sermon on it a few weeks ago. Francis Chan took it to another level last night via Youtube:
John 17:21
That all of them may be one,
Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.
May they also be in us
so that the world may believe
that you have sent me.
Jesus wants us to be one JUST AS He and God are one. Not just enough to get along on Sunday. Not just enough to hang out in a small group for six months. JUST AS Jesus and God are one. I need to confess here that I have never had that as a goal in any of my relationships with other Christians.
Jesus tells us that unity is needed SO THAT the world may believe. What?!?! My natural thinking is that a well thought out apologetics outline would help people believe. Maybe if I could perform a miracle some people would believe. What if we had a great band and professional athlete speak to people, that would get them to believe. Jesus doesn’t say that. He says that if we are united together and united with God, then the world will believe.
This gives me hope for the ministry of First Priority. Our bread and butter is uniting the local churches in an area to help students reach students in their school for Jesus Christ. The students do need to preach the gospel each month so those who do not know can hear. But, the thing that will get them there is the unity of believers!
It is counter cultural thinking, but it does make sense. Culture says to put on a show and gather a crowd. Culture is also divided in so many ways today. Let’s unite SO THAT the world may believe.
(See also Romans 14)
With hope,
Brad
We believe that advancing the Kingdom of God means advancing the local church. It is a core of our beliefs for the First Priority family. A very practical way that we express that core value is through our partnership with SLU (Student Leadership University). They believe the same as we do, that the local church and it’s youth ministry is key to seeing the Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. So, we utilize the YPS (Youth Pastor Summit) to encourage, equip, and empower youth pastors in our communities. Here is what Phillip Cole (FP Area Director, Shreveport, LA) had to say after taking a group of youth pastors to Dallas this past spring:
“We had the privilege to take local student pastors in the ArkLaTex to a conference in Dallas, Texas at no cost to them or their churches in April of this semester. Youth pastor summit is a great opportunity for youth pastors to come together, fellowship, be encouraged, and learn new ideas about youth ministry, so we make it a practice to take a group annually. This year we took a group of 14 youth pastors and had a blast! We also took in a few rounds of Top Golf and laughed together for hours. It is a blessing to see the camaraderie among youth pastors in the ArkLaTex!”
Jesus said that He would build his church. By working with SLU, we help to build unity in the youth ministry community because it is what we value. There will be 7 locations for YPS this coming 2017-18 school year; be sure to check them out when they announce dates and locations this fall.
#1 Recognize the physical
When a new leader comes into the First Priority family, one of the first things we have them do is fill out a community diagnostic sheet. This project can be as simple as counting how many churches and schools are in their area. As you get deeper, you begin to learn how many people are going to church and what the students are getting in trouble for in school. It helps to be knowledgeable about your area when you ask people to join a mission with a big vision. With current events being broadcast globally each and every day, it is important to keep up with what and how conversation is effecting people in your community.
#2 Recognize the spiritual
One specific piece of diagnosing your community is not just getting to know about them, but actually getting to know them personally. A united church for the cause of evangelism is a great idea. Most people who work with First Priority would say that it is the best idea on the planet. But, when a community is made up of pastors who each have a different mix of gifting, talents, passion, and call, it is insane to think that they will all jump in with you right away. Those with the gift of evangelism will, but those whose passions are more along the lines of small groups and discipleship will not. That is more than okay, it is healthy for a community to have a mix of spiritual leadership! The evangelists (generally) will jump in and help students share the gospel at school. The discipleship leaders will be way better at follow up five weeks after the student gave his/her life to Christ at Engage Week. Get to know all church leaders to recognize and honor the spiritual gifting God has given to them.
#3 Recognize the mentality
We all live in a community with a culture. Having grown up in NW Iowa in a Dutch Reformed church, I had no idea that the Heidelberg Catechism Q&A 1-10 was not memorized by all high school freshman in all Christian churches everywhere. While my co-workers jealously harass me for this heritage, it has shaped how I think, act, and feel whether I realize it or not. Nashville just went through a huge insurgence of Predator fans (NHL hockey team). It brought to light that Nashville loves Nashville and thinks that everybody loves Nashville as much as Nashville loves Nashville. Living 30 minutes south of Nashville, I get outside of the big city a lot. While Waynesboro (small town TN) thinks Waynesboro is a wonderful place to grow up, they do not feel that many people will move there. This realtor (http://www.webbrealty.net/index.htm) loves the town so much that half of her description of the town is a list of the other towns surrounding it!
By being aware of these 3 tools for church unity, you will increase your capacity for unity.
“Unity in diversity is more beautiful and more powerful than the unity of uniformity. More depth of beauty is felt from a choir that sings in parts than from a choir that sings only in unison.” John Piper
Today we are going to talk about our core value #7: Church
ISM – “The Body of Christ”
We believe that advancing the Kingdom of God means advancing the local church. This includes the foundation of praying for, partnering with and promoting local churches to reach the lost and impact their schools.
“I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” Matthew 16:18-19
Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. Acts 20:28
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:24-25
Save the Date
Make plans now to attend the First Priority National Fall Conference October 16th-18th
Fall Conference 2017 will be located at the Forrest Hills Resort in Dahlonega, GA October 16th-18th. Forrest Hills Resort is located between the picturesque town of Dahlonega and the beautiful Amicalola Falls.
For more information about Forrest Hills Resort you can visit their website here. The address is: 135 Forrest Hills Road Dahlonega GA 30533
Registration details coming soon!
