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Steve Cherrico, Executive Director of FP Greater Nashville, shares his thoughts on God in our schools.

This past week I was conducting an interview for the local newspaper, The Tennessean. As the reporter and I talked, he made an interesting statement, “that God was no longer allowed in schools.” I have been in multiple meetings and even listened to other press try to push this agenda. However, like I did with this conversation, I whole-heartedly disagreed with this thought.

Schools, like churches, are made up of people. If there were no students to teach, then there would be no reason for the school building. The same goes for a church, you can call the building a church all you want, it is only when praying and believing people fill it up that it becomes the Church. The brick and mortar simply provide a meeting place or a tool to make it happen. So what happens when those same praying and believing people fill their school? Well no doubt God is found there, too.

I am very aware of the legal implications associated with saying God is in our schools. I can quote much of the law that is written regarding the Separation of Church and State or the Equal Access Law of 1984 (just a couple of the many rulings about God and the school system). Yet, no law has the authority or ability to remove the presence of God from any building containing two or more followers of Jesus.

Because of our faith in Jesus Christ, we are guaranteed that God is NOT out of our schools. For God’s spirit doesn’t require a physical location as it did in the Old Testament; rather, He dwells in the hearts and minds of all who choose to follow Him.

1 Corinthians 6:19

First Priority exists in a community to unite local churches around their schools. We build networks of adults who support believing students. This support system allows students to stand united in their faith and become what is inside of them, one of the most influential, important and grace-filled organisms in a school. That is the Body of Christ, alive and well, and definitely in our schools.

1 Corinthians 12:27

Steve Cherrico,
Executive Director – steve@fpnashville.com

Sean Hall, First Priority Director for St. Louis Metro East, invites us to read about one of his student leaders and how God was calling him to do more in his school.

Meet Grant

Grant is in his sophomore year at O’Fallon Township High School. He served his school through First Priority for the first time this semester. God has given him strong compassion, a desire to listen to the hurting, and the guts to lead in front of his peers.

Our Interview

Brad (his Campus Coach), Aaron (his Pastor), and Sean (Area Director) recently enjoyed interviewing Grant over a couple baskets of Dairy Queen fries. Here are some highlights:

“God was calling me to do more than just sit around and go through the usual casual thing that I was always going through. I decided to take the initiative I was originally getting from thechurch and take that into my school, and I felt a calling for it. Sure enough I ended up on stage giving the gospel. I think it started at church and eventually progressed out of it. I definitely felt God working through that moment with me.”

Q: Is it easy or tough to step up in our faith?

To step up in your faith you have to take the initiative to do it, and I think that’s challenging for most. You have to give the time to do it. Impacting someone is taking the initiative to go talk to them.

Q: What do you think First Priority can do for your school?

It can bring people to understand exactly what this whole Christianity thing is. It [First Priority] is welcoming and non-judgmental, even if no one knows them. It’s the best place they can go with questions. Church is the best place, but First Priority is the best place to start off. Another thing that First Priority can do is help them [Christian students] understand what they’re supposed to do for the Kingdom.

Q: How would you encourage Christian students who want to leave “churchy” things outside of school?

Who do you think you really are: the “school kid” or the “church kid”? I’m the church kid–the one who’s not afraid of their faith. The one who doesn’t care about popularity– because it’s not going to matter in 3 or 4 years. It’s not… think about who you really are… I used to be a different person on and off campus as well. God is calling me to be who I am at church.

Q: What would you say to students who don’t really know who Christ is?

Come talk to me.

Happy New Year! Please watch this video. It will rock your ministry!!

“Everything you want is instant gratification. For everything you want! Except… job satisfaction and strength of relationships. There ain’t no app for that. They are slow. They are meandering.” Simon Senak walks us through what cell phones are doing to us as a society, and specifically the teenage generation. He points out that a majority of addictions develop as teenagers because we learn what to lean on during the hard times of life. Check out his insights on how to help each other develop healthy boundaries and build strong relationships in the context of a fast moving society.

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Millennial’s need relationships, purpose and to lead. Let’s give them a purpose and something to lead. How about a First Priority Club? The HOPE of Christ in every student: Church, Campus, Christ. Let’s do this 2017!!

Become an FP Coordinator! If you can’t make it in January their are other dates to choose from. Just click the image below to register now!

This is a blog post from Student Leadership University (SLU) written by Sean McDowell that we wanted to share as we wrap up this holiday season and head back into our jobs, schools and communities so that we can be ready to share and defend the gospel of Christ.

For the past few days I have been trying to think of the top ten verses that would be most helpful to apologists and evangelists. I have reflected on my own experience and also gotten feedback from many of you on Facebook and Twitter. So, here are my top ten verses to defend your faith (in no particular order):

1. 1 Peter 3:15: “But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence.”

As an apologist you may find yourself having to defend the purpose of apologetics. This is the classic verse indicating that everyone is to be prepared to give an answer with gentleness and respect.

2. John 1:1-3: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.”

This is one of the most compelling and clear articulations of the deity of Christ. It shows that Christ is the eternal creator and is one with (although distinct from) the Father.

3. Acts 5:3-4: “But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back some of the price of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your control? Why is it that you have conceived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God.”

There is much confusion among Christians as well as groups such as the Jehovah’s Witnesses about the identity of the Holy Spirit. This passage shows the deity and personhood of the Holy Spirit.

4. Isaiah 43:10: “ ‘You are My witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘And My servant whom I have chosen, So that you may know and believe Me And understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, And there will be none after Me.’ ”

This passage clearly lays out that there is only one God and there has always only been one God. Mormons have to get very creative to avoid the clear meaning of this passage.

5. Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

This verse helps with the question, “What about those who have never heard?” It establishes that people do have knowledge of God through creation.

6. Romans 2:14-15: “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them.”

This passage demonstrates that the moral conscience is written on our hearts. The moral law is universal, even among those who do not have the written law.

7. John 6:29: “Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.’ ”

Many pseudo-Christian religions base salvation on works. In this passage Jesus clearly lays out the requirement of salvation—belief.

8. John 20:30-31: “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; 31 but these have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name.”

Skeptics often believe that faith is blind. John clearly states that the miracles of Jesus were recorded as proof so we would believe.

9. 2 Peter 3:9: “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.”

This passage clearly shows that God desires all to turn to repentance and be saved. This can be helpful when talking about Hell.

10. Luke 1:1-4: “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile an account of the things accomplished among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word, it seemed fitting for me as well, having investigated everything carefully from the beginning, to write it out for you in consecutive order, most excellent Theophilus; so that you may know the exact truth about the things you have been taught.”

Some claim that the disciples were inventing myths and legends. This passage shows the clear concern with historical accuracy and eyewitness accounts.

This list is certainly not exhaustive. I’m sure there are many more verses that could be included. I would love to know of any other key verses that should be added.

This blog orginally appeared on Sean’s Blog on March 28, 2016.

Sean McDowell, Ph.D. is a professor of Christian Apologetics at Biola University, a best-selling author of over 15 books, a part-time high school teacher, and one SLU’s featured 101 Speakers. Follow him on Twitter: @sean_mcdowell and his blog: seanmcdowell.org.

Mark your calendars! Registration for Youth Pastor Summit opens January 5th! Jay Strack, (President and Founder of Student Leadership University), and Brent Crowe, (Vice-President of SLU), have been long time friends and fans of First Priority. Much like FP, they are Kingdom workers building into student ministry. Click the images for more information.

 

Student Leadership University has been privileged to host Youth Pastor Summit (YPS) for youth pastors and their teams for the past 20 years. Youth Pastor Summit, valued at $300, is provided as a gift to youth pastors, youth workers, youth volunteers, and educators as an encouragement and investment in those who are making a lasting impact in the lives of students. This is a two-day conference that includes speakers, labs, worship, lunch, and free resources for student ministries.

This is a post we came across that is relevant to what we are doing and our hope to see students who are desiring God in their lives and their schools.

Interview with John Piper: Audio Transcript

A podcast listener named Lawson writes in with a great question: “Pastor John, this Fall I entered high school as a freshman. I want to know, how can I be a Christlike example in my school and among my classmates? I feel that God has called me to minister to them in some way, but I don’t know exactly how to do this. Over the next four years, what are some practical steps I can take to redeem these years for the gospel?”

Lawson, as I look back over my high school days, it was a long time ago. I am 70. And as I ponder what I see in the Bible and think about God’s calling on your life, expressed in your words, which I am so thankful for, seven things come flooding to my mind to suggest for you to pray about and consider.

1) First, gather a few friends with a similar desire, maybe from your church, neighborhood, where you have got your Christian friends. I hope it is your church. And set aside with them some regular time, maybe thirty minutes a week. That is what I do with my friends. Or ten or fifteen minutes a day at the beginning of school where you read a short passage of Scripture. Like maybe take one minute to read a passage of Scripture and then pray for ten minutes or fifteen minutes or thirty minutes — whatever you have planned — that God would help you, fill you with the Holy Spirit, fill you with boldness, give you guidance. And then go on into your day together as a band of brothers. And maybe you will call that group the Four-Twenty-Nine Group. And the reason I say that is because of Acts 4:29–31,

And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.” And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

Oh, I wish I had done that as a teenager: had myself a small group, a band of brothers pray down God’s power and been more bold.

2) Brainstorm together with your group of friends about proactive, visible good deeds that you could do for others at school or in the neighborhoods. And I say this because of 1 Peter 2:12, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable” — Gentiles means unbelievers — “so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation. Good deeds, Lawson, of course, never can replace words that explain the gospel and why you love Christ. In fact, just three verses earlier in 1 Peter 2:9 he said, “Proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” But practical good deeds have an important role to play, and they can put to silence the criticism that Christianity just means not doing certain things.

My dad used to love to quote one of his teachers. He would say: Do so fast you don’t have time to don’t. Because we were pretty serious Christians growing up and there were a lot of things we didn’t do because we were Christians. And he said: No, be so fast in doing, you don’t have time to don’t. That is what I am suggesting in number two.

3) Be on the lookout for lowly people, lonely people, hurting people, and step into their lives with interest and care and time that other people don’t care about giving. Romans 12:16, “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.” What an unusual teenager you will be if you do that.

4) Meet with the Lord alone early every morning, and get a good word from Scripture that you will keep in your mind as something precious and valuable and encouraging all day long. In other words, don’t just have devotions and come away with nothing stuck in your mind, but look for some single phrase or statement or promise or command that helps you and keep it in your mind. You might jot it on a little piece of paper and stick it in your shirt pocket. That is what I used to do.

This will serve you all day long for encouragement and it will be there if somebody gets into a conversation with you and asks you: What does it mean for you to be a Christian? And you can smile and say: You know, just this morning I was talking to God and he was talking to me. Now, he doesn’t talk with a voice. He talks in the Bible. He was talking to me and this is what he said. And then you quote your verse or you get out your little piece of paper. And you read them and you say: That is encouraging me all day long. That is what it means for me to walk with God. Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God” (Matthew 4:4). So, take a word, take a phrase and go with it all day long for encouragement and readiness.

5) Plan activities with your friends that you can invite unbelievers to be a part of. In other words, don’t wait for the crisis where they invite you to go to something that you are not sure you can go to. And then you have to say no and you might simply look like somebody who doesn’t like people or doesn’t have any friends. Beat them to the happy punch. Show them that you love to have them join you by doing proactive thinking ahead of time that plans something that you and your friends can do, and then you are asking them constantly to join you rather than the other way around.

6) If you have parents — now, I don’t know your family situation — but if you have parents who love what you are doing, try to make your home a hub of relationships with your friends: unbelievers and believers. So many young people out there that you relate to don’t have any homes like that. They wouldn’t ever bring you over to their homes. Their parents are divorced or they are not there or they are always angry at each other or nobody is ever at home or they are watching television or they never pay any attention or they never do any proactive hospitality. They have never seen a beautiful family. And if you have one, show it off by making your home a hub of activity. Show young people that it is not uncool to hang out with or near adults.

7) And the last thing I would say is, like it says in 1 Peter 3:15, “In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect.” Now, that doesn’t mean you need an advanced college degree in apologetics to defend your faith and have answers to every hard question that someone might ask. It doesn’t mean that. He is not saying that.

What he is saying is that you should be ready simply to tell someone why you have hope in Jesus. And the answers are in 1 Peter 1. He died for you. God is merciful towards you. He raised Jesus from the dead. He promises the forgiveness of sins. In other words, you recite the gospel as the foundation of your hope. Peter is not telling us to prove anything. He is telling you to explain to them why you have hope, why you believe.

So, Lawson, praise God for what he has put in your heart for this year, and I pray that this will be the best year yet for you and that God will fill you with wisdom and grace like he did Stephen in Acts 7 whose words were so mighty, so gracious, so full of the Spirit that his adversaries could not resist him (Acts 6:10, 15–7:55).

John Piper (@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including A Peculiar Glory.

Merry Christmas!

What a year it has been. While there are still 23 days left of the year, we are in evaluation and implementation mode looking into 2017. So first of all, let me share a couple things about 2016.

From the Blue Ridge, TN chapter in October:  100% of First Priority Clubs that shared the Gospel that month saw at least one student respond!

From the Shreveport, LA chapter:  During the month of October, over 1,000 students participated in clubs, 13 responded to the gospel by committing their lives to Christ, 29 asked to talk with someone about the gospel, and 26 asked for help find a local church student ministry!

The South Florida chapter recently announced the launch of their 200th club! This morning Chris said it was at 202. Great news reaching a great goal.

In total, we have 48 new clubs in new schools in 2016! Some of those clubs were started by the 8 new leaders in new locations! The best part is that the Good News of Jesus is being proclaimed by students to their peers and 1,000+ students have responded already this fall!

2017 is looking to build even more momentum. We have 8 people who are already trained to implement First Priority and are currently networking churches to get 1-3 clubs going the first of next year. In addition to that, our goal is to train and launch another 25 people to bring the ministry concept of First Priority back to their community.

If you know someone who might find passion in the First Priority model of ministry, would you send them our direction? Have them check out www.fpofamerica.com for an overview of who we are. If they check out www.firstpriority.club, they will see some of the details of the ministry. Our next training is January 23-24 in Nashville, TN.

Brad Schelling

First Priority of America

As you can see, the new First Priority logo includes the word “church” which seems to invoke a lot of questions, and sometimes even controversy. In this edition, I will cover how and why the church is vital in its support of First Priority clubs.

Let’s start with how churches are a part of the campus club equation. Primarily, it is in church youth groups where training and support are provided for students who want to initiate and lead campus clubs. Secondarily, churches support student efforts to participate in the community and to help schools with high-needs. This symbiotic relationship provides an outlet for students who love God and want to share his love with others.

Now for “why” churches support First Priority clubs. Jesus told the disciples: “So, wherever you go in the world, tell everyone the Good News [about Jesus]” Mark 16:15 (GWT). Because First Priority clubs give students a venue for sharing the “good news”, it makes sense that churches would support their efforts.

Please join us in prayer for students and for local churches. Together, we can positively impact this generation.

“Dear Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” 1 John 4:7 (NIV)

Amber Johansen
Executive Director
First Priority of Tampa Bay
amberjohansen9@gmail.com

We had set out early that morning, a van full of teenagers on the way to camp. Before we left we had prayed, like we always do, and asked God for safety as we traveled. We loaded the van and seven hours later we are almost at camp. We are just getting past Chattanooga, TN and the traffic starts to clear. For the first time in a long time we had a little open space on the road. I pulled over to the far left lane. There was no reason to do so, but as I decided in my mind I should pull back in the middle lane a tire on truck that used to be beside us went out pulling him into the middle lane! Fortunately no one was injured, but I reflected that we had been in that lane just seconds before, had we been there when the truck tire blew we would have been in a horrific accident. I prayed quickly in that moment a prayer of thanks but once we arrived at camp I reminded our students that we had asked God for safe travels and he answered our prayers. Sometimes we are able to pray small prayers in the moment based on larger prayers that we have prayed before.

Then the king said to me, “What are you requesting?” So I prayed to the God of heaven.(Nehemiah 2:4 ESV)

Have you ever had one of those situations where it seemed like nothing was happening, but then all of the sudden everything was happening? Nehemiah is in one of those moments. He has been in mourning for his people. He has been fasting, praying and asking God to use him, to use his position with the king, and then all of the sudden the king asks him a question. What do you do in a moment like that? When it seems like your whole future will swing or not swing on the hinge of the next few moments? You pray!

To be sure it wasn’t a long and drawn out prayer. He didn’t hush the king and ask for time to run to the chapel. He quickly and humbly in his heart prays to God. His prayer has been anchored in the foundation of intentional prayer where he has been for the last several months. Remember his emotion was brought into focus by prayer and fasting; now he sees the hand of God moving to answer his prayer. Nehemiah can’t help but confess his dependence on Him.

Nehemiah avoids every opportunity to declare himself a great man and instead has to declare that God is a great God! This is what humble leadership looks like. Before he will launch into any kind of four point plan, or share his dreams about a wall being completely rebuilt, or even ask the king for advice he goes straight to God and acknowledges that this could only be a work of God’s hand and so he moves forward holding on to that hand, not trying to navigate this alone.

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