Why First Priority?

First Priority is a strategy to connect the CHURCH to reach the CAMPUS for CHRIST. It is intended to change the spiritual climate of the school and the world through students.

Vision:

Take the Hope of Christ to Every Student.

Mission:

Unite the Local Body of Christ with a plan of action to influence the school with the gospel.

Core Values: 

Gospel – We learn to share the Good News of Jesus Christ is our First Priority. 

Ownership – This club is student-owned and student-led. This is our club, on our campus and we own it.

Team – We are part of a team. This is team-ministry. We rise or fall together!

Prayer – Through prayer the power of God is unleashed to change us, our friends, and our campus. Our club is built on prayer.

Excellence – We serve where God has gifted us, doing the right things in the right way. We serve Jesus with excellence!

Accountable – We are accountable to our parents, churches, school, and Christian-peers. We are people of humility and integrity.

Church – We are committed to our local churches. We want to see our friends connected beyond our club, to the larger Body of Christ!

Enthusiasm – We are passionate and excited about serving Christ on campus. Nothing is more important than reaching our friends with the gospel. 

How does First Priority work?

First Priority works well as a strategy for the local church if the local church takes the time to organize each component of the strategy. To explain this, we compare life as a Christian in the U.S. to the necessary components of a football game. First Priority is the game plan for the students in the community to come together at school and live the game of faith every day.

Students: “Players on the field” as [indigenous] missionaries to the teenage culture at school.
Teachers: “Referees on the field” who can’t play in the game, but can make sure that the rules of the school are being followed and the door to the classroom is open.
Youth Ministers: “Coaches on the sideline” who train, equip, plan, and strategize to help students lead the club with excellence and achieving the desired outcomes.
Parents: “Fans in the stands” who promote and provide for the club, and encourage and pray for students as they play the game.
Business Leaders: “Owners of the team” who provide health, structure, and longevity overseeing the ministry and ensuring that the mission and vision to share HOPE with students lasts for decades to come.

Our mission is to unite the local body of Christ with a plan of action to influence the schools with the Gospel. So our strategy starts and ends when people unite together for this single cause. Our goal is to get people from multiple churches and denominations together to share the hope of Christ with students in their schools. Check out the ‘Campus Clubs’ tab for how to become a volunteer.

Practically, the ministry of First Priority gets worked out through a club at school. First Priority clubs follow a four-week strategy called HOPE. HOPE is an acronym for Help, Overcome, Prepare, and Engage.

Help: Students are equipped to share to the gospel.
Overcome: Students are inspired to overcome their fear of sharing the gospel.
Prepare: Students are given the opportunity to share their testimony.
Engage: Believing students are given the opportunity to invite their non-believing friends to hear about the HOPE of Christ.

Follow Up Process: During Engage week, students are given the opportunity to respond to a gospel presentation where they can indicate a desire for another student to follow up with them. Often this leads to their attending a local youth ministry for the first time and getting connected to the local church for discipleship.

Why First Priority?

• Because being lost without Christ means a loss of hope. Only a declining 12% of students in the US attend church weekly. Culture statistics indicate that suicide, sexual confusion, and abortion are on the incline.
• Because without intentional campus evangelism training and implementation, students who don’t attend church may never hear the gospel.
• Because no one church can reach and disciple every middle and high school student in their community, but when united, THE Church can.
• According to the Billy Graham Association, 85% of all that come to Christ do so before they graduate high school. There by making our middle schools and high schools the greatest mission field in America.

Who benefits from First Priority?

The local church

• helping churches organize, equip and mobilize students to reach students with the gospel
• giving churches specific, manageable opportunities to serve middle and high schools in their community

The local schools

• providing a network of support to the school from local churches

The Kingdom of God

• when students’ lives are changed by the hope found only in Jesus Christ