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Students UNITE together to share their faith stories

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Thursday evening, April 13, was a special night for First Priority student ministries. Not only was it Maundy Thursday, but students from Thompson and Helena High Schools participated in the 4th Annual UNITE event.

“Unite is an event where Christians and non-believers alike can come together to worship the One True God all under one roof,” said Luke Nichols, president of Thompson High School’s First Priority club. “Through worship and messages from qualified speakers, God can reach the ones who have not been saved and give believers a deeper understanding of the Word. Students from different First Priority leadership groups can give/share their testimonies and lead worship, encouraging other students to be brave and either share the Gospel with others or come to know Jesus for themselves. Ultimately, it allows students from schools in the area to come together and worship God while developing relationships with each other.”

 

At the UNITE event, students worshipped together led by the First Priority leadership teams of both schools. Several students also shared their faith story. Thompson High School First Priority Teacher Sponsor Libby Sevilla shared how God does not waste pain and times of hardships but can use anyone and any situation for His glory. Mya, a local First Priority student, shared her personal story of abandonment having a mom who suffered from Bipolar Disorder and how Jesus rescued her. A local college student shared his story of living through the April 27th tornados and losing everything and how he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. He explained how someone spent time with him just to listen and share about the personal relationship that Jesus desperately wanted to have with him. So many great stories were shared that night that touched the hearts of all those in attendance.
 
Ric Callahan, pastor of families from Westwood Baptist Church, shared a message and challenged students to be the salt and light sharing the Gospel by mouth not just witness by our lives and actions based from Matthew 5:13-16. He provided students a way to engage people with the Gospel by sharing the FIRE:
Family – Ask them about their family and where they grew up.
Interests – Ask them what their interests, hobbies, etc. are.
Religion – Ask them where they go to church or do they?
Evangelism – Ask them if you can ask a personal question? Have you asked Jesus to forgive you of your sins and come into your life?
 
This year’s UNITE event was a huge success and many were blessed by the worship, testimonies and message of encouragement. The students enjoyed the event so much that they want to expand with other schools next year.

Do we have childlike faith that God will answer our prayers?

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When you consider the power of prayer according to God’s Word, it should stir in us willingness to call out to Him whenever possible without doubt He will answer our prayers. This is exactly what we’re seeing in many of our schools in the Birmingham area – students calling out.
 
Jeremiah 33:3 says, “Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.” Witnessing a young generation seek God in prayer is always encouraging! First Priority’s FPKids program gives young students a platform to pray whatever is on their heart. Kids “believe without doubt, trust without reservation, live without reluctance, sleep without worry, and laugh without restraint.” This kind of faith can move the largest of mountains! Childlike faith in prayer is exactly what God is looking for. Faith can move a mountain but childlike faith and prayer can move God.
 
Matthew 18:3 says, “And he [Jesus] said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” When it comes to faith, adults tend to doubt. We’re skeptical. We’re tired. We try to intellectualize everything. We’re not sure God hears our prayers; or that even if He hears, He might have more important things to do than answer us. We complicate faith. On the other hand, many of the young students in our FPKids clubs have an unwavering faith. When asked to pray, there is no doubt they trust that God is with them and hears what they say. Is prayer active and alive in our schools? The answer is a resounding “Yes!” This confidence is contagious on many campuses. According to 1 John 5:14-15, we need to have this same confidence: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask – we know that we have what we asked of him.”
 
Students don’t doubt. They ask and seek God with confidence in knowing that He will answer their prayers. They may be young, but their prayers and faith in God are powerful.
 
1 Timothy 4:12 says, “Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” So the question is, as adults, do we have this confidence and is this confidence contagious? Are we willing to cry out and believe? If you asked local students this question the answer would be “YES” every time!
 
James Cato

Area Director

Are your students prepared to defend their faith?

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We hope you and your students will join us for the reTHINK Student Conference!     
Who’s waiting for your students? When they leave the relative safety of their homes, youth ministry or church, who is waiting for them at school, or the university? What contrary ideas will the culture throw their way? What challenges will confront their faith in Christ? How will they answer questions about the LGBT movement, Islam, the reliability of the Bible, evolution, etc.? Are they ready?
 
In Colossians 2:8, the apostle Paul warns us not to be taken captive by the false views of this world. Sadly, many of our Christian youth have been captured by the culture. Their ideas reflect the ideas of society. Their worldview is no different than that of their unbelieving friends. It’s time to help our students reTHINK.
 
The reTHINK Apologetics Student Conference exists to provoke a new generation to rethink their worldview, recapture the truth, and then reengage the world for the cause of Christ. This conference is designed for junior high, high school and college-aged students. It will be held Friday, April 21 – Saturday, April 22, 2017, at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, 2200 Briarwood Way, Birmingham, AL 35243. This is a great conference for families, youth groups, anyone! Register by April 20, and get the $35 rate! Price is $45 at the door. For more info, schedule, list of speakers and to register, click here. This is going to be such an incredible conference for your students, you don’t want to miss it!
 

Are your students prepared to defend their faith?

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We hope you and your students will join us for the reTHINK Student Conference!     
Who’s waiting for your students? When they leave the relative safety of their homes, youth ministry or church, who is waiting for them at school, or the university? What contrary ideas will the culture throw their way? What challenges will confront their faith in Christ? How will they answer questions about the LGBT movement, Islam, the reliability of the Bible, evolution, etc.? Are they ready?
 
In Colossians 2:8, the apostle Paul warns us not to be taken captive by the false views of this world. Sadly, many of our Christian youth have been captured by the culture. Their ideas reflect the ideas of society. Their worldview is no different than that of their unbelieving friends. It’s time to help our students reTHINK.
 
The reTHINK Apologetics Student Conference exists to provoke a new generation to rethink their worldview, recapture the truth, and then reengage the world for the cause of Christ. This conference is designed for junior high, high school and college-aged students. It will be held Friday, April 21 – Saturday, April 22, 2017, at Briarwood Presbyterian Church, 2200 Briarwood Way, Birmingham, AL 35243. This is a great conference for families, youth groups, anyone! Register before February 21, and get the $25 early bird rate! For more info, schedule, list of speakers and to register, click here. This is going to be such an incredible conference for your students!
 

"I'm Not Ashamed" movie hits theaters THIS Friday!

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Take your students to see “I’m Not Ashamed”

 

On April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School, two teenage boys entered their school with guns and homemade bombs planning to kill hundreds of their classmates. They would murder 12 students and one teacher before turning their guns on themselves. The first student that died that day was Rachel Joy Scott. She was eating lunch in the courtyard outside when she was shot. The killers knew Rachel. They were in classes together. Rachel had shared her faith in Jesus with them. Moments before her death, they mocked her, “Do you still believe in your God?” With a gun at her head she replied, “You know that I do.”
“I’m Not Ashamed” is Rachel’s story from her own words. Drawn directly from her writings, we discover the hope in this tragedy. We find the story of a student who showed radical compassion to the hurting and unnoticed. It’s the true story of a girl who was not ashamed to share her love for Jesus to those around her, even to her killers.
“An older generation needs to be reminded and a new generation needs to be told. We cannot be ashamed to speak the name of Jesus.”
“I’m Not Ashamed” will hit movie theaters this Friday, Oct. 21, 2016. We would like to encourage you and your church to take your students to watch the powerful and inspiring true story of Rachel Scott. Click here to find a movie theater near you that will be showing the film.
October is “I am Hope” month and First Priority’s HOPE Guide for middle and high school students is based on the “I’m Not Ashamed” movie and encourages students to Live it & Speak it based from Joshua 1:1-9. God reminds us through the life of Joshua that in moments of growth in our lives, we must not only do as He has commanded us –Live it, but we must also have His word on our tongue, ready to share – Speak it. Verse 9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” Students are encouraged to be bold and unashamed to share their faith.
First Priority will be holding our SCORE (Students Count On Real Examples) Benefit Lunch on Wednesday, Nov. 2, 2016, at 11:30 a.m. at The Club, One Robert S. Smith Drive, Birmingham, Ala. 35209. Our special guest speaker is Author and Speaker Beth Nimmo, the mother of Rachel Scott. If you are interested in attending our Benefit Lunch, please click here for ticket information.
We hope you’ll make plans now to take your students this Friday, October 21, to watch the inspiring true story of a girl who was not ashamed to speak the name of Jesus.