Ministry

When I committed my life to Christ as a sophomore in high school, I got involved in my youth group and invited people to church. When I got my driver’s license, I loaded as many people as I could each week into my little car to take to church with me. That was good, but I realized there was so much more that I wanted to do for Him. I wanted everyone I knew to experience what I had by allowing Jesus to be Lord of my life. I thought about all of the students that I was around each and every day in my own school. I couldn’t fit them all in my car, but I could take church to them…at school. When I shared my burden of my school with my youth pastor, he told me about First Priority. I rallied together a few friends and shared with them how I would simply like to meet each week to pray and have a Bible Study before school. By hanging up a few posters and passing the word around, we began a First Priority Club my junior year at our high school that had about 30 students at our first meeting. By the end of the year, we had about 80 students gathering in our gym each Wednesday morning and grew to have up to 150 my senior year. Within those two years, I saw our club become one of the most happening things in our school. We had many of the area youth pastors involved and saw the churches begin to work together to grow the Kingdom of God. As the music began to play loudly each week, students would come rolling in to see what was going on in the “old gym.” But the best part was the impact that was made on their lives before they would leave the gym and throughout the day by students who were using high school as a mission field.

First Priority had given me a place to really let my light shine so others could see His grace. It was a place where students felt safe and accepted, and we saw so many make decisions to follow Christ. Our school became a different place because of the ministry of First Priority.  As I think back on the many unbelievable stories of lives being changed, I am reminded of two that stand out the most. One of my friends, who could possibly have been voted, “Most Likely to Never Become a Christian,” finally came to First Priority and made the decision to seriously follow Christ. I saw his life totally change! But, what was even better was when he asked to share his story at First Priority one Wednesday morning and filled the gym with people who came to hear what he had to say. So many people were saved because of his testimony then and even now as he pastors his own church.

My other story is a simple comment made to me one day by a girl I didn’t even know. “You are the reason that I’m saved,” she said.  That comment reminds me still to this day to do everything I can to help be the reason that people receive the love of Jesus.