In the fall of 1990, the ministry of First Priority was established in the hearts of local youth ministers from the South Jefferson and Shelby County areas. The initial movement was spearheaded by Benny Proffitt, then minister of youth at Shades Mountain Baptist Church. A total of seven other youth ministers representing seven churches and three denominations joined Benny in developing First Priority. Not long after these network groups began meeting, the U.S. Supreme Court passed a ruling upholding the rights of Christian students to begin student-led Christian clubs on their school campus. Soon, the overriding purpose of this group of First Priority youth ministers became encouraging to their students to take advantage of this opportunity. Before long, students from six different schools began to meet on their campus as First Priority clubs. As the First Priority movement built up steam, a Board of Directors was formed and non-profit status was gained.

From that small group of men and women, the vision of First Priority spread like wildfire. Six schools have now grown to over 200 in Central Alabama alone, involving nearly 15,000 students every week during the school year. As more churches began implementing First Priority in their communities, the movement spread outside Alabama. As a result, Benny Proffitt left Birmingham to form First Priority of America, which has now touched all fifty states. Today, there are hundreds of networks and thousands of First Priority campus clubs nationwide. And, it gets better… Benny took First Priority international eight years ago. First Priority now has teams in Europe, South America and Africa! Wow, our God is good!

First Priority First Director Mark Roberts, Former Board Member Roger Chambers, Founder Benny Proffitt, President Greg Davis

“The heart of God is to bring people together to share the message of Jesus Christ with this generation,” said First Priority Founder Benny Proffitt. “One in 145,000 comes to know Christ after high school. Now is the time to reach students.”

Our culture is changing vastly and First Priority is working to change with it. We are now reaching students in elementary schools. We are about to begin our third year of implementing FPKids, a strategy for churches and parents to partner together around schools to empower elementary and intermediate students to influence their school with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. FPKids is in over 35 schools locally and reaches more than 3,500 students every week. It too is now being implemented across the U.S.

“It is only God who can see the countless lives that have been impacted by First Priory in the last 25 years,” said First Director of First Priority Mark Roberts. “It’s amazing to think that a few youth pastors from different churches decided to send their students to school as missionaries. Because of what took place in Birmingham, First Priority has now expanded to 26 organizations that influence over 200 communities and have a club in 2,600 schools.”

We thank God for choosing Birmingham, Ala. to begin this global movement. We also thank Him for you who support First Priority of Alabama. Faithful people just like you have allowed this ministry to touch the lives of hundreds of thousands of students over the past 25 years. And, the work has just begun! Each new school year brings with it thousands of students who need to know of the life-changing power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You can continue to help! Will you commit to giving $25 per month for the next year in honor of our 25^th Anniversary? A gift in any amount is greatly appreciated and will be used to help further the ministry of First Priority to reach students for Christ. CLICK HERE to start giving today. We look forward to serving alongside you in the effort to share the Gospel with each of our students.