By Maggie Walsh
The Alabama Baptist
The start of the 2015–2016 school year marks a milestone for First Priority, a Christian nonprofit that seeks to prepare and strengthen students to share the hope of Christ with others in their school. This year, it celebrates 25 years of ministry on public school campuses.
First Priority began in 1990 when Benny Proffitt, then minister of youth at Shades Mountain Baptist Church, Vestavia Hills, realized that in order to reach teenagers for Christ youth ministers have to go where the students are instead of trying to get the students to come to them. Pair that with the U.S. Supreme Court ruling upholding students’ rights to begin student-led Christian clubs on campus, and First Priority was born.
Reaching students before they leave high school is vital, Proffitt said in a press release. “One in 145,000 comes to know Christ after high school. Now is the time to reach students.”
What started with six schools in the Birmingham area has grown to involve more than 200 schools and nearly 15,000 students weekly in Central Alabama alone. Statewide there are 184 schools involved. First Priority of America has thousands of campus clubs nationwide and First Priority Global has stretched to impact Europe, South America and Africa.
And the organization also has expanded to reach younger students through FPKids for elementary and intermediate students. In its third year, FPKids is in more than 45 schools in Alabama.
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