When I was about seven years old living in Cuba, I had a dream that Jesus told me that he would take me to see my dad again (who lived at the time in the U.S.). One year later, He granted me the blessing of living with my dad when I came to the US. I learned then, that God always fulfills His promises.
I first joined First Priority when I was in ninth grade and was sort of in the beginning’s in my relationship with the Lord. Though I always prayed and held God close to my heart, I had very little knowledge of His Word until the summer of 2020. I became much closer to Jesus when I started reading the Gospel of Matthew and learned who He was at a deeper level.
First Priority has impacted my school experience immensely, mainly because it has been a reminder that I must take the word of God into account in every situation (including the situations that may arise in my academic life). I know the Holy Spirit dwells within me, and the club is a reflection of that beautiful gift. Brothers and sisters in Christ come to the meetings knowing that they can divulge any aspect of their academic life, any hardships, or heavy burdens, and know that we will always bring Jesus into the equation when discussing these things.
God has taught me so much about throughout the year, but I think one thing that certainly stands out is learning to be less concerned with what others think of me, and rather, look toward God for validation. We live in a world that glorifies busyness and worldly achievements, and we can only avoid getting swept up by the spiraling cycle by the wonderful Grace of God. God has been working in my life to show me that His light, love, peace, joy, mercy, sacrifice, and grace is all I need. The feelings and thoughts that people have towards us change all the time, but God never changes! My satisfaction comes from Jesus. He showed His immense Love for us through His death on the cross, and yet again blesses us and teaches us each and every day. I could not be more blessed to belong to His Family.
First Priority is a beautiful way to link the campus to Christ and open doors of our schools for every student.
It teaches that Christianity is not about religion, but rather it is about relationship – a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through Club, we learn that to live out our Faith, we must make God and His will a part of everything we do.
I would explain First Priority as a club like no other – a club that can serve as a place to make genuine friendships that could last a lifetime, as well as a place to learn from others who are on their walk with the Lord, and most importantly a medium through which we can learn about our Savior Jesus. We need the Light that God provides in every campus, especially considering we are living in a broken world. The burdens of this world can get overwhelming and without God to relieve those burdens, it can become much harder to live our day-to-day lives and accomplish the calling He has given us. First priority gives us a way to shed light on those matters and support each other through our struggles.
The journey of Faith has been absolutely amazing and I am more than blessed to have started a First Priority at my new school this year, by the Grace of God!
-Melissa, Student Leader
