Students | First Priority of Tampa Bay

Reasons to be a First Priority leader include:

Sharing the HOPE and truth of Jesus with friends at school
Developing your leadership and public speaking skills
Working with and serve other students
Mentoring younger students to become leaders
Including your leadership position on college and employment applications
Working with First Priority students from other schools

The requirements of a First Priority leader:

A follower of Jesus and a faithful member of a local church/youth group
Others’ minded and service oriented
A team builder and inclusive
Faithful and reliable
A leader interested in seeing others reach their potential in Christ
Able to attend and lead the weekly meetings
Able to work with Administrators in a God-honoring way

How to relaunch your group (2020-2021):

Confirm faculty member is available to host meetings
Confirm meeting day, time and location (for each lunch period, if applicable)
If needed, provide the administration with Letter of Intent to Meet
Set a date for the first meeting
Notify First Priority with meeting information (can be done on the website, app or by email)
Meet with student leaders to plan the first HOPE cycle; have all resources needed HOPE Strategy cheat sheet
Use the first meeting to train students on the purpose of First Priority
Request help from First Priority as needed Contact US

Understanding the Equal Access Act:

These resources help students to understand their rights for meeting on campus, regardless of the meeting’s content (religious, political or otherwise):

How to Start a First Priority Group:

Want to know how to start a club or group?

These steps are for launching a traditional, in-person club that meets weekly on campus. If this is not an option for you, please contact us about our Virtual Club every Thursday at 4pm and 7pm. The Virtual Club is open to all middle and high school students in the 4-county area. infofirstpriority@gmail.com

Click here to launch an in-person club: First Priority Steps for Starting a Campus Club

Click here to launch a campus virtual club: Steps for Starting a Virtual Club

Navigating Your Club During the Pandemic:

Due to pandemic restrictions, we are offering First Priority students three meeting options this fall:

1. Meet in-person at school (traditional model)

2. Participate in the Virtual Club every Thursday at 4pm or 7pm via Zoom (for all counties)

3. Organize a Zoom meeting for your club (consider partnering with another school)

Our staff is here to help you every step of the way, and to navigate the process of launching or participating in a club. Please contact us for help: infofirstpriority@gmail.com

Apologetics for students:

Want tips on how to defend your faith? Click here: http://www.bethinking.org/apologetics

Questions and answers for students:

Have questions about you rights? Click here: Questions and answers for students (70 downloads)

Do student-led clubs/groups have the right to put parameters on who is able to lead? Yes. Click here to read the Supreme Court decision: https://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-2nd-circuit/1265184.html

Tips for sharing the gospel:

At Dare 2 Share, we train teens how to share their faith because a lot of teens and adults know how to bring up the gospel but don’t always know how to share the gospel. Sometimes the gospel is hindered because of fear or uncertainty. It is our goal at Dare 2 Share to help every teen and youth leader feel comfortable to fearlessly share the gospel with their friends, family, students and peers.

Learn how to share the gospel with a practical, 4-minute crash course training by Greg Stier and a set of resources designed to help activate a bold and daring faith!