EQUIP WEEK 1
You are Called to Follow Jesus
HAPPENING THIS MONTH: See You At The Pole
- Please make plans as a club to be part of See You At The Pole on your campus.
- Help plan See You At The Pole
- Make Sure School Administration knows about SYATP
START UP:
Welcome:
- Say: Welcome to First Priority! (Be sure to welcome guests) We are so glad that you have chosen to join us today! Our focus this month is going to be centered around “Following Jesus.”
- Say: What does it look like today for a teenager to follow Jesus?
- Say: Today is Equip Week. Today, we want to equip and encourage you to on how to better share your faith with your friends.
Opening Prayer:
- Say: God, thank you for another great week that we get to be here at our First Priority! I am thankful for those that are here today and thankful for your love for each of us! Prepare our hearts now to hear your Word. In Jesus name, Amen.
Game:
- See Game List (www.firstpriority.club/games)
- Feel free to select a game that fits your needs best!
DIG IN:
You are Called to Follow Jesus:
Mark 1:16-20
- In Mark 1, Jesus calls Peter, Andrew, James and John to drop their nets and follow Him. Notice they didn’t say, “Hey, we will just catch you the next time you come through town,”or, “Hey, we will follow you and listen to what you have to say, but don’t ask us to do anything.” In fact, what the men did was drop what they were doing and follow Him. They were taught by Him and then put His teaching into practice by fishing for people.
- Now, they didn’t always get it right, nor did they always fully understand what Jesus was asking them to do. In fact, early on, they got it wrong more than they got it right. However, they were on a journey of following Jesus, and once they received the Holy Spirit, they grew tremendously. They went “all in” with their faith, and God would turn the world upside down through these ordinary men who decided to follow an extraordinary Jesus!
- Before being used to reach people with the message of Jesus, their first step was to “drop their nets.” They had to drop their past, drop their comforts, and drop anything that would distract them from the primary call on their lives— to know Jesus and to make Him known.
Pruitt, Shane. Who’s Your One? 30 Day Devotional for Students. North American Mission Board.
Questions:
- What are some things we might need to drop in our lives to follow Jesus better?
TOOL TIME:
Supplies:
- Bracelets
- Posters
- Bibles
The Heart:
- God Loves Me
- God totally loves you! His love is boundless and unconditional. The love of God has shown itself through Jesus Christ. This loving God can be experienced, He is real and He wants nothing more than for you to experience His love personally and to discover the purpose of your life in your relationship with Him.
- 1 John 4:16
- Psalms 16:11
Questions:
- How have you experienced the love of God recently?
- How can you demonstrate the love of God this week through your first Priority club?
- What can I do personally this week to share the Love of God?
Prayer Time:
- Take 2 – 3 minutes to allow students to give different prayer requests and pray for the needs of the students.
- Ask students to pray for their friends that don’t know Christ.
Announcements:
- Say: This is the place for the club to make any announcements for the upcoming week and or month. This is a great spot to add student leaders to your team and give responsibilities to them. It is also the place to check on the upcoming school schedule for days off or breaks (your Faculty Sponsor is a great resource for this)
PREPARE WEEK 1
Jesus is God with Us
START UP:
Welcome:
- Say: Welcome to First Priority! (Be sure to welcome guests) We are so glad that you have chosen to join us today! Our focus this month is “Following Jesus.” Today is prepare week! Today, we want to see what God has to say about prayer. Specifically, the privilege of praying for others.
Opening Prayer:
- Say: God, thank you for another great week that we get to be here at our First Priority club! I am thankful for those that are here today and thankful for your love for each of us! Thank you for the privilege of prayer. I pray that we would be found faithful to pray for our friends to know you. Give us the strength to speak out. In Jesus name, Amen.
Game:
- See Game List (www.firstpriority.club/games)
- Feel free to select a game that fits your needs best!
DIG IN:
Jesus is God with Us
Read: John 1:1–5, 14–18
- Have you ever thought to yourself, “If God is real, then why doesn’t He just reveal Himself? Why won’t He just speak to us in a loud audible voice saying, ‘Hey, here I am! This is what I’m like!’?” If God would just let us all see Him, then surely everyone would believe. After all it’s really hard for mankind to believe in someone they can’t see or touch.
- Guess what? That is exactly what God did! He showed Himself and spoke to us through Jesus Christ.
- John 1 presents to us a beautiful idea of who Jesus is. He is the perfect representation of what God the Father is really like. God revealed Himself to His creation, and many still did not believe. In fact, they crucified Him!
- Realize today that you serve a God who loves you so much that He took the time to reveal Himself to you through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say ‘Show us the Father?’”
Pruitt, Shane. Who’s Your One? 30 Day Devotional for Students. North American Mission Board.
Questions:
- What are some of the things in creation that reveal Christ?
- Even if Jesus spoke to us audibly, would we really listen?
- What can you do today to better hear the voice of the Lord?
TOOL TIME:
Let’s spend some time preparing to do our part to reach our campus for Christ.
Learning to share your story:
Sharing your story outline
- What was your life like before you encountered Jesus?
- When and where did you first encounter Jesus?
- When did you pray the prayer of salvation and start following Jesus?
- Where do you attend church? Talk about your youth group and how it has impacted your life.
- When were you baptized?
- How has your life been different since you started following Jesus?
- Close with what you want others to know. This is a good place to share your favorite scripture and challenge others to follow HIM.
- Share the Gospel message using the four.
For two more ways to learn to share your story and God’s story, go to: https://firstpriority.club/storytraining
Prepare for Invite Week:
Who will be responsible for these areas:
- Pizza/Donut Order
- Welcome/Opening Prayer
- Game
- Guest Speaker
- Guest Speaker guidelines
Prayer Time – PREPARE:
- Take 2-3 minutes to allow students to share different prayer requests and pray for the needs of the students.
- Spend a few minutes praying for next week. Pray specifically for students’ lives to be forever changed by the Good News of Jesus Christ!
Prayer Cards: - Use the Prayer Cards that were provided for the club.
Invite Cards: - Use the Invite Cards that were provided for the club.
- Make sure to fill them out.
Announcements:
- This is the place for the club to make any announcements for the upcoming week and or month. This is a great spot to add student leaders to your team and give responsibilities to them. It is also the place to check on the upcoming school schedule for days off or breaks (your Faculty Sponsor is a great resource for this).
INVITE WEEK 1
Gospel Presentation
The Four: God Loves / Sin Separates / Jesus Died / Relationship with God is life’s answer
START UP:
Welcome:
- Say: Welcome to First Priority! (Be sure to welcome guests). We are so glad that you have chosen to join us today! Our focus this month has been centered around “Following Jesus”. Today is Invite Week!
Opening Prayer:
- Say: God, thank you for another great week that we get to be here at our First Priority! We pray for our speaker today (use their name) as they share their story. We pray that our hearts would be open to hearing how much you love each one of us. In Jesus name, Amen.
Game:
- See Game List (www.firstpriority.club/games)
- Feel free to select a game that fits your needs best!
DIG IN:
Gospel Presentation:
- The first verse on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 3:23, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” We have all sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God. There is no one who is innocent. Romans 3:10-18 gives a detailed picture of what sin looks like in our lives. The second Scripture on the Romans Road to salvation, Romans 6:23, teaches us about the consequences of sin – “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!
- The third verse on the Romans Road to salvation picks up where Romans 6:23 left off, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Romans 5:8 declares, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus Christ died for us! Jesus’ death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus’ resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus’ death as the payment for our sins.
- The fourth stop on the Romans Road to salvation is Romans 10:9, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, all we have to do is believe in Him, trusting His death as the payment for our sins – and we will be saved! Romans 10:13 says it again, “for everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.
- The final aspect of the Romans Road to salvation is the results of salvation. Romans 5:1 has this wonderful message, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Through Jesus Christ we can have a relationship of peace with God. Romans 8:1 teaches us, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Because of Jesus’ death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins. Finally, we have this precious promise of God from Romans 8:38-39, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Would you like to follow the Romans Road to salvation? If so, here is a simple prayer you can pray to God. Saying this prayer is a way to declare to God that you are relying on Jesus Christ for your salvation. The words themselves will not save you. Only faith in Jesus Christ can provide salvation! “God, I know that I have sinned against you and am deserving of punishment. But Jesus Christ took the punishment that I deserve so that through faith in Him I could be forgiven. With your help, I place my trust in You for salvation. Thank You for Your wonderful grace and forgiveness – the gift of eternal life! Amen!”
TOOL TIME:
- Response card
- Clear invitation and opportunity to respond to the gospel message
- Invite students to come back next week to Connect week.
- EAT PIZZA / DOUGHNUTS
Announcements:
- This is the place for the club to make any announcements for the upcoming week and or month. This is a great spot to add student leaders to your team and give responsibilities to them. It is also the place to check on the upcoming school schedule for days off or breaks (your Faculty Sponsor is a great resource for this).
CONNECT WEEK 1
Pointing to the One, Who is Greater
START UP:
Welcome:
- Say: Welcome to First Priority! (Be sure to welcome guests) We are so glad that you have chosen to join us today! Our focus this month has been “Following Jesus.” Today is Connect Week and we are so excited to share with you the many ways to connect with God through the local church.
Opening Prayer:
- Say: God, thank you for another great week that we get to be here at our First Priority! I am so thankful for those that committed their lives to follow Jesus last week. I am also thankful for the local church. Thank you, God, that you have placed people in groups that love you and that will help each other walk faithfully. In Jesus name, Amen.
Game:
- See Game List (www.firstpriority.club/games)
- Feel free to select a game that fits your needs best!
DIG IN:
Pointing to the One, Who is Greater
Read: Mark 1:1-8
- If you’re a boxing fan, you know at main-event boxing matches that there are always under-card bouts. Under-card bouts are often fights between two lesser-known boxers designed to get the crowd ready for the main event, which is the championship fight between the two heavy-weight boxers.
- Maybe you are not a boxing fan; instead, you may be a fan of food. When you go to a restaurant, you have the appetizer—a small dish to prepare you for the better main course meal that is soon coming.
- John the Baptist told the crowds who came out to hear him preach, “One who is more powerful than I am is coming after me.” People knew that John the Baptist was a prophet sent from God, and his words were to be heeded. However, they must have been stunned to hear John saying, “I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the strap of his sandals.” John was just the “under-card” or “appetizer” to get the people ready for the most important of all, Jesus Christ!
- You must realize that church does not take the place of Jesus, books about Him do not replace Him and music cannot take the place of His greatness. Our job as believers is to point people to the One, who is greater than anything—Jesus.
Pruitt, Shane. Who’s Your One? 30 Day Devotional for Students. North American Mission Board.
Questions:
- What can you as a club do this week to display Christ on your campus?
- How can you promote Jesus this week rather than yourself?
- Why is it so hard to promote Jesus in todays society?
TOOL TIME:
Prayer Time – CONNECT:
- Take 2-3 minutes to allow students to give different prayer requests and pray for the needs of the students. Spend a few minutes praying for local churches.
Connection:
Christ:
- Anyone want to share their connection to Christ story? (How they came to a relationship with Christ.)
Club:
- Who can we connect to club this next week?
Church:
- Ask students what churches they go to?
- Why do they go to their church?
- What do they love about their church?
– Mentor share about their church!
Announcements:
- This is the place for the club to make any announcements for the upcoming week and or month.
- This is a great spot to add student leaders to your team and give responsibilities to them.
- It is also the place to check on the upcoming school schedule for days off or breaks (your Faculty Sponsor is a great resource for this).
