First Priority celebrates 30th year giving hope to students across Birmingham schools

GIVING HOPE

First Priority celebrates 30th year in Birmingham schools

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FIRST PRIORITY

Club meetings consist of music, prayer, student testimonies, and creating peer accountability.

BY LAUREN H. DOWDLE

School and the people children meet while they are there have major impacts on their lives. That’s why one nonprofit looks to ensure students have positive, godly influences both at school and beyond.

First Priority’s mission is to instill the hope of Christ in every student, uniting local churches and those in the community with a plan of action to influence the schools with the gospel.

Greg Davis, president of First Priority, first started with the nonprofit as a volunteer in the 1990s. At the time, he was working as a local church youth pastor when his students asked him to get involved with the nonprofit. About a year later, he was asked to come on staff — and 25 years later, he’s still at it.

“I haven’t found anything that works better than First Priority, nothing that has the same impact on students looking for hope,” Davis says. “It’s an amazing opportunity, and we’re glad we are able to take advantage of the open door to go right into schools where the kids are.”

First Priority works with local churches and parents in the community to establish legal campus clubs in elementary, middle, and high schools. They provide training and support to help them make the clubs successful.

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Moody High School students came together for See You at the Pole.

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“It establishes a Christian platform and peer groups on campus,” Davis says. “It provides the chance for churches, parents, and the community to get involved in their schools.”

Three decades after starting on a few campuses around the city, First Priority can now be found on more than 150 campuses across Central Alabama, as well as in parts of all 50 states and some international locations.

Before the pandemic, they had anywhere from 20,000 to 30,000 students involved in the clubs, along with hundreds of volunteers like church pastors, faculty members, teachers, sponsors, and parents.

A typical club meeting consists of music, students sharing, prayer, and creating good accountability among the students. Most met once a week before the pandemic.

Several of the middle and high schools have now begun allowing in-person meetings again, allowing some of the student-led clubs to get together again — while others continue to meet virtually.

They’re still waiting until adults are allowed back on campus to lead the elementary clubs, which are called Priority Kids, though they have sent parents materials for those children to keep them involved.

Davis says his favorite part about being involved with First Priority is seeing the students get involved. “I get to watch them develop as leaders, grow in their faith, and get involved in their local churches, which is our goal,” he says.

Davis has seen students who participated when they were in school now come back as volunteers. “They give back and help us get to more schools so other kids can have the same opportunities as them,” he says.

He also sees several past-students who now have children of their own in First Priority. “Some are also pastors and great leaders in their communities, so to know that in some way, having the club on campus helped develop them is really neat,” he says.

Working with First Priority has become a family affair in Davis’s household. Davis’ senior daughter is a primary leader at her school, his son has been involved, and his wife is also a volunteer.

Their goal is to have a club on every campus across the greater Birmingham area.

“We’re just looking for those community volunteers and local churches to make that happen,” he says. “We never just go to a school to start it. The community has to be involved.”

He encourages parents to ask their children’s schools about First Priority or Priority Kids to see how they can get their children involved.

“They’ll find good, positive peer groups and be around the right kinds of friends and local volunteers in the community,” Davis says.

In addition to working with First Priority, Davis also hosts a Christian talk show called Priority Talk on WXJC 101.1 FM from 3 to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. He covers topics like family issues, marriage, children, culture, and more.

The nonprofit always welcome volunteers and donations. For more information on First Priority, visit Firstpriorityal.com.