New Blogpost by YM360.com

“Public schools are the largest mission field in the USA.”

This is a common refrain from Matt Wilson, Executive Director of First Priority (Greater Birmingham). And you know what? Matt’s right.

Our public schools are fertile fields ripe for harvest. And First Priority is one of the most effective organizations in the country for reaching them.

That is why youthministry360 is honored to be partnering with First Priority to impact this generation (and future ones) of teenagers.

We love First Priority’s Vision Statement:

A City Wide Church Vision with a Comprehensive Plan of Action to Reach This Generation of Students with the Love and Message of Jesus Christ.

We like the intentionality of this statement. Two things particularly jump out to us:

City Wide Church Vision

At youthministry360, we are passionate about serving and equipping youth workers in the local church. First Priority, more than any other national organization we have encountered, lifts up the local church.
First Priority are experts at helping youth workers develop and maintain networks, and supporting youth workers through these networks. This commitment fits right in line with youthminstry360’s DNA. We have loved watching the ym360 community grow and evolve. When youth workers equip other youth workers through their own experiences and passions, the Church only gets stronger.
Comprehensive Plan of Action

First Priority has a lot of different ways to help youth workers raise up student leaders on school campuses. Whether it is student-led clubs at school, See You At The Pole rallies, or any other of the many initiatives organized by local First Priority chapters, they are so great at putting their values into action.
There are simply a lot of things that First Priority has been doing for years that match up very well with youthministry360. So, we have committed to working together to reach teenagers for Christ and to support youth workers in the local church.

What does this partnership look like? Great question. Right now, we’re still figuring it out. But here’s what we know . . .

We are passionate about developing excellent, Bible-centered resources that are creative and culturally relevant. So, there is a lot of potential here.
We love to leverage our network of youth ministry experts. You can bet there will be some great opportunities for youthministry360 to intersect with First Priority’s city-wide networks to create some incredible training opportunities.
We’re still ironing out the details. But you can count on us to keep you updated. For now, we’re just excited about the incredible opportunities this partnership represents for you . . . the youth worker.

Andy Blanks is the co-founder of youthministry360. Andy has worked in youth ministry for 12 years, almost exclusively writing, designing, and developing curriculum. Andy is a teacher at heart and loves to challenge teenagers and youth workers alike through his writing and speaking.