News

Connecting the Church to Reach the Campus for Christ

The Good News
1 Sep 2014
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Three of the largest school districts in the country are right here in South Florida: Miami-Dade County is the 2nd largest, Broward County the 5th and Palm Beach County is the 12th. These are only three of the five counties First Priority serves. Startling evidence shows that 96% of those students do not attend church or show evidence of a personal relationship with Christ, which demonstrates the urgent need for us to meet them where they are — the campus. The greatest influence on a teenager is a peer, so First Priority partners with the local church to equip students […]

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School Can Be a 9 Month Mission Trip

The Good News
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The Dominican Republic, Kenya, Colombia, Southeast Asia, Haiti — these are some places that may pop into your head when you think of a mission trip. Mission trips are altruistic endeavors by church groups to provide physical and/or spiritual relief in times of crisis. At First Priority students are equipped for a mission trip to places that desperately need Jesus. It is estimated that where they go 96% of the population is without Jesus. Where’s their destination? The public school campus. If you have gone on a mission trip before, it may have lasted a week, a month or a […]

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First Priority: Connecting the Church to Reach the Campus for Christ

The Good News
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  Three of the largest school districts in the country are right here in South Florida: Miami-Dade County is the 2nd largest, Broward County the 5th and Palm Beach County is the 12th. These are only three of the five counties First Priority serves. Startling evidence shows that 96% of those students do not attend church or show evidence of a personal relationship with Christ, which demonstrates the urgent need for us to meet them where they are — the campus. The greatest influence on a teenager is a peer, so First Priority partners with the local church to equip […]

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Putting Hope Within Reach

Shelly Pond
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Teen Challenge Women’s Home is a residential discipleship program located in Davie that helps women break off the destructive chains of drug addiction and alcoholism that ensnare them. According to Teen Challenge literature, there are over 278 million drug users worldwide. Sadly drug addiction shatters lives, but Teen Challenge works with adults, youth and families to help them pick up the pieces by offering life transformation to individuals through Christ-centered programs. Rick Fernandez, executive director of Teen Challenge in Davie since 1988 and a graduate of the program, explained they are “home to up to 16 hurt, abused women – […]

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Three Ways You Can Transform Iraq

Jim Denison
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The world is watching with horror as Islamic State jihadists in Iraq crucify Christians, behead children and bury victims alive. When Christians flee ahead of their advance, the terrorists then steal their homes and businesses. They mark them with a red, painted U-shaped symbol with a dot above the center. This is the 14th letter of the Arabic alphabet (pronounced “noon”), equivalent to the Roman letter N. The letter stands for Nazarenes, a pejorative Arabic word for Christians. As Jews were forced by Nazis to wear the Star of David, so the homes of Christians are being painted with an […]

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The US Immigration Crisis: How Human Trafficking Is Disguised As Migration

Nathan McConnell
4 Aug 2014
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After three summers of working with Somali refugees in Malta, I have seen the dysfunction and opportunity of immigration. I have seen the joys for those who walk through the process and the anguish of those who are stuck in the midst of the bureaucratic processing. My context was the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). As a professor at Palm Beach Atlantic, I’ve had the privilege of taking students to minister to North African Muslims, migrants from Somalia, Eritrea, Ghana, Chad and Ethiopia, Nigeria and Libya. All were affected by the Arab Spring of 2010 and detained in […]

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Republicans Vie for Congress in District 22

Sasha Richardson
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The Republican Primary election on August 26 has three republicans competing to represent Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. After that date, one will have the chance to replace incumbent democrat Lois Frankel in the general election on November 4. That person will represent about 650,000 people across five cities. He or she would be their voice on the federal level. All three candidates – Andrea Leigh McGee, Paul Spain and David William Wagie – support a limited government, a balanced national budget, a simplified tax code and making changes for job growth; however, you may find that they vary on social […]

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Contini Challenges Incumbent Circuit Court Judge

Alexander Suarez
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Voters will have the opportunity to decide whether to choose Attorney John P. Contini or incumbent Judge Steven B. Feren for Broward Circuit Court Judge on August 26th. This election will determine who decides cases related to family court and juveniles, so there are many factors to consider. These cases require care and wisdom to avoid rashness or the sway of persuasion that comes through outward impressions, being able to discern right and wrong with utmost caution as those deliberating over the lives of those under their responsibility. It also means managing a full docket of cases without getting bogged […]

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Strength In Weakness

Jeremy McKeen
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How do you view your weaknesses? Do you boast in them? Weaknesses and hardships are not typically something people boast about, but they can be. You wouldn’t naturally think that your weakness is an asset, that your trial is a gift or that your problem can actually make you more effective in life, but it’s true. The Apostle Paul once had a “thorn in the flesh,” some weakness that was harassing him, but he learned how to boast in it and be content with it, and you can too. The problem of weakness One of the problems of weakness is […]

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Chinese Pastor Sentenced to 12 Years

The Good News
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ASSIST News Service Three members of a jailed Christian pastor’s family have made an extraordinary escape from China to the United States with the help of an underground network of activists. According Mark Stone, Asia Correspondent for Sky News in Beijing, Zhang Shaojie’s daughter, son-in-law, and one-year-old granddaughter arrived in Dallas, Texas, on Monday after a journey which took them through five countries. Last week, Pastor Zhang was sentenced at a local court to 12 years in jail for ‘gathering crowds to disturb public order’ and ‘fraud’ after a secret detention spanning seven months. His family, who have spent much […]

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