By Samantha Swindler / Managing Editor

The first priority of First Priority is accepting and sharing the word of God... but goofy teenage fun might come in second.

Hundreds of middle school and high school students attended the Christian club’s rally Wednesday at Corbin’s Campbell Field, where kids competed in inflatable games, took a chance on the rock wall and were treated to a free concert by Christian alt-rock band Live Fish.

The event was a true community collaboration.

“Whitley County UNITE paid for the band to come in and share a drug-free message. Knox County UNITE gave T-shirts to give away. About 13 churches kicked money in for the inflatables. The National Guard did the rock climbing wall free of charge,” said Tim Bargo, executive director of First Priority Tri-County.

The concert and games were the wrap-up to a day that started, for most First Priority members, with the annual See You At The Pole rally — a student-led global effort to bring kids together for prayer around school flag poles.

“First Priority is a Christian club in the middle and high schools operating under the Equal Access Act that is student-led,” Bargo said.

The Tri-County branch of the club also held its annual training day at the Princess McBurney Center Wednesday, where 190 students and 48 adults learned about the mission of the club.

Gerald Bingham, a teacher at Knox Central High School, said First Priority’s goal is “equipping, encouraging and enpowering kids to Jesus Christ.” He said one of the club’s goals is to FISH — focus, inspire, share and hook.

FISH must be working. First Priority grew so much in the Tri-County that the organization split off from the First Priority Tri-State in May. Wednesday’s rally was the first for the Tri-County group but, Bargo said, likely not the last.

“I think it’s really cool with everything that’s going on in our world, today, you never know what these kids are going through, and for them to be able to come together — a common place, common goal, common faith — and to be able to share their trust in Jesus and come to an event like this, I think it says a lot about our Tri-County area, it says a lot about the churches,” said Mike Addison, youth pastor at New Hope Ministries in Corbin. “You see this kind of turnout here and it really makes what we do worth while. It’s not about my church or his church, but it’s really about Jesus.”