Maybe you’ve seen the ominous “feeling empty?” signs around the school, and wondered what they meant.  Well, I, as a journalist, was curious and decided to see what it was all about.  It turns out Project 7 (P7), the club that posted these signs around the school, is an Apostolic Pentecostal Bible-based club that works on projects for the community and studies various scripture.  I decided to go and see what these meetings might consist of.

Project 7 was started by Johnathan Nazarian in 2013, and over 700 chapters have been formed since then.  The goals of P7 are simple as stated in their Mission Statement; to “Unlock Faith, Unleash Truth, Elevate Christ, and Serve Others.”  The president of the McCracken County chapter is Jonathan Lowe (Junior) who runs P7 with the help of McKinlie Smallwood (Freshman).  The club meets every Thursday in the library and participates in a variety of community service related activities on other occasions, such as their outreach project they participated in on September 16th.

The first bible study P7 lead was focusing on the significance of social media in our lives.  Lowe stated that the average teen spends 7.5 hours on their phone every day observing and interacting with the media that promotes worldly views.  He then continued, asking, is the social media content you view something Jesus would approve of?  We disregard the ungodly things we see because we say the good outweighs the bad, but media matters because our communication, online and off, reflects our values.  We shouldn’t be spending more time on social media each day than we do with God.  Ephesians 5:1 states “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children” (New International Version, Eph. 5.1).  How we handle situations is looked at by those around us, as well as how we act and how we post.

The challenge that Lowe proposed is to take one day this week to detox from unnecessary social media usage (keep your Snapstreaks, respond if it’s important, but otherwise remain deactivated).  Lowe suggested you can be a witness of God to your teachers by simply paying attention in class.  Christians need to set themselves apart from others to show God’s influence in their lives. Lowe also provided a Bible study method called SOAP.  This method involves writing the scripture, your observations, the applications to your life, and a prayer for that week. Lowe suggests that everyone try to read the Bible at least once a day and use this method at least once a week.  He also provided a sheet for a “prayer pattern” with the acronym CHAT.  This suggests you “cheer God on for who He is, humble yourself, appreciate what He has done, and tell God your needs.”  The word of God is a Christian’s daily bread, a direction for their lives, and should continue to devote themselves to the study of God’s word.

P7 had a friendly environment, a good scripture lesson, and a drive to help others in our community that was inspirational.  Overall, this is a worthwhile experience and a great opportunity for those interested in creating a deeper understanding of the word of God.  It could be a life-changing experience.

P7 continues to accept new people throughout the year.  For more information about the club, visit p7online.com or contact Jonathan Lowe.