Student-led faith group forms at BHS

Paul Schweigert, Cary Miller and Dave Blackwell recently spoke to Belgreen’s Faith Followers. | Melissa Cason/FCT

BELGREEN – Twice a semester a special group at Belgreen High School meets to discuss their love for Christ, a topic not usually found discussed inside the walls of a school.

Faith Followers, a student-led organization, was founded four years ago as an alternative for Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“We had FCA but a lot of our students aren’t athletes and you had to be an athlete in order to be an officer in FCA,”  the organization’s sponsor, Susan Thompson, said.

“So I asked about starting a club that’s a little more inclusive to all the students, so Faith Followers was born.”

The group has 12 leaders instead of officers, who actually run the group. Thompson attends the meeting but is only there to ensure there is peace and order in the room.

“I can’t actually participate in the meetings because of the laws, so this is a student-led  organization, which is part of what makes it great,” Thompson said.

Thompson said the group meets twice a semester. The meetings usually consist of skits, a devotion and a speaker.

The group recently had Paul Schweiger as their guest speaker.

Schweiger has been carrying a 12-foot cross through out the state since December 1995. Schweiger, Cary Miller, and Dave Blackwell have visited every school in Franklin County except Phil Campbell, bringing the message of the cross.

“I just walk down the road carrying a 12-foot cross,” Schweiger said. “I expect to be in Franklin County for the next few months carrying the cross.”

Schweiger estimates he carries the cross for five to six hours per day. He departs the county each evening and drives back home to Birmingham, and returns the next day for another day of cross carrying.

“This is my 32nd county in Alabama I have walked, so I have many more counties to go,” Schweiger said. “I usually spend about six months in each county getting to know the people and sharing the message of the cross.”

After sharing his story with the group at Belgreen, Schweiger was back busy carrying the cross in an effort to spread the love of Christ in Franklin County.

In addition to Schweiger, Faith Followers has had Archie Hubbard, Pam Foster and Micah Wally as their guests for their meetings.

“We also have a birthday party for Jesus every  year at Christmas,” Thompson said.

The group originally  had 85 members to sign their pledge card, but the numbers vary from meeting to meeting.