On Thursday, March 5th, six members of Club America joined together by the flag for their first prayer circle. Last names and grades were removed to protect student identities.
“So it was me, some other students and then some adults that I’ve known, some officials running for office, things like that. We kind of prayed for the safety of our officers, for the safety of our armed servicemen in the Middle East and around the world. We prayed for their families, and then we also just kind of spread the gospel,” student Sierra said.
Students who attended said that the event was calm and informative.
“I thought that it was honestly a super positive event, and a lot of adults came, even the police. It was a circle where we talked about the world and we preached the Bible. It was very enjoyable and calm,” student Destin said.
The event was hosted by the recently made Club America, which was founded and led by Sierra.
“Club America is powered by Turning Point USA, and we basically encourage and teach traditional Christian values and conservative values. So free market, limited government, things like that. We learn, and we have lessons about everything that pertains to The Constitution, ideas that run more conservative. We learn about a lot of things together,” Sierra said.
Sierra has a mission to spread her beliefs and promote her values to students.
“I’ve always kind of been a big fan of Charlie Kirk, and after his death, it hit me that this is not the time to be quiet about what I believe in. I mean, he was outspoken, and he truly believed and spread, not even just conservative values, but God. I felt like it was not my duty, but that I should help with that mission,” Sierra said.
Other students have similar reasons for joining the club.
“I want to help increase the voice of the conservative side of everything, because I feel that Democrats have the mic a lot more. I want to make a difference,” student Jack said.
IMPACT officers have been really supportive of the creation of Club America.
“A lot of the officers, especially at the Lee’s Summit police department or just IMPACT, feel even stronger than me about the beliefs that we have. They wholeheartedly supported me, and they told me I was brave, and how proud they are of me for doing this,” Sierra said.
The officers have helped to support Sierra and the rest of Club America feel confident enough to speak up about their beliefs.
“They’ve helped with my confidence and knowing that when I feel alone in school, I’m not. Even outside of school, there’s a lot of people that are higher-ups, like police officers who have that authority, and they support me too. I’m not some crazed lunatic who has one side opinion and everyone else thinks differently. But actually a lot of people share my same beliefs and my opinions, and hearing the officers say that really means a lot, especially since I’ve known them for so long. It definitely has helped with my confidence in speaking out,” Sierra said.
Being outspoken about her beliefs has caused her to experience harassment at school.
“A bunch of people I was overhearing in the hallways, them talking about me and looking at me and stuff like that and just ridiculing me about what I believe in. Obviously I’m not the bravest person in any way, I just want to stand up for what I believe in. There’s so many other kids at this school who stand up for what they believe in, but when it comes to what I believe in, it feels like I’m not allowed to, and I feel like it’s almost a one sided thing, where we’re okay with them sharing their opinions and we want to share ours, but with people who think differently than me, they don’t want me to share my opinion. They’d rather just not hear it at all,” Sierra said.
Other members of Club America feel the same way as Sierra.
“I think that people are just scared to disagree with people. A lot of people take disagreement as an attack against them and their beliefs when it’s just a simple disagreement,” student Angus said.
Sierra believes that even though her group is small, it is enough to make her and other members of her club feel a sense of belonging.
“It’s okay to have different opinions and speak out against the majority of the group. Nobody liked Jesus either. He was hated and ridiculed for what he believed in, and that’s okay, because we don’t need to be 300 kids that believe in the same thing. Even just five of us is enough to know that we’re not alone,” Sierra said.
