Students joined in prayer at the flagpole of schools across the globe for the annual “See You at the Pole” day on Wednesday morning. The event was observed at 7:00 a.m. at local schools with hundreds in attendance at many Early and Brownwood schools.
During the event each year, students gather at their flagpoles, praying for their school, friends, families, churches, and communities. It is a day committed to global unity in Christ and prayer for others, according to the “See You at the Pole” website.
This year’s event theme followed the Apostle Paul’s famous passage on the armor of God, challenging and encouraging Christ followers to stand strong in the Lord and be His representatives to share the Good News of the Gospel, according to organizers. Students were encouraged to “never stop praying, especially for others.”
First Methodist Church of Brownwood Associate Pastor Scotty Crawford described the event at Brownwood Middle School with the photo above on his Facebook page.
“Some would say they’re afraid of the future of our nation. I would contend that there is a generation (millennials) that are bold in their faith and will lead us well,” said Crawford. “Their faith is real. I saw them at the pole this morning.”
Early First Baptist Youth Minister Joe Baucom attended the event in Early.
“It is always great to see students come together and pray for their nation, community and school,” said Baucom. “It crosses denominational lines and church lines and is just coming together humbling yourself and praying.”
Pictured above: Early High School students gathered at their flagpole Wednesday morning for See You at the Pole. Photo contributed by Early High School.
The history of the event is as follows:
A small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, came together for a DiscipleNow weekend in early 1990. They came seeking God and little did they know how powerfully He was about to move. On Saturday night their hearts were penetrated like never before, when they became broken before God and burdened for their friends. Compelled to pray, they drove to three different schools that night. Not knowing exactly what to do, they went to the school flagpoles and prayed for their friends, schools, and leaders. Those students had no idea how God would use their obedience.
God used what He did among those teenagers and others who were holding similar prayer meetings at their schools to birth a vision in the hearts of youth leaders across Texas. The vision was that students throughout Texas would follow these examples and meet at their school flagpoles to pray simultaneously. The challenge was named See You at the Pole™ at a brainstorming session during a meeting of key youth leaders. The vision was shared with 20,000 students in June 1990 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
God used what He did among those teenagers and others who were holding similar prayer meetings at their schools to birth a vision in the hearts of youth leaders across Texas. The vision was that students throughout Texas would follow these examples and meet at their school flagpoles to pray simultaneously. The challenge was named See You at the Pole™ at a brainstorming session during a meeting of key youth leaders. The vision was shared with 20,000 students in June 1990 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas.
Only God had envisioned how many students would step up to the challenge. At 7:00 a.m. on September 12, 1990, more than 45,000 teenagers met at school flagpoles in four different states to pray before the start of school. Reports came into toll-free number for days after the first event.
A few months later, a group of youth ministers from all over the country gathered together for a national conference in Colorado. Many of them reported that their students had heard about the prayer movement in Texas and were equally burdened for their schools. No other events had been planned, but it was clear that students across the country would be creating their own national day of student prayer. There was no stopping them.
On September 11, 1991, at 7:00 a.m., an estimated one million students gathered at school flagpoles all over the country. Some sang, some read Scripture, but most importantly, they prayed. Like those first students, they prayed for their schools, for their friends, for their leaders, and for their country.
God used the obedience of a small group of teenagers to ignite what has become an international movement of prayer among young people. Since 1991, See You at the Pole™ has grown to God-sized proportions. Within the first few years, the movement began to spread to other nations through missionaries from the U.S. Now each year, more than 3 million students from all over the world participate in See You at the Pole™. Students in more than 20 countries take part. In places like Canada, Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast, students are responding to God and taking seriously the challenge to pray.
