September 24, 2008

Southside High School's See You at the Pole

See You at the Pole; An Overview

See You at the Pole™ is a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event. That means this is all about students meeting at their school flagpole to pray—for their school, friends teachers, government, and their nation. See You at the Pole™ is not a demonstration, political rally, nor a stand for or against anything. See You at the Pole™ is scheduled annually on the fourth Wednesday in September.

A History of See You at the Pole

A small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, came together for a DiscipleNow weekend in early 1990. They came seeking God. Little did they know how powerfully God was about to move. On Saturday night God penetrated their hearts like never before. The students were 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 an early brainstorming session. 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. 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., one million students gathered at school flagpoles all over the country. From Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles, California, students came together to pray. 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. As in all great movements of prayer, See You at the Pole™ did not begin in the hearts of people. It began in the heart of God. 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 only a couple of years, students were praying in several countries around the world. Now, more than 3 million students from all 50 states participate in SYATP. Students in more than 20 countries take part. In places like Canada, Guam, Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast, students are responding to God and taking seriously the challenge to pray. (The complete history of SYATP is documented in a segment available on the promotional DVD. To order please call 817.HIS.PLAN (447.7526).) God is continuing to call His people to repentance and prayer. Countless inspiring testimonies of how He has used See You at the Pole™ to bring students to Christ and to change lives affirm God’s power to answer those who cry out to Him in humble dependence. Bible clubs, weekly prayer meetings, and other ministries have begun on campuses where students participated in SYATP. (Taken from the SYATP website)

Southside High school’s See You at the Pole

At Southside High School in Batesville AR, Whitley Pool with the strong support of friends in Teens for Christ, faculty advisers and her youth pastor from Desha Baptist led this morning’s prayer around the Southside flagpole. Whitley got into Teens for Christ as a 9th grader and has been involved ever since. Whitley challenged her fellow students to use the days prayer event as a catalyst for the rest of the school year being a light for fellow students and taking on a lifestyle that glorifies Christ. Whitley mentioned that she doesn’t like to lead or talk in front of people she doesn’t know but you wouldn’t know it by the way she orchestrated today’s prayer event. Approximately 100 students and parents showed up this morning at 7:00 AM at Southside High school to pray.

"Southside School District is dedicated to providing students with the skills, knowledge, and attitudes essential for a productive and purposeful life and creating an environment so that all learners can achieve."

1 comment:

  1. Great Work!!!! It is quite refreshing to see these kids out there showing that not every young person is bad or have tendencies to do bad things. Hopefully this will catch on throughout our community and the whole country.
    God Bless them all.
    Chuck

    ReplyDelete

Keep it kind, informative and honest.