By Hunter Hines
Christian Action League
September 22, 2017
Wednesday of next week (September 27th), millions of students from around the globe will gather around their schools’ flagpoles. It’s called a See You at the Pole (SYATP) event.
This year marks 25 years for SYATP. At a SYATP event, students from every time zone come together for essentially one thing – to pray. They pray for their schools, friends, families, churches, and communities.
This year’s theme for SYATP is “Fix Our Eyes,” which is taken from Hebrews 12:2, which admonishes to “fix our eyes on Jesus.”
Dr. Mark Creech, executive director of the Christian Action League, said, “I wish we had such events when I was in public school. We didn’t. I know there were other believers in my high school, but there were very few opportunities for us to bond closely in fellowship and Christian service. One of the great advantages for any Christian student at a SYATP event is it opens an opportunity to publicly confess one’s faith in Christ. It’s also a moment to join in unity with fellow believers in a spirit of humility and pray for each other. What experience could be more powerful in a secularist setting than intercessory prayer for one another, school authorities, our communities, state, nation, and the world?”
SYATP first started when a group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, during a DiscipleNow weekend, were seeking God. Their hearts were penetrated as never before when they became deeply burdened for the salvation and other needs of their friends. They were compelled to pray earnestly. Not knowing exactly how to translate their burden into some tangible action, they went to the school flagpoles at three different schools on a Saturday night, and prayed for their friends, schools, and leaders. They couldn’t have possibly known in what and incredible way God would honor their obedience.
Today SYATP is a worldwide prayer movement, which has grown to God-sized proportions. Now more than 3 million students participate in 20 countries like Canada, Korea, Japan, and the Ivory Coast, as well as the United States.
SYATP has resulted in countless testimonies of how the Lord has used the event to bring students to Christ and transform lives. SYATP has often been the spark that initiated Bible clubs, weekly prayer meetings, and other ministries on campuses.
Dr. Creech said the Constitution of the United States guarantees freedom of religion,
allowing students to pray as individuals or as a group without fear of reprisal from school authorities during any non-instructional school time. He added the Christian Action League would welcome an opportunity to provide a seminar to students titled, Students Rights in the Public Schools. This session teaches students in public schools how to navigate their religious freedoms before, during, and after-school time.
For more information about hosting a seminar about student rights in the public schools, contact the Christian Action League at 919.787.0606 or email office@christianactionleague.org.
Sunday, September 24, also starts The Global Week of Student Prayer which runs through Saturday, September 30. This entire week is dedicated to prayer and encourages students to find new and unique ways, places, and times to pray throughout the week.
SYATP is for students in public, private, and homeschools.
For more on SYATP, visit the SYATP website.