It’s been 35 years since 10 high school students from a youth group in Burleson, Texas, felt a burden to pray for their schools. God had broken their hearts for lost and distressed souls who needed to hear the Gospel.
Those students decided that the best place to pour out their hearts to God was around their school flagpole. Since then, what began as a small prayer meeting multiplied into a worldwide movement called See You At The Pole™ (SYATP), with more than 30 million people participating each year.
Help your students reach a lost generation
In reality, this powerful movement of God started long, long before 1990 — a long, long way from Texas.
After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. … Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. … They all joined together constantly in prayer… Acts 1:9-14
After Jesus ascended into Heaven, the advancement of the Gospel was placed into the hands and feet of 12 mostly high school–age disciples! But rather than starting with hitting the streets with bullhorns and billboards, they began with pouring out their hearts to God in a private room, constantly united in prayer.
Now, 2,000 years later, that small prayer meeting has multiplied into a movement that encompasses more than 2 billion people!
So how can you encourage your students to further the movement by making the most of SYATP this year?
Here are some very helpful and practical tips from the founders of SYATP.
How students can plan or join the event
First, someone needs to plan each school’s SYATP event. Having a pre-pole planning meeting is a great way to get everyone together to talk about what will happen during SYATP. Many groups sing worship songs, read Scripture, and give testimonies while forming a large circle, and then break into groups of three to five students to pray.
Remember: The focus of SYATP is to pray! No matter what your students plan, remind them to commit the most time to prayer.
You can help your students plan by asking them questions like:
- Have you informed your principal about SYATP?
- What time will you begin on your campus — the publicized time of 7 a.m. or another time?
- Where will you gather on your campus? Flagpole or another place?
- Do you have an alternative meeting place in case of weather issues?
- Do you have more than one flagpole to choose from?
- Have you informed the FCA and/or other Christian organizations on your campus?
- How can you encourage other students to promote SYATP?”
Second, remember that SYATP is designed to be student-coordinated and student-led. Enable your teens to take ownership for praying, caring, and sharing with their schools.
Third, don’t forget how this awesome event opens the door for advancing the Gospel. It naturally directs people toward spiritual conversations, so pray that God would use your students to share the Gospel before and after the event, and make sure you’ve equipped them to do so.
Support your students in prayer
When praying for your students, you can say something like: Father, thank you that we live in a nation where we can openly pray to you. Give my students the boldness of the disciples, and may we see revival in our schools and across the world.
But the Lord said to me, “Do not say ‘I am too young.’ You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you,” declares the Lord. Jeremiah 1:7-8
To help your students share the Gospel during SYATP, Dare 2 Share has some fantastic resources available on our website. Our Life in 6 Words app is especially well-suited for students having Gospel conversations on campus. It will help teens to walk through the entire story of the Gospel, from Genesis to Revelation, with a friend in just a few moments.
Don’t let this opportunity pass students by
This year, SYATP day is on Wednesday, September 24, at 7 a.m. local time. All around the globe, in every time zone, people will be gathering at their flagpoles, praying for their school, friends, families, churches, and communities. SYATP is a day committed to global unity in Christ and prayer for the next generation, so have your students get involved and encourage them to use it as an opportunity to share their faith with their friends.
Don’t let this amazing opportunity slip through your fingers. Instead, lead and support your students in being the hands and feet of Jesus right where they are.
