This past week, it is estimated that over 3 million students met at their flagpoles in schools in all 50 states across the country. Thank you to everyone that worked so hard at the SYATP post Rally hosting by Kaio!
What is See You at the Pole?
SYATP happens every year on the fourth Wednesday in September. It is a student-initiated, student organized, and student-led event. It’s 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… just a time to pray!
How did SYATP start?
Here’s a short history lesson for ya… It all started from a small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, who came together for a DiscipleNow weekend in early 1990. Compelled to pray, they drove to three different schools that Saturday night. Not knowing exactly what to do, they went to the school flagpoles and prayed for their friends, schools, and leaders. They had no idea how God would use their obedience. It sparked a vision in the hearts of youth leaders across Texas; a vision that students throughout Texas would meet at their school flagpoles to pray simultaneously. The challenge was named See You at the Pole at an early brainstorming session and shared with 20,000 students in June 1990 at Reunion Arena in Dallas, Texas. Only God knew just 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 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. Like those first students, they prayed for their schools, for their friends, for their leaders, and for their country. Since 1991, SYATP 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 America participate in SYATP, along with students in more than 20 other countries such as Canada, Guam, Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast.
