See You at the Pole was never intended to stand alone. Now, it has company.
The annual event, which began amongst a group of high school freshman in a small town in Texas in 1990, has always begged for the "next step."
For See You at the Pole: Global Week of Student Prayer, students pray before school on the fourth Wednesday of September at their flagpole, or at some other time during that week. A million of them, every year. But the prayer gathering needs a "What next?"
Do students start a club, a Bible study, an outreach... more than meeting for just one day a year?
This year, SYATP has partnered with Claim Your Campus to encourage a next step: daily prayer. Claim Your Campus recruits and trains students to pray every day at school: one team for each day of the week. Currently, more than 1,000 schools have implemented the CYC strategy.
Next year, CYC and SYATP will share a mobile app. It will provide support for the "moment" of SYATP, including reporting what God does at schools. Then it will point the user toward the "movement" of CYC, linking them to the training and daily support for student leaders to pray every day.
What about Adults?
SYATP and CYC focus on student-initiated, student-led prayer. But adult support is vital to sustaining a movement. Churches can focus their prayer and encouragement on teachers, students and schools on the third Sunday of September by participating in Pray for Schools Sunday (September 16, 2018). Pray for Schools is coordinated by NNYM, SYATP, CYC, Youth Alive, Christian Educators Assoc. Int'l., the Pray for Me Campaign, Moms in Prayer, Int'l. and the Campus Alliance.
Those wanting to focus their prayers on schools can get some help, beginning September 1. A thirty day prayer guide/devotional is available through the PFS website, on the CYC app, and on the SYATP website.
See You at the Pole 2018
The SYATP campaign this year rallies around the theme of "Broken," based on Ephesians 3:14. Information and promotional resources are available on the SYATP.com website.
The Global Week of Student Prayer runs from September 23-29, with See You at the Pole DAY on Wednesday, September 26.
NNYM partners with SYATP by leading the promotional effort for the prayer movement.
CYC 2020
Although CYC is active on more than 1,000 schools currently, their goal is a student-led prayer group on every secondary school. A national gathering in America's centerpoint on July 4, 2020 is planned to boost that total to 10,000 schools. CYC 2020 will gather a student delegation and adult supporters from schools for a day, and send them out to every state to grow the movement.
Prayer changes things. United movements of prayer can precipitate spiritual awakening. Spiritual awakenings change history.
Anyone ready for that?
Doug Clark is the National Field Director for NNYM. Connect with him here.
