Will students across America claim their schools?
Several years ago I had one of those life-changing phone calls. I was talking with a friend who lived in Denver who was a volunteer youth leader in a small church, while I was a full-time high school pastor at a large church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
We began to dream about what would happen if our students were to catch a vision of claiming responsibility to display Christ's love through prayer and action on their campus throughout the year. Both of us were involved in See You at the Pole, and we wondered how we could leverage the September event to sustain prayer gatherings throughout the year. We came up with a concept and named it "Claim Your Campus."
On August 24, 2003, Claim Your Campus (CYC) launched in Grand Rapids and Denver. Since then, student-led prayer groups have sprung up on school campuses in our cities and others. Students began taking the vision of SYATP and combining it with CYC and holding weekly student led prayer groups throughout the year. Eventually churches and campus ministries began to walk alongside each other in partnership by each "adopting" different days of the week for students to meet on their campuses for prayer.
Around Grand Rapids, we are working strategically with both urban and suburban ministries in our city to see student-led prayer groups on every middle school and high school campus in West Michigan.
I'll admit, the busyness of being a youth pastor in a larger church became a great excuse to not connect with other youth leaders in my community, even though I'd been at my church for over 10 years in youth ministry. I've found that SYATP and CYC have provided much-needed opportunities to network with other ministries and focus on a common objective important to all of us: students praying for their schools. I've been enriched by getting to know some great leaders through SYATP and CYC.
Within the last year, God has gripped my heart to see the vision of CYC (prayer on every high school and middle school campus every day) expand throughout our nation. This burden is so strong that I have distinctly felt God's leading to step into this mission and vision full time.
It was a tough decision to leave a church that I love, but God has spoken and I believe that we as youth leaders need to enable our local ministries to connect for this critical component of daily prayer on our middle school and high school campuses.
As I've shared this vision with leaders from almost every state in the last six months, the response around the country has been overwhelming. Students and youth leaders alike are ready to make this vision a reality.
Recently I was speaking to a high school student from New York who said that his school was nicknamed "Heroin High School." His desire is to see prayer change his school, and he is using the strategies of SYATP and CYC to do it.
Sustained prayer will change our schools. A group of students at the largest public school in Michigan began to pray specifically that there would be peace at their school, and that the number of fights would decrease. A few months later, the school board noticed a mysterious trend: fighting had decreased to a level they couldn't explain. The power of these students' prayer was making a difference.
I have lost a lot of sleep daydreaming about what our country might look like if this generation of students rises up on every campus in America and unites in prayer. Many may have given up hope for our future, but I haven't. I ask you to dream with me this dream of our nation filled with young people praying. Imagine students praying every day on every campus in America.
You can make it happen in your community. Get students you know involved in allowing God to change your community in the most powerful way possible: PRAYER. Organizations all over the country are uniting around the vision of SYATP and CYC. We need to see a vision of prayer every day on every campus in OUR day, in OUR time.
FAQ: What is CYC?
Claim Your Campus is students meeting for prayer at their school on a regular basis throughout the school year. The goal of CYC is to have students praying every day on every high school and middle school campus in America. CYC is not affiliated with a certain group or denomination and welcomes all Christ followers from any church, background, or culture. CYC seeks to unite Christian students of all kinds and from all backgrounds in praying for their schools.
How do I bring Claim Your Campus to my school?
There are three simple steps:
(1) Get your youth group or campus ministry to sponsor one day a week.
(2) Register on claimyourcampus.com.
(3) Publicize your day/time/place you are meeting for prayer on your campus.
How does it work?
If just five separate groups of students each show up once a week on different days of the week (Monday –Friday), then there will be students praying every day all year on that campus. Ideally, a different church/youth group/campus ministry will claim each day of the week.
When and where do we meet?
These are decided by students at each campus according to what works best for them: either before, during, or after school using hallways, a class room (if you get permission), the cafeteria, gym, or wherever works best.
How can I be a part of this movement and see God move across our nation through prayer?
(1) Get your church/youth group/campus ministry involved and register on ClaimYourCampus.com.
(2) Invite other groups in your community to sponsor other days of the week so that your school is covered in prayer.
(3) Sign yourself up on the CYC site, join the Twitter feed and Facebook group and MySpace network to stay connected.
Can adults be involved?
This is a student-led movement. Students should be the ones to take the initiative to bring prayer on their campus. Adults can be a support in whatever ways are appropriate in each school setting according to what is permitted. Adults can always offer key support to help organize and promote the weekly student prayer group.
Is it legal to have a student prayer group in school?
Yes! Student-initiated, voluntary prayer is perfectly within a student's rights. Students should not be intimidated nor afraid to be a part of a student-led, student-initiated prayer group on their campus.