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Students circling for prayer after suffering through pandemic

Students circling for prayer after suffering through pandemic


Students circling for prayer after suffering through pandemic

Students on school campuses across the country are gathering Sept. 28 for the annual See You at the Pole prayer event, which comes after many of them suffered from isolation and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For over 20 years, on the fourth Wednesday in September, students nationwide gather at their school's flagpole to pray for their friends and teachers, and their government and nation.

Greg Stier, founder of youth-focused ministry Dare 2 Share, tells AFN the ministry has witnessed children and teens “looking for hope” after enduring the isolation of shuttered schools during the pandemic.

“And I really believe See You at the Pole,” he says, “is as relevant now as ever."

In a survey by the Centers for Disease Control, 37% of high school students reported mental health challenges, including anxiety and depression, during the virus outbreak.

Student-led prayer protected by law

The first very See You at the Pole can be traced to a church youth group in Burleson, Texas, in 1990.

Planning and promotion of the annual event is currently overseen by Student Discipleship Ministries, which is based in Burleson, and the National Network of Youth Ministries.

Gathering around the school flag pole is a student-led event so Christian students are free to exercise their First Amendment rights without interference from hostile school staff.

Stier says he is watching and waiting for revival to break out in America and he predicts prayerful students will be part of it.

"True revivals always start on our knees,” he says. “And I think See You at the Pole is a great example of how revival can begin in this nation and around the world.”