SYATP: A meaningful observance for many students | Schools

SALISBURY - On Wednesday morning thousands of students in schools across the Carolinas and the nation will gather around flag pole to pray.  It's an annual observance that began in 1990.  To understand more about SYATP, and why so many students take part, I asked Brian Farmer for a little perspective.  Brian is the Associate Pastor and Minister to Students at First Baptist Church in Salisbury.

In 1990, during a discipleship weekend a group of about 10 students felt burdened for their high school. Late that night they went to their school and prayed for the students who attend and the faculty which worked there.

When word spread about what they did, other student ministers explored the possibility of students from all over meeting together on their own secondary school campuses on the same day to pray around the flag pole for their schools. From that, See You at the Pole™, the global day of student prayer, began.

That grass roots movement has grown to the point where millions around the world to pray on their campuses on the fourth Wednesday in September.

SYATP is simply a prayer rally where students meet at the school flagpole before school to lift up their friends, families, teachers, school, and nation to God.

SYATP is a student-initiated, student-organized, and student-led event. Some schools may have as few as a single student praying, while others may have hundreds praying and even having student-led worship services. It is all about students gathering together to pray. It is not meant as any type of protest or political movement or anything like that.
 

The greatest thing about SYATP is students praying for their schools. There is power in prayer and it is good to see students recognizing that power and asking for God to help them make a positive impact in their schools. Although it has been over 20 years, it is still going strong.

Often, SYATP helps students see that there are others out there who truly care and doors to ministry are often opened.
 

This year (2012) See You At The Pole is September 26th. Generally, SYATP is held at the school flagpole 30 minutes before the start of the school day. Adults can meet at other locations, such as a courthouse flagpole at the same time to pray for students and some parents have been known to meet at their children’s schools the night before and pray for the school and for the event the next morning.