Annual See You at the Pole Today
The start of a new school year means it’s almost time for the annual See You at the Pole gathering of Chrisitan students around the world to pray. This year’s event is scheduled for September 23.
Come to Me, based on Matthew 11:28, is the theme for 2026. Students are being challenged to find new and different ways, places and times to pray throughout the Global Week of Student Prayer from September 20 to 26. Then on September 23 students are gathering at a school flagpole or other community location to pray. This means that all around the world in every time zone, for 24 hours, students will be praying for their school, friends, families, churches and communities.
This is the 36th year for See You at the Pole. In 1990, a small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, came together to seek God. Compelled to pray, they drove to three different schools that night. Not knowing exactly what to do, they went to the school flagpoles and prayed for their friends, schools and leaders. These students had no idea how God would use their obedience.
Later that year, 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 of them reported that their students had heard about the prayer movement in Texas and were equally burdened for their schools.
On Sept. 11, 1991, an estimated one million students gathered at school flagpoles all over the country. From Boston to Los Angeles and from North Dakota to the tip of Texas, students came together to pray. Some sang and some read scripture, but most importantly, they prayed. Like those first students, they prayed for their schools, for their friends, for their leaders and for their country.
“We hope adults and students will consider turning that moment into a movement by praying every day,” said Doug Clark, field director for the National Network of Youth Ministries.
“This year, with the continued challenge of disruptions that have affected the United States and every country, we need to ask God to pour out his spirit on us more than ever. The heart of See You at the Pole is extraordinary prayer.”
Many events are scheduled for before school, during lunch or after school. Additional information and resources are available at www.syatp.com
–Alan Goforth
