Students gather in Howe to pray at the pole

See You At the Pole Howe (1)
Photo by Bonita Overbey

In Howe and all over the country this morning, students gathered at school flag poles for a moment of prayer.

The history of the “See you at the Pole” program began when a small group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, came together for a DiscipleNow weekend in early 1990.  At 7:00 a.m. on September 12, 1990, more than 45,000 teenagers met at school flagpoles in four different states to pray before the start of school. Reports came into toll-free number for days after the first event.

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. No other events had been planned, but it was clear that students across the country would be creating their own national day of student prayer. There was no stopping them.

On September 11, 1991, at 7:00 a.m., an estimated one million students gathered at school flagpoles all over the country. From Boston, Massachusetts, to Los Angeles, California, from North Dakota to the tip of Texas, students came together to pray. Some sang, 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.

Since 1991, See You at the Pole™ has grown from the U.S. Now each year, more than 3 million students from all the world participate in See You at the Pole™. Students in more than 20 countries take part. In places like Canada, Korea, Japan, Turkey, and the Ivory Coast, students are responding to God and taking seriously the challenge to pray.

See You At the Pole Howe (2)
Photo by Jonathan Coleman