Youth in formerly communist nations join prayer rallies
Does your university have a flagpole? If so, don’t be surprised to see a large group of students standing around it early in the morning on September 20. They’ll be joining more than 2,000,000 other college and high school students from around the U.S. and in many foreign countries. Their purpose is to pray for their schools, their friends, and the nations.
This year marks the fifth anniversary of the event, which is called “See You at the Pole.” (“Pole” is short for “flagpole.”) The event begins the night before with a rally in South Carolina. Guests will include U.S. Congressman Steve Largent, who is a Christian, and many U.S. college students who will share how committing their lives to Jesus Christ has brought them hope and joy. The rally will be broadcast live on nationwide radio throughout the United States.
“See You at the Pole” began in 1990 at a school in Dallas, Texas, when a few students gathered spontaneously for prayer. By 1991, it became a nationwide event, and has continued growing as more and more young people participate and pray for their schools, for fellow youth, and for their nations.
Based on surveys returned by participants, as many as 75 percent of the high schools in the U.S. had students involved last year. Students also met for prayer in other countries, including in every major city in the Philippines, in Moscow’s Red Square, and in Belgium, Canada, England Guatemala, Singapore, Saipan, Japan, and elsewhere.
In Romania, a nation that was once a communist atheist state, young people met last September in a public park in the city of Targu Mures at the statue of a freedom fighter and former king of their country. At a school in Taichung, Taiwan, a group of students met representing 23 different countries.
For more information, or to find out if students at your university plan to participate, contact National Network of Youth Ministries:
Telephone: (619) 592-9200 telephone
Compuserve: 73552.1243@compuserve.com
America Online: NNetworkYM@aol..com.
