BURLESON, Texas — Reminding students that “See You at the Pole” is more than a one-time event, many churches across the country continued the momentum begun in the morning by holding student rallies in the evening.

Easthaven Baptist Church in Brookhaven, Miss., serves as the host site for local churches to gather for a post-pole rally. This year’s event brought 1,000 students, the largest attendance ever.

Youth Pastor Daniel Ridgway said it is a picture of what can happen when gospel-centered churches join together for a common goal.

“Everyone who leads at a church in our area plays a vital role in See You at the Pole,” Ridgway said. “We have people who are on the school campuses that morning, people who serve by driving the church vans and people who serve by leading out at the rally.

“See You at the Pole is a great event for us as youth pastors. It gives us an opportunity to be on campus in the morning praying and worshiping with students, and then we can invite those students to that night.”

Ridgway believes there is a stirring among young people for the truth of God’s Word.

“See You happens at a great time for our students,” Ridgway said. “Most of the students have settled back into their routine with school, sports and other activities. This event has a similar feel to a camp event. Some students have mentioned that they needed to remember that the camp experience does not stop at camp.

“See You at the Pole provides an opportunity for students to be leaders in their schools and invite the students that they interact with daily to church. There is definitely some movement of the Holy Spirit within our young people today. The kids today want the truth, and our job as youth pastors is to point them to the truth which is ultimately found in the Bible.”

Born in Burleson

This year marked the 35^th anniversary of the student-led movement. This year’s theme — AWE — was based on Habakkuk 3:2, “Lord I am filled with awe.”

In Burleson, Texas, the birthplace of See You at the Pole, students continue to see the impact of taking a bold stand for Christ.

“The faith community of Burleson has been greatly impacted by See You at the Pole starting here, because I believe it has led to a more collaborative spirit between our churches,” said Matt Armendarez, student pastor at First Baptist Church (FBC) in Burleson. “We have a strong ministry network that doesn’t see one another as competition but understands the need to work together for kingdom purposes.

“See You at the Pole helps carry that collaboration forward as we see students from different churches come together for the sake of prayer on campus.”

FBC Burleson had 100 students attend for its evening rally Sept. 24. About half of those students had either led or attended a See You at the Pole event at their school that morning. 

“We have students who were on the organizing team, worship team and led prayer circles on their campus,” Armendarez said. “Megan, one of our seniors, was part of the worship team at her See You at the Pole. She shared with us how exciting it was to see students from different churches uniting together to lift high the name of Jesus in a place where that was not necessarily the norm.

“There was a general feeling of seeing the number of people at See You at the Pole, and the encouragement that comes with recognizing that you’re not alone in following Jesus at your school.”

Youth ministers use the rallies to remind students that See You at the Pole is not a one-time event and to look for opportunities to hold weekly Bible studies on their campuses, invite their friends to church, pray for their schools and share the gospel. 

“We have seen events like See You at the Pole leave students encouraged to get involved in the Christian clubs on their school campus, and if there isn’t an existing one, then they want to start them with their friends,” Armendarez said. “We know statistically this generation is getting more involved in church attendance than the previous one, so I do believe there is some sort of spiritual stirring happening in teenagers today.”

Led by students

After this summer’s tragic flooding in the Texas Hill Country, this year’s See You at the Pole event took on even greater meeting for students at First Baptist Kerrville, Texas.

The church held a rally that evening with Jared Greer, a youth speaker who has appeared four times on the reality show American Ninja Warrior and has a traveling ministry called Overcoming Obstacles. Greer encouraged students that they can overcome any obstacle in life by placing their faith in Christ and to take a bold stand for Christ in their schools. 

“Last year after See You at the Pole, I wanted to do something to celebrate our students and the effort they put into rallying their peers to boldly stand in front of their school to pray and praise the name of Jesus,” said Student Pastor Andrew Williams. “At the same time, I wanted to create an event where students could invite friends who aren’t connected to a church somewhere fun but, most importantly, where they could hear the gospel.

“Anytime I can have an activity or game that easily ties back to the gospel, I’m all for it, and this fit perfectly with what I was looking for in an outreach event. At the rally, we saw students come to faith and several others came forward with struggles and seeking prayer.

“Hosting a rally on a school night in the middle of the week isn’t always easy,” Williams continued. “But Wednesday night, we had 60 students plus parents, so it reached far beyond just students — it touched whole families. Praise God, because my vision for youth ministry is to partner with families. Moms and dads have the biggest influence, and it was such a blessing to see entire family units hearing the gospel and enjoying the night together.”

Williams sees the benefits of events like See You at the Pole in helping to develop future leaders within the church.

“For me, See You at the Pole is an incredible event because it is student-led,” he said. “I encourage, support and resource our students so they are prepared, but it’s on them to make it happen — to have the conversations with principals who have been very supportive, to invite friends and then to stand up and lead when the day arrives.

“One of my senior girls told me she was nervous and afraid no one would show up. But as the morning unfolded and friends stood alongside her to lead, she realized people were there — over 50 students with youth pastors supporting them. I watched her go from nervous and unsure to confident and smiling as she began to speak. That’s what’s important. Students proclaiming their faith in Jesus — not just inside the church, but publicly among their peers.”