Students gather to pray

By Dianna L. Cagle

BR Assistant Managing Editor

Students at a See You at the Pole rally Sept. 23 sing along to one of Tree63's songs during a concert at Cleveland Community Church. Leaders encouraged students to gather at their schools Sept. 26.

Dianna L. Cagle

Biblical Recorder

CLAYTON - Students began to gather early Sept. 26 at Clayton Middle School (CMS).

More than 70 youth converged near the entrance to the school for See You at the Pole (SYATP), an annual time of prayer for schools.

"It's nice to see them being able to express themselves," said Stephen Baker, assistant principal at CMS. "We get students who come here who aren't necessarily involved in a personal relationship with Jesus."

Cory Bolduc, minister of middle school at Cleveland Community Church in Clayton, shared 1 Timothy 4:12 with the students, emphasizing that young people have a responsibility to set an example for others.

"Jesus has brought you all here for a reason," Bolduc said. "This is a defining moment for Clayton Middle School."

Bolduc encouraged the students to live as a witness for Jesus Christ in their school.

Baker played some songs on his guitar to get the event started. Students divided into small groups to pray before gathering in a large circle and holding hands. Bolduc led the final prayer, which he used to pray for the teachers, administrators, protection and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) group that just started at the school.

"We know one thing - prayer works," Baker said. "When you talk about safety, other issues ... that's the quickest way for us to continue to improve."

Aimee Kipps, a language arts teacher at CMS, serves as FCA sponsor but credits a Clayton High School student with the formation of the group at the middle school.

"She took it on as her senior project," Kipps said.

Now, FCA meets each Thursday at 7:10 p.m. so students can pray for their school and each other.

Bolduc's church, which is also known as C3, hosted a SYATP rally Sept. 23 to encourage youth to pray at their school. More than 1,000 students attended the event, in which Christian band Tree63 performed.

"We're encouraging our students to be involved in our schools," said Bolduc, whose church was sending out leaders to area schools to help with the Sept. 26 event.

C3's new minister of students, Scott Randlett, spoke at the Sept. 23 rally.

Randlett said students need to be with the right crowd, have radical courage, and refuse to compromise.

Using Daniel 3:16-18, Randlett said Shadrach, Meshack and Abednego "made their stand in front of their nation."

"The crowd you're with will determine the choices you make," Randlett said. "A lot of times, we confuse courageous with stupidity."

Randlett drew attention to the SYATP theme: "Come Together."

"Refuse to give in to the little things," he said. "You can be the agent of change that God uses to turn somebody's life around."

At the rally, students divided into small groups and prayed for the area's middle and high schools. Leaders encouraged the students to support SYATP by showing up early to school Sept. 26.

SYATP is organized and led by students or youth leaders on the fourth Wednesday every September. Times and dates vary depending on the school's schedule.

The event began in 1990 when a group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas, went to a DiscipleNow weekend.

Students drove to three different schools in one night to pray. They prayed for their friends, schools and leaders. In June 1990, the idea was shared to 20,000 students at an arena in Texas. On September 12, 1990, more than 45,000 teens gathered before school to pray. The movement grew to more than one million students in 1991.

The web site, www.syatp.org, estimates that more than three million students from all 50 states and more than 20 countries take part.