Students circled Oviedo High School’s flagpole praying for their community as a whole in an event called‘See You at the Pole’. They have community, fellowship, and a time of prayer because Christians believe that “God answers their prayers and is always working,” said senior Maddy Walsh.
In 1990, a group of teenagers in Burleson, Texas were compelled to pray. They drove to three different schools to pray at the flagpoles on a Saturday night. Since 1991, students across the world have been participating in this challenge.
‘See You at the Pole‘ is a national event where high schoolers from different schools come together and pray over their school, community, teachers, and the school year, asking to turn their school into a revival place, where teenagers can come together and be united in fellowship. Students organize and lead it, and faculty members participate as well.
“It’s an opportunity for students to gather on campus at their flag pole as a central location to pray for their school, for their classmates, for their teachers, their families, their teams, their teammates, pretty much anything,” Coach Kevin Mathews said.
FCA’s vision is to see the world transformed by Jesus Christ through the influence of coaches and athletes, and ‘SYATP’ allows FCA to show that they are here for the community and for the student body to be aware that they are an active club striving to help others.
“I hope that people, when they see us at the pole, know that we’re not ashamed, we’re not afraid, and that we are open,” Delaney Graves, senior, said.
Maintaining their faith is important for Christians, especially for Maddy Walsh, who didn’t grow up in a Christian home and hit rock bottom two years ago, but was saved by her faith and she has been a Christian ever since.
“My faith changed my life by making me into a person who gets to just love and care for others for the rest of my life,” Walsh said. “I’m full of joy and peace.”
For Graves, she can see who else is standing with her, with the same action plan, and they can come together and get peace of mind over themselves and the community.
“It’s just a way of being like ‘Hey, we’re here! And we want to be a part of your lives,’” Graves said.
Walsh sees it as a way to be surrounded by others who share her faith and have friends who hold her accountable and grow in her faith.
“I love it because of just all the people I met,” Walsh said. “And relationships that have gone deeper.”
FCA, for some years, has had students go out and talk to their athletic teams and invite them to come to their weekly meetings that happen every Tuesday, yet they have a plan for more in the future.
“We’re trying to do more and we plan to do more,” Coach Mathews said. “But it’s up to the students to decide how they want to reach out onto our campus.”
