See You at the Pole 2020 adapts, keeps focus on student-led prayer

Students gather for See You at the Pole 2019.

See You at the Pole 2020 adapts, keeps focus on student-led prayer

See You at the Pole 2020 may look different than past years, but the focus of the annual event – a dedicated time of prayer initiated, organized and led by students – remains the same.

This year’s theme, “Return, Restore, Revive,” based on 2 Kings 23:25, emphasizes three key truths, said First Priority Greater Birmingham Ministry Director Debi DeBoer.

“As a nation, we need to return to the Lord and repent for present and past sins. Only then can relationships be restored and healing begin. Awaken our hearts, revive us or we can slumber and watch another generation be without hope,” DeBoer said.

Global prayer event

The Annual Global Day of Student Prayer is held the fourth Wednesday of September each year. This year’s event, the 30th annual, falls on Sept. 23.

All around the globe, in every time zone, millions of students traditionally have met at their school’s flagpole at 7 a.m. for a time of prayer known as See You at the Pole. With many schools meeting virtually and varying local requirements related to the COVID-19 pandemic, organizers at the national and local level adapted their events this year.

One big change is a student-led livestream, available at 7 a.m. in the viewer’s time zone.

Students, parents and others can join the livestream, which includes student-led prayer and prayer prompts for individual reflection times.

Not just one day

Doug Clark, national field director of National Network of Youth Ministries, said the students who will be leading the livestream are all very involved in Claim Your Campus, an organization which builds off See You at the Pole to provide weekly resources to help students pray year-round for their communities and schools.

“We’re trying to provide more structure with something that people can participate in,” Clark said. “We felt like we had to give more than ‘Hey, meet at your flagpole,’ since that’s not even realistic for maybe the great majority of students across the country.”

The livestream, which can be viewed at any time after its release, will be available through the See You at the Pole Facebook pageYouTube channel or website.

(TAB, with additional reporting by Baptist Press, news service of the Southern Baptist Convention)