See You After the Pole

by Greg Stoughton

Students, teachers, pastors and parents will gather around school flagpoles at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, September 26 for See You at the Pole™ – what has become an annual global movement of prayer. Their focus this year is for “the Spirit of God to awaken the hearts of students” (Ephesians 3:14–21).

But for Cru’s ministry to high-school students, what happens before and after the event is of equal, if not greater, importance.

"See You at the Pole launches people to take a stand for God," says Cru staff member, Dave Meritt. "But it is a great springboard for doing all that can be done – even beyond a day of prayer – to reach a campus for Christ."

After the Event: How to Continue Momentum

"Prayer is the beginning and foundation," says Dave. "But we are after getting students to take the next step to share Christ with their friends – to disciple their friends and to help them then walk and grow in Christ."

Involve others in on-going prayer

Pray before, during, and after the event, using Cru’s prayer triplet strategy, which asks students to find 3 friends, meet 3 times a week, and pray for 3 others students by name that they would most want to see come to Christ.

Keep people talking

Christian students can survey their peers in response to events like this. Holidays also provide a similar opportunity for this strategy.

As students build rapport, asking 4 simple questions, participants receive an invitation to hear the gospel. Read more about the why and how of using surveys.

"It is exciting to think about so many students on the same day taking a step of faith to share the gospel all across the country," says Dave.

Use Cru's coaching center

The coaching center exists to equip student-leaders with tools needed to initiate spiritual movements of prayer, evangelism and discipleship on our nation's campuses both before and after the September 26 prayer event.

With 24,348 public high schools in the U.S. (National Center for Education Statistics 2011), Cru's aim to see student-led spiritual movements on every campus is truly a God-sized task.

The goal is not to place staff members on every campus. Instead, the coaching center equips student-leaders to establish a ministry on their campus. Presently, hundreds of students per month come to the website to receive materials with full-time Cru staff members available to offer personal coaching of students by phone.

For help launching a spiritual movement at your school, request a free copy of Cru's new Start booklet today.

Since 1951, Cru has helped individuals who grapple with integrating faith into daily life by offering practical steps and community support. As a result, countless people in over 190 countries have been empowered to move from passive belief to active faith.

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