Students gather around the flagpole at Russellville Middle School to participate in the annual See You at the Pole event. Photo by Beth Pounders.

Groups of students across the city, county, state, nation and world gathered together last Wednesday to offer up prayers for their schools and for the people around them.

These groups were participating in See You at the Pole, which is an international event held every year with the purpose of letting Christian students join together at their schools’ flag poles and pray for their schools, teachers, friends, family, countries and leaders.

The idea for the event came about in 1990 when a group of teenagers from Burleson, Texas, felt burdened to pray for their friends. The group drove to three different schools and prayed at the flagpoles for many issues and people.

After lots of organizing, the first See You at the Pole event was held in September of that same year, and more than 45,000 teenagers in four states participated.

The event now includes millions of participants in 20 countries, and this past week, students in Franklin County joined with all the others by gathering at their schools’ flagpoles to participate in the event that was sponsored and organized by student groups like Christian Students United and Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

“See You at the Pole is important because we are able to join together to further the kingdom of Christ and lead our peers to Him,” said Lauren Alford, an RHS senior who serves as a CSU officer.

“It’s great to see students come together through prayer for revival in our school, community, and country.”