I graduated high school in 1990, the same year ten students in Burleson, Texas, walked out to three flagpoles at night and prayed. I was leaving a public school and starting brand new at a Christian private university in Tulsa. The story moved from Dallas to Tulsa fast. As a volunteer youth leader I went to several of those mornings and helped our youth group and Bible studies get students praying at their public schools too.
Article Summary
- Wednesday, September 23, 2026. Theme: Come to Me, from Matthew 11:28.
- The Global Week of Student Prayer runs September 20-26. Pray all week, then gather at a flagpole on Wednesday if you can.
- This is the 36th year. See You at the Pole began in Burleson, Texas, in 1990.
- Doug Clark calls the day a moment that can become a movement of daily prayer.
- The memories, and why I am excited today.
- How to show up this week.
| 1990 | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Ten students at a Disciple Now retreat | Millions of students at middle schools, high schools, and colleges worldwide. |
| Three local flagpoles in Burleson, Texas, late at night | Flagpoles and community sites around the world |
| First official gathering on September 12: tens of thousands | Wednesday, September 23, plus a week of prayer |
| A name coined by Texas youth leaders | Theme: Come to Me, Matthew 11:28 |
History from the National Network of Youth Ministries media alert and the official See You at the Pole account of the 1990 beginning. 2026 dates and theme from the same alert and syatp.com.
What happens on September 23
See You at the Pole still belongs to students. On Wednesday, September 23, they gather at a school flagpole, or at another spot in town if a pole is not possible, and they pray for their school, their friends, their families, their churches, and the city around them. Because campuses sit in every time zone, that Wednesday turns into a 24-hour wave of prayer, one circle at a time.
The San Diego-based National Network of Youth Ministries coordinates the promotion, and organizers say millions of students participated last year across middle schools, high schools, and colleges. The 2026 theme is the invitation of Jesus in Matthew 11:28, which still sounds like a friend talking: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
Matthew 11:28, 2026 See You at the Pole theme
- When: Wednesday, September 23, 2026, often before school, on local time
- Where: a school flagpole, or another community location if a pole is not possible
- Who leads: students. Adults may support, drive, and pray without taking the microphone
- What they pray for: leaders, schools, families, churches, and a moral and spiritual awakening
A full week of prayer
The week is larger than one Wednesday. The Global Week of Student Prayer runs September 20-26, because school schedules never line up the way a calendar wishes they would. Students are asked to find new ways, places, and times to pray all week, then meet at a flagpole on Wednesday if they can.
SYATP is also partnering with Claim Your Campus so daily prayer at school has a home after the fourth Wednesday of September. Planning materials, devotionals, and publicity pieces are free at syatp.com, and students can order posters, flyers, a handbook, T-shirts, and silicone wristbands, or download the SYATP app. The Facebook page is myseeyouatthepole, and the public service announcements live as free MP3 files under Downloads if a local station will still play them.
Start with the official hub: syatp.com. Planning tools live under Plan, Pray, and Downloads. Daily campus prayer resources are at ClaimYourCampus.com.
How it began in Burleson
See You at the Pole began in Burleson, Texas, in 1990, which is the year I graduated. During a Disciple Now youth retreat early that year, ten students visited three local school flagpoles late at night to pray for friends, teachers, and schools. Youth leaders in Texas heard the story and coined the name, and the rest of us inherited a Wednesday we could actually join.
The story was later shared with about 20,000 students at a gathering in Dallas. The first official mass event was September 12, 1990, when tens of thousands of students gathered. That is the same season I was leaving public high school for a Christian university in Tulsa, and from there it did not feel like a distant Texas story. It felt close enough to help.
The first circle was small, late, and student-owned. Adults named it and spread the story. Students still have to show up. 2026 is the 36th year, and I am still glad they do.
From a moment to a movement
Doug Clark, national field director of the Network, framed 2026 as a call to extraordinary prayer. He said the day is a moment, and that adults and students should consider turning that moment into a movement by praying every day. In a year still marked by disruption in the United States and around the world, he asked the church to ask God to pour out His Spirit more than ever, which is the kind of sentence you can actually pray on a Tuesday.
See You at the Pole is a moment. We hope adults and students will consider turning that moment into a movement by praying every day.
Doug Clark, national field director, National Network of Youth Ministries
That is the measure I trust. A flagpole photo is easy to share. A Thursday morning prayer walk, a campus Bible club, and a friend who is still being discipled in November take longer, and they last. Clark's line keeps the work in view: extraordinary prayer, then ordinary faithfulness.
PRO TIP If you are an adult, stay off the microphone. Ask a student who is leading how you can pray, and whether they have a plan for the ten minutes after the circle breaks.
Related campus signals on WWJD.COM: Florida State students gather to worship Jesus and 8,000 students at the University of Tennessee.
The memories, and why I am excited today
See You at the Pole still brings a lot back for me: early mornings, students who were a little nervous and a little bold, youth group rooms, public-school parking lots, and the kids I loved walking out to a pole to pray. From where I stood as a young adult, that movement is part of what helped the What Would Jesus Do? question catch fire in the mid-1990s.
I am glad it is still happening. Year after year, students keep showing up. Many still wear WWJD and similar bracelets as a testimony, a reminder to ask the question and then live the answer in class, online, and at home.
This year's theme lands close to home. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. That is the invitation I want a new generation to hear after the circle breaks, on Thursday, when the parking lot is empty again.
PRO TIP Treat September 20-26 as the real assignment. Pick one extra time this week to pray on campus, then keep that time after September 23.
How to show up this week
The gathering is free. What lasts is the plan you make for Thursday.
- Read the See You at the Pole hub and open the planning tools.
- If you are a student, name a time, a place, and one friend you will invite before Wednesday.
- Pray Matthew 11:28 out loud this week. Let the theme verse be the first sentence, not only a poster line.
- If you lead youth or campus ministry, stay in support. Help with rides, water, and a follow-up gathering that students own.
- After September 23, join a daily campus prayer habit through Claim Your Campus or a local Bible club.
- Practice the WWJD question on Thursday: who is weary, and how will you come to Jesus with them?
FAQ
When is See You at the Pole 2026?
Wednesday, September 23, 2026. The Global Week of Student Prayer runs September 20-26. Students are encouraged to pray all week, then gather at a flagpole on Wednesday if they can.
What is the 2026 theme?
Come to Me, from Matthew 11:28: Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. The verse is the official theme on syatp.com and in the National Network of Youth Ministries media alert.
Do adults lead the gathering?
Students lead it. Parents, youth pastors, and other adults may pray, drive, and support. The Network asks them to keep the circle in student hands.
How did See You at the Pole start?
In early 1990, ten students from a Disciple Now retreat in Burleson, Texas, prayed at three local school flagpoles late at night. Youth leaders named the gathering. After the story reached about 20,000 students in Dallas, the first official mass event was September 12, 1990, with tens of thousands participating. 2026 is the 36th year.
Where do students get free resources?
Everything needed to host a gathering is free at syatp.com. Printed pieces can be ordered online or by calling (817) HIS-PLAN, 817-447-7526, Monday through Friday, 9 to 5 Central Time. The SYATP app carries planning materials and daily devotionals.
Why does this gathering matter to you?
I left public school in 1990 to start at a Christian university in Tulsa as the gathering spread from Dallas, and I helped as a volunteer youth leader. From that season I see See You at the Pole as part of what helped the What Would Jesus Do? question take hold. I still want students to live the answer after the circle breaks.
Sources
- National Network of Youth Ministries: MEDIA ALERT: See You at the Pole is September 23, 2026
- See You at the Pole: plan your gathering
- See You at the Pole: downloads and PSAs
- Claim Your Campus: daily school prayer
- See You at the Pole on Facebook
- Tony Darrick Baker
- WWJD.COM: Florida State UniteUS night
- WWJD.COM: University of Tennessee UniteUS night
- WWJD.COM: Faith Is Rising
- WWJD.COM: Statement of Faith
Ask the Question - Live the Answer
