NEARLY 90 JHS STUDENTS PRAY AT POLE

Jackson High School students sing a praise song during the annual See You at the Pole rally Wednesday morning in front of the school.

Whatever the verdicts of courts, God cannot be effectively barred from school campus.

"Praying in school is a great thing," said Jackson High School sophomore Joseph Ettling. "You can pray silently and no one even knows you're praying."

Students didn't have to pray silently or secretly Wednesday morning. Some 80-to-90 JHS students took part in the annual See You at the Pole event, in front of the high school.

"Legally we can't pray in school," said senior Andy Conklin, one of the Pole leaders and the first student to arrive at the huge flag pole, "but they can't really stop us from praying. It's important that we come out and do something like this."

A small group at first, the handful of students appeared to pray and meditate before Jared Rouggly showed up with his guitar. By the time the group started singing praise songs, some 15 students were present.

By the time the group joined hands around the flag pole, some sixty were there -- and the number continued to grow. After students took turns praying for their school and community, they sang "Celebrate Jesus" and other praise songs.

Members of each class was then asked to come forward -- sophomores first -- to pray together in an inner circle. Meanwhile, the other two classes, encircling the smaller circle, were also lifting the group up in prayer.

"It's a wonderful opportunity. I wish did it more often," said Erika Beasley, a junior. "We could gather around the flag and pray more than once a year."

"I think it's great," echoed sophomore Adam Huskey. "I wish we could do it more often."

See You at the Poll was born during a Disciple Now weekend in Burleson, Texas in 1990. During the weekend, the youths felt led to go to a local school campus and pray. They wound up encircling the school flag pole and praying for their school, their friends and their leaders.

The name "See You at the Pole" caught on early and the idea was shared with some 20,000 students a Dallas rally in June, 1990. The first See You at the Poll took place Sept. 12, 1990, when some 45,000 students in four states met at their schools' flag poles. A year later, on Sept. 11, 1991, more than one million students, nationwide met to pray.

Today, according to the See You at the Pole web site, more than three million students in 20 countries take part. Adults often meet off campus and pray for the students simultaneously.

This year's gathering in front of JHS was much larger than in 1998, according to students. A weekly Bible study conducted by students in a high school class room is also growing.

"It's really an encouragement to know there are so many other Christians in your school," said junior Shannon Scott. "It's a lot bigger this year."

"I'm really glad we were all able to be here," Ettling said. "I didn't know if that many would show up. I almost didn't come."

"It's good for us to set an example for our peers who aren't Christians," said Matt Wiethop, a junior. "We need to stand up for our beliefs."