PRAYER AT THE POLE
Fri, 2016-09-30 05:00
News Staff
High School students participate in prayer around flag pole
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
Students gathered at both junior high campuses, as well as Crossroads High and Copperas Cove High School to take time to pray during this year’s annual See You at the Pole event.
The gatherings took place before 8 a.m. at the beginning of the school day.
At the high school, approximately a dozen students, along with several local youth leaders participated in Scripture readings, sang songs, and prayed.
Mathew Aquino served as the leader for Copperas Cove High School’s meeting.
Several students each took a turn praying for the world, the United States, the state of Texas, along with their families and schools.
Between the three songs, “Jesus Loves Me”, “How Great is Our God”, and “Amazing Grace”, all sung acapella, designated students read several Scriptures to include a verse from Psalm 24 and Matthew 11:28.
Local church youth group leasers attended as well, bringing brought doughnuts and Tang for the students.
A contingent of freshman Bulldawg football players were on hand, fresh from their morning practice. This year in high school, they are part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. However, practicing their faith isn’t something new for them.
Several of the Freshman Gold players also participated in Cougars for Christ, a group at S.C. Lee Junior High and have continued professing their faith while in high school.
“I like to exercise my faith with fellow believers, and also my teammates,” said Christian Tuiasosopo.
His fellow teammates Donovon Blow, Levi Smith, Christian Eseroma, and Xzavier McCarter agreed with him.
“I got to church and believe in Christ strongly, and I want to learn more,” McCarter added.
Freshman Ashante Rabotte attended on Wednesday morning as well. She attends the same church as Mathew Aquino and felt it was important to take the time to gather and pray with fellow students.
After a closing prayer, students chatted and ate doughnuts. They were all invited to a Wednesday night gathering downtown called “Saw You At the Pole”, located at the old Cove theater.
See You At The Pole is a nationwide student-led program, which has its roots in a group of high school students from Burleson High School in 1990.
While attending a youth group weekend, they felt compelled to pray for their friends, schools and teachers, and went to their campuses and prayed at the flag poles. Word of their activity spread throughout the country and that first year, 45,000 students participated.