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Dr. Jessica Peck discusses challenges facing today's kids and teenagers
preborn.com/AFR hello and welcome to the Dr. Nursemama show, prescribing hope for healthy families here on American radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends and welcome to my favorite time of day, getting to spend time with you wherever you are, whatever you're doing. If you're in the middle of the back to school rush, my prayers are with you if you are not. But you're watching Back to School Rush all around you because you can't escape it. You go into any store and you see back to school supplies. You know what's going to happen next? It's going to be fall decorations. And before we know it, Christmas will Be here, okay? I promise. That's the only thing I'll say about Christmas here. But we are rounding the corner. We're in August, we're getting closer than we were farther away. But in all of that back to school rush, this is one of my favorite things to talk about every year. It's something that I participated in when I was in high school, way back in the day, back in the previous century, as my kids like to point out. And it's something that your kids can be a part of today. And the question I have for you is what? What happens when our kids stop waiting for someone else to lead? There is something so powerful about watching young people take spiritual ownership. And I hear a lot of negative talk about younger generations. And I'm telling you, the people who work with Gen Z, Gen Alpha now, Gen Beta being born behind them, they all say the same thing, that God is on the move. We talk so much about the challenges that are facing today's kids and teenagers. And we talk about the bad news and the scrolling because frankly, that's what sells. And the pressure and the distractions, the anxiety, the social media noise, the competing worldviews, the constant stream of messages that are telling kids who they should be, what they should believe, and our fears that they will fall prey to some of the schemes of the enemy. But what if we also need to be telling a different story? What if our kids aren't just a generation we need to protect from culture, but a generation God wants to use and to equip to be impactful within our culture? And that is one of the beautiful things about. See you at the pole this year on Wednesday, September 23rd, it's coming up. Students around the world will gather traditionally at their school flag poles, although some schools do it a little differently. But they're all going to be doing the same thing. This is a student led event to pray for their schools, to pray for their friends, their teachers, their families, their communities and their nation. But part, the most important part of See at the Pole is it just the gathering place. It is the students who will be there. This is student initiated, student organized, student led. And for me, having worked in Pediatrics for 30 years, I think we constantly underestimate the ways that kids can leave that can lead. And that makes this a particularly important conversation today for parents, for teachers, for administrators, for coaches, for anybody who is invested in young people. Because sometimes we unintentionally communicate to our kids that ministry is something that adults do for them. It's a program that they go to and they consume. We take them to church. We enroll them in youth group. Those are not bad things. I hope you're doing those things. We find the Bible study. We arrange the service project. We tell them the time to be ready. But Scripture really gives a very different picture of young people. God has always used young people who are willing to listen, obey, and step forward. We think about Samuel and David and Josiah and Esther and Mary and Timothy and countless others. And See you at the Pole is an opportunity for students to discover that God can use them even as a young person. Don't let anyone look down on them because they're young. He can use them at their school, in their social circle, with their friends, with their families. And this year's theme, I think, is really meaningful for the emotional and spiritual landscape that our kids are navigating. It's come to me based on Matthew 11:28. So Jesus doesn't begin with, hey, prove your yourself. Find the ultimate truth. You know those kinds of find your truth. He says, come to me. Come with your burdens, your questions, your exhaustion, your friends, your problems. So today we're going to talk about the history of this remarkable movement. See you at the pole What God is doing and young people today and why prayer matters, and most practically, how you can be involved and support this. And I'm so thrilled to welcome two men who have spent a long time investing in the spiritual lives of teenagers.
Doug Clark is team pastor for the National Network of Youth Ministries
We have Doug Clark with us today again, who serves as team pastor for the National Network of Youth Ministries in San Diego, California. He spent 16 years as a youth pastor before joining the network staff in 1990. He's a graduate of Fuller Seminary. He spent decades helping youth workers collaborate to reach and equip teenagers to discover what does God want them to do in the world. And he also helps coordinate promotion for See you at the pole We also have Wayne Morgan. He serves as vice president of ministry for the National Network of Youth Ministries. He is passionate about health, helping students discover real hope and lasting purpose through a growing relationship with Jesus. And he has a unique perspective shaped by his own journey as a cancer survivor, an adoption advocate, an adventurer, a husband and a father. You can see why I'm so excited about today's show. Doug and Wayne, welcome. I'm so glad to have you both here.
Doug Clark: Thanks, Jessica. good to be here.
Wayne Morgan: Yeah, it's good to be here, Jessica.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Wayne, let's start with you.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Let.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Before we talk about the movement, let's. Let's talk about both of you because your Own personal testimonies have involved a call to say yes and to step up and to lead in ministry. And Wayne, I ended with some of those things, you know, all the things that you have been through to give you a unique perspective. Can you just tell us a little bit about your testimony, what God has done in your life, and how you came to be involved with CU at the poll?
Wayne Morgan: Yeah, well, thanks for having us. it's a pleasure to be here. And a lot of my ministry experience actually started around see you at the pole I was telling Doug, I remember when I was interviewing with NNYM and I found out that see with the pole was connected with national network. And I was like, wait, we do this? Because, and I just found the pictures from 1996 where I led. See what the pole at my high school with some friends. And then in 97 it had grown. I think it was the first time that we had, been aware of it. And so it actually birthed. I didn't tell Doug this. It actually birthed, a prayer gathering for a bunch of the guys in my class. And several of those guys are in ministry. You know, so, when students take initiative and ask God to do stuff, it changes our perspective and it changes, it changed us. Like we went from just thinking about ourselves to thinking about our school and then ultimately making us think broader about what God could use our lives for. and then like, like you said in the interview there or in the intro, like several years later, I had to rely on prayer. I'm alive because of prayer. So, this Friday is my 18th anniversary of cancer free. so for two years, I was given a 40% chance of surviving. And so I say that if God heard the prayers for a person with, with physical cancer who already knew the life changing message of Jesus, how much more does he care about those with a spiritual cancer that if we call into him, he will answer and do great and mighty things that we have no, no idea what he wants to do. So, so I've seen, I've seen the power of prayer. I've experienced the power of prayer. I have seen miracles in my own life. And so I just look forward to helping students grab a hold of that same power that lays within them and asking God to do great things at their school and watching what God does.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Wayne, cancer survivorship, it is a miracle and something to be so grateful for. And I don't mean to make light of that, but it's a miracle too that you Found a picture from the 1990s because that is hard to do.
Wayne Morgan: 1900s, as my teenagers like to tell me.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Exactly, exactly. That can be hard to do because we were talking about a whole different process there. But what a special reminder. I wish that is something that I have. I don't think that I do, but, you know, I'm thinking it would be a miracle to go back and try to find that. But you may inspire me for the challenge way. Doug, I know that you've been on the program before, but for people who are just now meeting you and learning about this movement, please tell us about your legacy here.
Doug Clark: I, I, I'm alive today because of spiritually anyway, because someone took the time to come to my high school campus when I was a sophomore in high school and a junior and to just be there as a youth worker. It was a young life leader named Pete Cantu who's, still, still exercising ministry and is 80s and 90s, here in California. But he, he was there. He was one who led me into a relationship with other people. And I found a community of believers, Christian students on my campus who loved me as a lonely young, young guy and brought me and ushered me into a place where I could hear the gospel. And so this ministry on campus is tremendously important to me. the other part too is that as a youth pastor then really as a young youth pastor, the bicentennial, not the sesqua, what a, what a whata, whatever it was just called that we just had, but the bicentennial, which I can spell, I think, was 1976. And it was during that time that there was just this high level of awareness of praying for our country. And it built into me a real burden to pray for revival and awakening. That has become a part of my DNA, ever since. But to be able to pass that on then to teenagers and encourage them to be part of it, you use these words, find their place in the world, I think, or something like that. A few minutes ago, the, my dream is that we'd see, students get so, enamored and involved in their relationship with Jesus that what they learn on the high school campus and then the college campus and then as young adults would ultimately end up in them, being part of fulfilling and finishing the job of the Great Commission during their lifetime, and hopefully during my lifetime too, to see that happen. And so a prayer, the campus, those things have just been part of my life from, from early on.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You guys are just part of what gives Me hope in the world. You know, when I, ah, when I work with, you know, as a professor, my primary lens of work is trauma, abuse, human trafficking, just the worst of, of humanity that we see in a broken world. And people ask me often what gives you hope? And I'm tell is people like you who are following your faith journey, who are walking in obedience to the Lord, who are seeing the fruit of that, who are seeing God work in miraculous ways, as you both just described. And Doug, for see you at the pole you know, you've been there since the beginning, which was Also in the 1900s, as I said, almost the very beginning. And this was in 1990, a small group of teenagers from a little place called Burleson, Texas. And this Texas girl has to give a shout out. I love it when things come from Texas like this. And they were attending Disciple now weekend and their hearts really became burdened for their friends and for their schools. And instead of just, you know, venting about it on social media, which they didn't have then, or just worrying about it, they did something about it. They went to several schools that night. They prayed at the flag poles. And that just. I have goosebumps right now. The simple act of obedience really became the seed of what would become see you at the pole. And it's amazing because from what I've read, by September of that year, more than 45,000 students on 1200 campuses in Texas and three other states participated in the first organized event. Tell us about that beginning and how you've seen God move and work over the years.
Doug Clark: Well, my favorite part of that whole story is the origin group itself. It was a handful of freshmen meeting in the home of a couple of volunteer blue collar youth leaders or volunteers in, in a church in Burleson. And they were part of this conference, as you said, a Disciple now, which is a weekend discipling and evangelism conference in churches all over the south especially. And they were challenged to surrender it all to Jesus. They decided to do that and they felt very clearly that they needed to go and pray for their friends had prayed at several schools around Burleson that night. They were nervous. They, the one guy who was a football player, was nervous that people would see him holding hands with, with other people around the flagpole at their school, that night. And yet it was a fre. It was this group of freshmen. They had no idea what God was going to do through their obedience. It was partly because of the influence of some older students that they were burdened to Pray for the school. So there was this interaction of what was happening in their youth group and then their story when it was reported to Rick Eubanks, who's their youth pastor, who's a good friend of both of us, he's on our staff now, was the basis for then challenging students across the state of Texas at Reunion arena in June of 1990 to come back from the summer and do something that would reunite them, after the summer of ministry and camps and all the things, but with a sense of unity. And they only thought they'd have 4,000 or 5,000 max across Texas.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, Doug, I'm going to hold you right there because we're already at our first break, but I'm telling you, you don't want to miss the rest of this story. More importantly, you don't want to miss how to be involved. We'll be right back with more from Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan. See you at the pole
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Pray by Sanctus Real: Pray. Don't know what to say? I'm not sure how to fix the things I'm dealing with? I'm in a desperate place? I need to share the weight? But I just don't know how, uh? To let it all pour out? Though I'm silent, my heart is crying? Cause I was made to come to you? So I pray God, I need you more than words can say? Right here in this moment? You know my heart, you know my need? You know every part of me? So even if it's just, to speak your name? I'm gonna pray. I failed to find the time.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is Pray by Sanctus Real. And that is exactly what we're inviting you to do today. As you walk into any store anywhere, if you're out in public, you know that the back to school rush is on. This is a good reminder. Watch out for those school school zones. Don't be on your phone while you're driving. Make sure you slow down. There's kids going back to school. Every store you go to has all of the school supplies. I love those. And I'm encouraging you to pray over those school supplies. Just take an extra few minutes and Take a walk through those aisles and pray for the very real students who will be using those supplies. Pray that God would bless them and keep them and make his face to shine upon them, and God will honor those prayers. And we are inviting students to pray today.
Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan talk about see you at the pole movement
We're talking today with Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan, two seasoned ministry leaders who are leaders in the see you at the pole movement. This is happening this year on September 23rd. And right before the break, Doug was talking about the remarkable origins of this now movement that has just reverberated all over the world. That started with some nervous freshmen who took a step in obedience. And Doug, you were right about to tell us about the first movement and how they thought maybe they might get some sort of response. And then what happened?
Doug Clark: The students began sharing by word of mouth and telling others about it, and it just spread like wildfire. And so when they, had see at the pole on, I think it was the third Wednesday back then of 1990, this beginning of the school year, the. Chuck Flowers, who was in charge of the youth Evangelism department of the Southern Baptist in Texas and the organizer of Sea at the Pole, set up a tape machine. back in the last century, we had this thing called cassettes.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Yes, we did.
Doug Clark: they were little tiny ones that they would put into, put into an answering machine. And he had. He had one, and he started getting reports, and he asked people to call in, where are you from? How many there were any stories? And they began doing that, and they were backed up. The reports came in all night long. Chuck had to go find other cassettes to plug in so they could record this, including a little girl, young gal, who said, I was at my school by myself, but I knew that there were others at other schools. And that gave me courage to pray at my school alone. and so. And the number ended up being like 45,000 people, but not just in Texas. It had already spread to Oklahoma and Arkansas and Louisiana just by word of mouth.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Wow.
Doug Clark: And the organizers that had created this idea and challenged the students to pray realize this is bigger than us, it's bigger than our denomination, and there's something that God is doing. And within three years, see what? The pole had a million students. And we commissioned Barna to actually count, we thought, just as responsible stewards, not to trumpet it, but rather say, how many are doing this? And so they did. Did a proper survey. And there were over a million who participated in 1993. And we believe that number swelled to as much as 2 million, by the end of the decade. So in the meantime, during the 90s, as Wayne pointed out earlier, they were doing see at the Pole in, in Pennsylvania. And his story of it is, is really good. I asked him to share that today too.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Wayne, I can't wait to hear it. Go right ahead.
Wayne Morgan: Well, and like I said, I was asked to lead see you at the pole because I was in charge of being a class president. And so you're one of the people that's going to help develop this thing and you can, you're loud. You need to talk and use it for Jesus. Right? So, so the, the first time, people couldn't believe we're going to get to school before the buses. Like, why would we do this? And so that was the big, the hardest sell for sure was, was that. But I did remember a friend who just got, got back from camp and was super excited about like his faith. He really, his life got turned around by Jesus at camp and he was like, we need to do this on a regular basis. And so we just. His house wasn't far from the school and so we just prayed at his house afterwards. And so it radically changed us. And then it started to make a difference in the school and some pretty phenomenal ways. And so I carried see you at the pole with me until I went into youth ministry. And so, when I went in as my first youth pastorate, I went to a school, you know, as a youth pastor, walked into the school and we were the first ones there. And then all of a sudden there was another group that showed up and I walked over. I was like, hey, you want to join us with, see with the poll? They're like, no, no, we planned our own. And I was like, oh, okay. There were six groups that year that all were around the flagpole at distance from one another there. And I was like, oh, how much more power would we have if we could come together and link arms and students would recognize that each other because it was like church specific pockets and it wasn't even like a close connection. And that's really when God, started to push me towards that, that collaboration, networking, looking at a school, as a community versus looking at it just through the lens of our own particular chur. And so, so that was where God planted the seeds for me to work with national, network of youth ministries. And I didn't even know nnym was connected with C with the Pole.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love when that God's stories have threads like that. And there may Be something that you do or an experience that you have, a skill that you gain. And you think, I don't even. I didn't pursue this. I don't even know why I have this. And then God shows you 10, 20 years later, oh, here you go. Here's the rest of the story. And as someone famous used to say, I love those kinds of endings.
I think sometimes we underestimate teenage capacity to lead
And Wayne, you know, you're talking about students stepping up and leading. And I think a lot of times, especially now, when we see these trends in parenting. You know, when we had the beginning of the 19th century, we had a very authoritarian authoritative styles. And then we, you know, the pendulum swung to too permissive and kind of almost infantilizing teenagers and thinking, oh, they'd let them be kids longer. We never can seem to get it quite right in the middle. But I think sometimes we just underestimate our teenage capacity to lead, to respond to God. We think they have some kind of junior Holy Spirit, and we expect them to have spiritual maturity, but we don't really create opportunities for them to have it. What does it look like to have a ministry that invites students into spiritual leadership? Where have you seen kids step up and see God work? And how has that impacted their view of their identity? Created in the image of God and equipped for every good Work.
Doug Clark: Work.
Wayne Morgan: Yeah, I would say, our boss, Randy, Davis, talks about how student leadership was a part of youth ministry in the 90s, and then it kind of faded away. but we need to start seeing students as a part of the church. The students that are involved in church leadership and given responsibilities, those are the ones that stay. And so something even like I see with the pole from my experience being in the same location doing youth ministry for the last 20 years, I've been able to watch where students were equipped and empowered to go just pray for their school. they start to get a vision for their school, start get compassion for their school. And, and then that moves them, it changes them. Right. Instead of us telling them that there's needs, they start like the Holy Spirit starts opening their eyes to the needs that around them. And then there's, ah, there's a, there's a, there's a passion for the loss, you know, so one of our sister organizations says this. Pray, care, share. First you start with prayer, and then they start to care about what's going on, and then sharing the good news of Jesus is the next level for them. and I can say from being a camp speaker for the last 15 years that, there is A desire from this generation that is more intense, that is more deliberate than generations past. And so. So much so that, like, the conversation has been interesting where I've, actually, I still run a youth ministry here in northeast Pennsylvania, and I started handing the curriculum to students to teach it. And it's. The youth ministry is growing, and I'm like, so I stopped teaching. And you invite your friends. Got it right. Like, but they want purpose. They want to know what they have, matters. And I just. Looking back over the last 20 years here, one of the pastors at my church, he led c with the pole. The pastor's wife led c with the pole. another one of the pastor's wives. And when you were talking about what, do we do with culture, it was that pastor's wife, Keisha, who, when she was in high school, she goes, you know, water's toxic, but we don't teach people how to stay away from water. We teach them how to swim. And I was like, wow, you know, that's an insightful thought. Like, we're. We're bringing. We're helping you navigate through and helping equip students at, sea with the pole to see the needs of their community and not just run from them, but to bring them to God. You know, like, how do we appropriately deal with the stress and the anxiety at school? How do we appropriately look at things that, you know, break God's heart.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Heart.
Wayne Morgan: And cry out on the behalf of them being able to equip students to do it. Not just a pastor can pray for it, but. No, you pray for the protection of your school. You pray that the gospel fills the hallways of your school. We. You pray for hope to land at your school. You pray that there is peace and joy in the hallways and that people who are believers will find one another and encourage one another and bring the hope of the gospel into the hallways, not just keep it on the outside. And so, so I'm seeing a stirring of this next generation that re. They're really leaning in. And see with the pole is one of those easy places. If you heard me go, man, I would never give my middle schooler the curriculum to teach. Well, I've pulled some off the stage, let's be honest. But. But they're.
Doug Clark: They.
Wayne Morgan: They're hungry for it. And when we equip them, they're the ones that stay in the churches. What we see from research. So let's give them the keys, and let's see what God does as they step into, like, the space of Leadership.
Dr. Jessica Peck: So, Wayne, you're not passionate about this at all, I can tell. No, really, it's so good to see that passion, because everybody that I talk to who is not really directly involved with youth, they have this sense of. Of doom about this generation, that they're snowflakes, that they're weak, that, you know, all of the. Think of all the. Of the negative descriptors that we hear about Gen Z. But the people who are boots on the ground working with this generation, just like you just said, Wayne, they have a fire that seems to be more intense than previous generations. And we see those embers of revival. And every leader I have who comes on the show, every leader I talk to and who's working with youth today is saying the same thing. And, Wayne, you said something really important about equipping students to lead, helping them to have ownership. And one of the things, the ways that I think adults have really done a disservice to this generation is that we've kind of coped with the reality that they're facing by pretending it's not there. That's why you see these nostalgia trends. What was life like in the 90s? We see the cell phone bands, all those things. We are not willing to face the reality that these kids are facing, but to help them face that reality and say, all right, I'm limited in my ability to change the political forces in the world, but I am very equipped to be able to influence my sphere of influence and to equip them to swim. As you said, it's just a beautiful thing.
This year's theme is Come to Me
And Doug, that brings us to the theme for this year. There's a theme, and this year's theme is Come to Me. And when I heard that, I couldn't help but think about the prevalence of social media. And I always say, social media is about me. M M E, capital M, M, capital E. And it's like me, follow me, find me, you know, you know, whatever. It's. Interact with me. And you are giving them a radically different countercultural message, saying, come to me, meaning come to Jesus and bring him all of those burdens that we're carrying. Can you tell us more about the theme for this year?
Doug Clark: Yeah, I love the passage that, that's taken from, Matthew 11:28 to 30 is well known. And I. I think I'd like to read it just so your reader listeners can hear. As a reminder. It says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. Other translations say, distressed and downcast, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and humble or meek in art and you will find rest for your soul souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And I love the richness of this passage that just describes how Jesus wants an intimate connection with us, to help us with the issues of anxiety and depression and the other things that are attacking and are very real, with, with the young people today. so we, we take this and we use it then in some devotional material. Just different ways to unpack it. So students literally through September can walk with this through the sea with the pole app. it has a, kind of devotional center that are there each day. and then they're sharing their burdens with Jesus and he's giving them direction and he gives them rest. And then they're working together, yoked together with them as they look at
Dr. Jessica Peck: the score school so well, Doug, when we come back, we're up against our next break, but when we come back, we're going to tell you how you can be involved and how to get your student involved, maybe how to have an event at your school. You can go to SYATP that. See you at the pole syatp.com to find out more. You can also join us after this break. We'll be right back with Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan. More on. See you at the pole right after this break.
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Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan talk about inviting students to prayer at school
When We Pray by Tauren Wells: People hurting people broken, beating down and feeling hopeless Wonder if it's gonna always be this way who will speak up for the captive? Show some love and heal a past that finds the wounds we think will never go away but what if we could be our people on our knees as one before the king? Cause we believe hey all the world's not changing when the church starts breaking strong Won't start to break up when we pray prison Won't start shaking at the sound of praising Nothing stays the same when we pray oh, oh, oh when we pray oh, oh
Dr. Jessica Peck: welcome back, friends. That is When We Pray by Tauren Wells. And that's exactly what we're talking about today is prayer. Prayer, the power of prayer. And so often prayer we use as a last resort instead of a first instinct. And prayer should just be as natural as breathing. When I wake up in the morning, I just continue the prayer that I had been praying at night. When I close my eyes, it is one continuous prayer, one continuous conversation with God and a way that we are talking about inviting students to prayer. This year is September 23rd, an event called See youe at the Pole. This was started in the 1990s in Texas and has just spread to millions of students. It's an invitation for your students to lead prayer at their school, for their school. This is not an adult run event that says simp students simply attend. This is intentionally student led. And the official see you at the Pole resources encourage students to plan, to prepare, to publicize to pray. And this year's theme is Come to Me if you want to know more about it. You can go to see, S Y A T P. That's syatp.com or you can get any young person to help you Internet search it and I'm sure they could help you find it as my kids often help me with technological resources. We're talking today to ministry leaders Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan. And Doug, I know there are people listening today thinking, you know what? Yeah, I've been meaning to ask my student about that. I've been meaning to think about, you know, helping to start an event at our school. And there's some people who are thinking, wait, I don't think I've ever heard about this. let's how if a child says, hey, I want to participate, any way to get involved, what do they do? How do you even start?
Doug Clark: Well, you just shared the URL for the. The See at the pole website, syatp.com That's the place to start. It'll also take them to the social media channels that we have. And I literally just got a text while we were starting this broadcast today that the See at the Pole Resource Store. Is open, so they can get a chance to see some of the different resources that available. We've said many times every year, all the time you don't have to pay a pen many to participate and see at the pole But there are resources available, some that are free, some that you can buy, like T shirts, etc, that people can get to participate and see at the pole But also on that website are all of the guides that they might need on how to plan, how to prepare, how to publicize some graphics they can use. And, even for people in the media, then there are some spots that they can use as part of radio spots and that kind of a thing. So all of it's right there on syatp.com, the most important thing I'd say is that students gather a group of other students, join hands, maybe with their youth leaders, and plan together what they're going to do on their se at the pole event and then execute it. Make sure it's planned out. Make sure they communicate to their school that they're doing this. They don't need permission. But if I was a principal, I'd want to know why 30 kids were gathered around the flag pole in front of my school, and why I didn't know about it ahead of time, you know, so it's certainly fair for them to communicate that as well to the administration.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Doug, you talked about at the beginning of the program, one of the first, the initial, the og see with the pole participants being a football player who was afraid that somebody would see him holding hands with people around a flagpole. And I think back to my high school days, and that was the fear that we had. And when we looked at things like bullying, it was really limited to the school cafeteria. You know, you might get bullied there, but then you could go home, you could go to grandma's house, you could go to summer camp. You know, there was places to escape. I see students today who have a real. And if I'm super honest, it's a legitimate fear about being so bold and public about their faith. Because more than someone just seeing them standing around at a flagpole, someone can video them and put that online and, you know, really make up any kind of narrative. And there's a lot of fear that way and stepping out and in your face. Wayne, what advice can you give students about, you know, their. Doug, you mentioned their legal right to be there. Wayne, what about the spiritual? You know, just strength and fortitude to be bold in their faith.
Students may feel trepidatious about participating in such an event
Wayne, we'll start with you. What would you advise students who may feel, be feeling trepidatious about participating in such an event?
Wayne Morgan: Well, one of the things that I would encourage is our area network got together and brought students together from many different youth groups and just did a, see with the pole pre rally to connect the Christian students because all those kids felt like they were all by themselves. So if you're a youth pastor and you're like, man, this is a good idea, what do I do? I would say make m it a priority, try to get those students together. Because every year kids would walk in and they'd be like, that person's a Christian. No way. And then it was pretty simple. We had all of the school districts on a piece of paper around the wall and they would just go and have 20 minutes to, to, to plan and prep. And we'd give them some of the resources to go to their school and say, we're going to be praying for you. And, and so they would, they would be equipped for success. And so I think if you're in ministry, doing those type of things, promoting it as a pastor, there's slides on the website that you can download to speak positively of it from the pulpit so that you can equip those students because there are some kids in your, in your group that are like, let's go. I just need permission to go. And then for parents, every single time, see what the pole is a success because some parent loaded up their van, their minivan with their friends, their kids friends, because it is the fear I'm going to be only one that's going to show up. Well, mom, you can, if you can get up just a little early on this day, you might start a revival at your school that you never thought was possible and you're spending an extra couple bucks in gas to do it. So, I think for those who are listening, as parents and as leaders, how do we equip and set them up for success for students? I just want to encourage them. If you think about it, tens of thousands of high schoolers and middle schoolers this summer went away to camp and had an encounter with Jesus. What would it look like if you ran into somebody that went to a different camp than you? You and God's stirring something in their heart. And you just start making a conversation as you go back to school about gathering together to pray on September 23rd and start leaning into that, just trusting that God's not just doing it in your life, but he's Also doing it in several people because Jesus used 11 uneducated guys to flip world history. There's probably at least 11 at your school. And so. So how can you walk into school looking for those people and inviting them into what God is calling you into? You might also transform your school just by that simple obedience. So, so those are a few ideas
Dr. Jessica Peck: spoken, from someone who clearly spends a lot of time with youth because those are exactly the kinds of fears and worries that they may have. And they, those are perfectly natural and normal to have. Doug, what would you like to add to that?
Doug Clark: Yeah, I'd say the. From tracking this for since 1991, I've seen very few examples of students actually being harassed. There have been some. The very first year we did it nationally in Metropolis, Illinois, Masset County High School, three girls were arrested. They, were not taken taken to the police department, but they were arrested and then released. and so there was a lawsuit that came out of that. In Richardson High school in the 90s, there were two different times when students were harassed and physically pushed. They weren't hurt. but that's. But I look at that. I keep looking for more examples of this kind of persecution, if you will. But it hasn't happened much. So I'd reassure first of all, a student to say, say, you know, it's really unlikely that that's going to happen, but it could. And so encourage him to step out, to be bold, but to. To step into it with courage. And if I could use it as an example, there's a guy in Edmond, Oklahoma by the name of Owen, who I've gotten to know. It's become like my friend somewhat. And this will be. He's going to be a junior this year. But when he came out of junior high school going to Edmond, Edmond North High School school, as a freshman, he thought there would be the same group that he had from his middle school high, junior high that would come and be part of se at the pole where he was a freshman. But he showed up and he was by himself. his parents took a picture and shared it with their family. I saw the picture. I asked the people who were part of the see at the pole Facebook group. And there's tens of thousands of them. And I said let's encourage all Owen. And they just went on. And there were over a thousand comments of support and encouragement, affirmation to Owen. Well, what happened next? The next week, the older students in the school, maybe out of shame, I don't know, or Embarrassment. But they came in and they had over 50 people a week later at sea at the Pole. Owen has shared with me that they have a Jesus club that meets every Friday. He has a Wednesday night worship thing that happens at his church that he helps lead. And they had 55 people at sea at the pole this last year. Year. So being willing to, to be Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, Daniel, whatever example you'd want to pick out of the scripture will bear fruit. And it may be, it may be risky, but for such a time as this, it could be that that's exactly what God's calling you to do and your courage will be rewarded one way or another.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, we've already heard Wayne encourage the moms to fire up their minivans early and load up the kids groups of kids. I think the other thing that's really important that for parents to do right now, and not just parents, I'm talking grandparents. Any human being on the face of the planet who is listening right now, who is a Christ follower and wants to help, they can pray for these students starting right now. Doug, what would you say to people who think, well, I'm not a student, I don't work with students, or maybe I have a student wherever they are, how can they pray? Pray for protection, pray for God's spirit. How can they pray for this event even starting now?
Doug Clark: There are a number of prayer initiatives that are going on right now as part of what we call a prayer symphony to launch the school year this week. We're encouraging people to go and put their footsteps on a campus somewhere near them. It doesn't have to be during school. Just walk on by yourself, grab two other people, take your family, go and put your footprints on campus at their school. It's called footprints on campus. there you mentioned earlier this watching out in the school zone. The Assemblies of God have launched something called Prayer Zone Partners where they encourage people when they drive through that school zone and they're forced to slow down, they also use that as a trigger. Oh, pray for this school. So as I go through the school zone, I pray for the school zone. Claim your campus has something, that, that is, involving prayer walking. And that's going to happen the Saturday before and the Saturday after. See with the pole and if somebody wants to know more about some of the different. And there's a bunch of others, but there's so many different ways that it can be done. Prayer walking has become kind of a thing and I've been excited to See that people have, have been walking and praying together and enjoying not only the fellowship of doing something that's kingdom building, but the impact of their prayers themselves on, on the campus. But they can go to NNYM, our, our. Our organization's website, nnym.org/symphony nnym.org/symphony and it can tell them all about some of these different options that they have available to pray.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, I absolutely believe in prayer walking. I have seen miracles come from prayer walking in so many circumstances. And again, I think prayer is tragically often our last resort instead of our first, first instinct.
Wayne says he's praying for students at his school to connect to God
And Wayne, I'd like to know what you're praying specifically for for. See you at the pole 2026.
Wayne Morgan: I'm praying that those students, I've, as a camp speaker, I've always been like, man, what would it be like if those kids that had an encounter with God at camp have another encounter at their school where they realize the body of Christ is bigger? And what would it look like for those students to be activated to care for their, their, their. Their community and that they're known for the love of Christ? Because sometimes as Christians we we can get our our rights, you know, all up in arms about our rights. But if we're kem together as the love of Jesus at that school, I wonder what could happen there.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Me too. I absolutely love seeing students at camp, but that's always the challenge is the high, the mountaintop of camp and then head back into reality and we see kids who have that, that cycle in their faith. And I share your hope and your prayer that this would be a connecting point for students to connect to God, to come to me, as the theme is for this year, for see with the pole and that they would also connect to each other and find courage in their fellow Christians in their school. That is so encouraging. Well, again, this is happening on September 23rd. If you are listening, you can be praying. You can be a part of it. By praying. You can go to syatp.com and find out more about how to pray, how to get involved, and how to encourage this generation of emerging leaders. I see God at work for sure. And encourage those young people who are around you when you see them exercising their faith, pray for them, encourage them, speak words of affirmation to them. And as you do that, I'll speak some words of affirmation over you as I always do, because I pray sincerely. The Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. And I'll see you right here tomorrow.
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Dr. Jessica Peck discusses challenges facing today's kids and teenagers
preborn.com/AFR hello and welcome to the Dr. Nursemama show, prescribing hope for healthy families here on American radio. Here's your host, professor, pediatric nurse practitioner and mom of four, Dr. Jessica Peck.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, hey there, friends and welcome to my favorite time of day, getting to spend time with you wherever you are, whatever you're doing. If you're in the middle of the back to school rush, my prayers are with you if you are not. But you're watching Back to School Rush all around you because you can't escape it. You go into any store and you see back to school supplies. You know what's going to happen next? It's going to be fall decorations. And before we know it, Christmas will Be here, okay? I promise. That's the only thing I'll say about Christmas here. But we are rounding the corner. We're in August, we're getting closer than we were farther away. But in all of that back to school rush, this is one of my favorite things to talk about every year. It's something that I participated in when I was in high school, way back in the day, back in the previous century, as my kids like to point out. And it's something that your kids can be a part of today. And the question I have for you is what? What happens when our kids stop waiting for someone else to lead? There is something so powerful about watching young people take spiritual ownership. And I hear a lot of negative talk about younger generations. And I'm telling you, the people who work with Gen Z, Gen Alpha now, Gen Beta being born behind them, they all say the same thing, that God is on the move. We talk so much about the challenges that are facing today's kids and teenagers. And we talk about the bad news and the scrolling because frankly, that's what sells. And the pressure and the distractions, the anxiety, the social media noise, the competing worldviews, the constant stream of messages that are telling kids who they should be, what they should believe, and our fears that they will fall prey to some of the schemes of the enemy. But what if we also need to be telling a different story? What if our kids aren't just a generation we need to protect from culture, but a generation God wants to use and to equip to be impactful within our culture? And that is one of the beautiful things about. See you at the pole this year on Wednesday, September 23rd, it's coming up. Students around the world will gather traditionally at their school flag poles, although some schools do it a little differently. But they're all going to be doing the same thing. This is a student led event to pray for their schools, to pray for their friends, their teachers, their families, their communities and their nation. But part, the most important part of See at the Pole is it just the gathering place. It is the students who will be there. This is student initiated, student organized, student led. And for me, having worked in Pediatrics for 30 years, I think we constantly underestimate the ways that kids can leave that can lead. And that makes this a particularly important conversation today for parents, for teachers, for administrators, for coaches, for anybody who is invested in young people. Because sometimes we unintentionally communicate to our kids that ministry is something that adults do for them. It's a program that they go to and they consume. We take them to church. We enroll them in youth group. Those are not bad things. I hope you're doing those things. We find the Bible study. We arrange the service project. We tell them the time to be ready. But Scripture really gives a very different picture of young people. God has always used young people who are willing to listen, obey, and step forward. We think about Samuel and David and Josiah and Esther and Mary and Timothy and countless others. And See you at the Pole is an opportunity for students to discover that God can use them even as a young person. Don't let anyone look down on them because they're young. He can use them at their school, in their social circle, with their friends, with their families. And this year's theme, I think, is really meaningful for the emotional and spiritual landscape that our kids are navigating. It's come to me based on Matthew 11:28. So Jesus doesn't begin with, hey, prove your yourself. Find the ultimate truth. You know those kinds of find your truth. He says, come to me. Come with your burdens, your questions, your exhaustion, your friends, your problems. So today we're going to talk about the history of this remarkable movement. See you at the pole What God is doing and young people today and why prayer matters, and most practically, how you can be involved and support this. And I'm so thrilled to welcome two men who have spent a long time investing in the spiritual lives of teenagers.
Doug Clark is team pastor for the National Network of Youth Ministries
We have Doug Clark with us today again, who serves as team pastor for the National Network of Youth Ministries in San Diego, California. He spent 16 years as a youth pastor before joining the network staff in 1990. He's a graduate of Fuller Seminary. He spent decades helping youth workers collaborate to reach and equip teenagers to discover what does God want them to do in the world. And he also helps coordinate promotion for See you at the pole We also have Wayne Morgan. He serves as vice president of ministry for the National Network of Youth Ministries. He is passionate about health, helping students discover real hope and lasting purpose through a growing relationship with Jesus. And he has a unique perspective shaped by his own journey as a cancer survivor, an adoption advocate, an adventurer, a husband and a father. You can see why I'm so excited about today's show. Doug and Wayne, welcome. I'm so glad to have you both here.
Doug Clark: Thanks, Jessica. good to be here.
Wayne Morgan: Yeah, it's good to be here, Jessica.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, Wayne, let's start with you.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Let.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Before we talk about the movement, let's. Let's talk about both of you because your Own personal testimonies have involved a call to say yes and to step up and to lead in ministry. And Wayne, I ended with some of those things, you know, all the things that you have been through to give you a unique perspective. Can you just tell us a little bit about your testimony, what God has done in your life, and how you came to be involved with CU at the poll?
Wayne Morgan: Yeah, well, thanks for having us. it's a pleasure to be here. And a lot of my ministry experience actually started around see you at the pole I was telling Doug, I remember when I was interviewing with NNYM and I found out that see with the pole was connected with national network. And I was like, wait, we do this? Because, and I just found the pictures from 1996 where I led. See what the pole at my high school with some friends. And then in 97 it had grown. I think it was the first time that we had, been aware of it. And so it actually birthed. I didn't tell Doug this. It actually birthed, a prayer gathering for a bunch of the guys in my class. And several of those guys are in ministry. You know, so, when students take initiative and ask God to do stuff, it changes our perspective and it changes, it changed us. Like we went from just thinking about ourselves to thinking about our school and then ultimately making us think broader about what God could use our lives for. and then like, like you said in the interview there or in the intro, like several years later, I had to rely on prayer. I'm alive because of prayer. So, this Friday is my 18th anniversary of cancer free. so for two years, I was given a 40% chance of surviving. And so I say that if God heard the prayers for a person with, with physical cancer who already knew the life changing message of Jesus, how much more does he care about those with a spiritual cancer that if we call into him, he will answer and do great and mighty things that we have no, no idea what he wants to do. So, so I've seen, I've seen the power of prayer. I've experienced the power of prayer. I have seen miracles in my own life. And so I just look forward to helping students grab a hold of that same power that lays within them and asking God to do great things at their school and watching what God does.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Wayne, cancer survivorship, it is a miracle and something to be so grateful for. And I don't mean to make light of that, but it's a miracle too that you Found a picture from the 1990s because that is hard to do.
Wayne Morgan: 1900s, as my teenagers like to tell me.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Exactly, exactly. That can be hard to do because we were talking about a whole different process there. But what a special reminder. I wish that is something that I have. I don't think that I do, but, you know, I'm thinking it would be a miracle to go back and try to find that. But you may inspire me for the challenge way. Doug, I know that you've been on the program before, but for people who are just now meeting you and learning about this movement, please tell us about your legacy here.
Doug Clark: I, I, I'm alive today because of spiritually anyway, because someone took the time to come to my high school campus when I was a sophomore in high school and a junior and to just be there as a youth worker. It was a young life leader named Pete Cantu who's, still, still exercising ministry and is 80s and 90s, here in California. But he, he was there. He was one who led me into a relationship with other people. And I found a community of believers, Christian students on my campus who loved me as a lonely young, young guy and brought me and ushered me into a place where I could hear the gospel. And so this ministry on campus is tremendously important to me. the other part too is that as a youth pastor then really as a young youth pastor, the bicentennial, not the sesqua, what a, what a whata, whatever it was just called that we just had, but the bicentennial, which I can spell, I think, was 1976. And it was during that time that there was just this high level of awareness of praying for our country. And it built into me a real burden to pray for revival and awakening. That has become a part of my DNA, ever since. But to be able to pass that on then to teenagers and encourage them to be part of it, you use these words, find their place in the world, I think, or something like that. A few minutes ago, the, my dream is that we'd see, students get so, enamored and involved in their relationship with Jesus that what they learn on the high school campus and then the college campus and then as young adults would ultimately end up in them, being part of fulfilling and finishing the job of the Great Commission during their lifetime, and hopefully during my lifetime too, to see that happen. And so a prayer, the campus, those things have just been part of my life from, from early on.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You guys are just part of what gives Me hope in the world. You know, when I, ah, when I work with, you know, as a professor, my primary lens of work is trauma, abuse, human trafficking, just the worst of, of humanity that we see in a broken world. And people ask me often what gives you hope? And I'm tell is people like you who are following your faith journey, who are walking in obedience to the Lord, who are seeing the fruit of that, who are seeing God work in miraculous ways, as you both just described. And Doug, for see you at the pole you know, you've been there since the beginning, which was Also in the 1900s, as I said, almost the very beginning. And this was in 1990, a small group of teenagers from a little place called Burleson, Texas. And this Texas girl has to give a shout out. I love it when things come from Texas like this. And they were attending Disciple now weekend and their hearts really became burdened for their friends and for their schools. And instead of just, you know, venting about it on social media, which they didn't have then, or just worrying about it, they did something about it. They went to several schools that night. They prayed at the flag poles. And that just. I have goosebumps right now. The simple act of obedience really became the seed of what would become see you at the pole. And it's amazing because from what I've read, by September of that year, more than 45,000 students on 1200 campuses in Texas and three other states participated in the first organized event. Tell us about that beginning and how you've seen God move and work over the years.
Doug Clark: Well, my favorite part of that whole story is the origin group itself. It was a handful of freshmen meeting in the home of a couple of volunteer blue collar youth leaders or volunteers in, in a church in Burleson. And they were part of this conference, as you said, a Disciple now, which is a weekend discipling and evangelism conference in churches all over the south especially. And they were challenged to surrender it all to Jesus. They decided to do that and they felt very clearly that they needed to go and pray for their friends had prayed at several schools around Burleson that night. They were nervous. They, the one guy who was a football player, was nervous that people would see him holding hands with, with other people around the flagpole at their school, that night. And yet it was a fre. It was this group of freshmen. They had no idea what God was going to do through their obedience. It was partly because of the influence of some older students that they were burdened to Pray for the school. So there was this interaction of what was happening in their youth group and then their story when it was reported to Rick Eubanks, who's their youth pastor, who's a good friend of both of us, he's on our staff now, was the basis for then challenging students across the state of Texas at Reunion arena in June of 1990 to come back from the summer and do something that would reunite them, after the summer of ministry and camps and all the things, but with a sense of unity. And they only thought they'd have 4,000 or 5,000 max across Texas.
Dr. Jessica Peck: You know, Doug, I'm going to hold you right there because we're already at our first break, but I'm telling you, you don't want to miss the rest of this story. More importantly, you don't want to miss how to be involved. We'll be right back with more from Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan. See you at the pole
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Pray by Sanctus Real: Pray. Don't know what to say? I'm not sure how to fix the things I'm dealing with? I'm in a desperate place? I need to share the weight? But I just don't know how, uh? To let it all pour out? Though I'm silent, my heart is crying? Cause I was made to come to you? So I pray God, I need you more than words can say? Right here in this moment? You know my heart, you know my need? You know every part of me? So even if it's just, to speak your name? I'm gonna pray. I failed to find the time.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Welcome back, friends. That is Pray by Sanctus Real. And that is exactly what we're inviting you to do today. As you walk into any store anywhere, if you're out in public, you know that the back to school rush is on. This is a good reminder. Watch out for those school school zones. Don't be on your phone while you're driving. Make sure you slow down. There's kids going back to school. Every store you go to has all of the school supplies. I love those. And I'm encouraging you to pray over those school supplies. Just take an extra few minutes and Take a walk through those aisles and pray for the very real students who will be using those supplies. Pray that God would bless them and keep them and make his face to shine upon them, and God will honor those prayers. And we are inviting students to pray today.
Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan talk about see you at the pole movement
We're talking today with Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan, two seasoned ministry leaders who are leaders in the see you at the pole movement. This is happening this year on September 23rd. And right before the break, Doug was talking about the remarkable origins of this now movement that has just reverberated all over the world. That started with some nervous freshmen who took a step in obedience. And Doug, you were right about to tell us about the first movement and how they thought maybe they might get some sort of response. And then what happened?
Doug Clark: The students began sharing by word of mouth and telling others about it, and it just spread like wildfire. And so when they, had see at the pole on, I think it was the third Wednesday back then of 1990, this beginning of the school year, the. Chuck Flowers, who was in charge of the youth Evangelism department of the Southern Baptist in Texas and the organizer of Sea at the Pole, set up a tape machine. back in the last century, we had this thing called cassettes.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Yes, we did.
Doug Clark: they were little tiny ones that they would put into, put into an answering machine. And he had. He had one, and he started getting reports, and he asked people to call in, where are you from? How many there were any stories? And they began doing that, and they were backed up. The reports came in all night long. Chuck had to go find other cassettes to plug in so they could record this, including a little girl, young gal, who said, I was at my school by myself, but I knew that there were others at other schools. And that gave me courage to pray at my school alone. and so. And the number ended up being like 45,000 people, but not just in Texas. It had already spread to Oklahoma and Arkansas and Louisiana just by word of mouth.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Wow.
Doug Clark: And the organizers that had created this idea and challenged the students to pray realize this is bigger than us, it's bigger than our denomination, and there's something that God is doing. And within three years, see what? The pole had a million students. And we commissioned Barna to actually count, we thought, just as responsible stewards, not to trumpet it, but rather say, how many are doing this? And so they did. Did a proper survey. And there were over a million who participated in 1993. And we believe that number swelled to as much as 2 million, by the end of the decade. So in the meantime, during the 90s, as Wayne pointed out earlier, they were doing see at the Pole in, in Pennsylvania. And his story of it is, is really good. I asked him to share that today too.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Wayne, I can't wait to hear it. Go right ahead.
Wayne Morgan: Well, and like I said, I was asked to lead see you at the pole because I was in charge of being a class president. And so you're one of the people that's going to help develop this thing and you can, you're loud. You need to talk and use it for Jesus. Right? So, so the, the first time, people couldn't believe we're going to get to school before the buses. Like, why would we do this? And so that was the big, the hardest sell for sure was, was that. But I did remember a friend who just got, got back from camp and was super excited about like his faith. He really, his life got turned around by Jesus at camp and he was like, we need to do this on a regular basis. And so we just. His house wasn't far from the school and so we just prayed at his house afterwards. And so it radically changed us. And then it started to make a difference in the school and some pretty phenomenal ways. And so I carried see you at the pole with me until I went into youth ministry. And so, when I went in as my first youth pastorate, I went to a school, you know, as a youth pastor, walked into the school and we were the first ones there. And then all of a sudden there was another group that showed up and I walked over. I was like, hey, you want to join us with, see with the poll? They're like, no, no, we planned our own. And I was like, oh, okay. There were six groups that year that all were around the flagpole at distance from one another there. And I was like, oh, how much more power would we have if we could come together and link arms and students would recognize that each other because it was like church specific pockets and it wasn't even like a close connection. And that's really when God, started to push me towards that, that collaboration, networking, looking at a school, as a community versus looking at it just through the lens of our own particular chur. And so, so that was where God planted the seeds for me to work with national, network of youth ministries. And I didn't even know nnym was connected with C with the Pole.
Dr. Jessica Peck: I love when that God's stories have threads like that. And there may Be something that you do or an experience that you have, a skill that you gain. And you think, I don't even. I didn't pursue this. I don't even know why I have this. And then God shows you 10, 20 years later, oh, here you go. Here's the rest of the story. And as someone famous used to say, I love those kinds of endings.
I think sometimes we underestimate teenage capacity to lead
And Wayne, you know, you're talking about students stepping up and leading. And I think a lot of times, especially now, when we see these trends in parenting. You know, when we had the beginning of the 19th century, we had a very authoritarian authoritative styles. And then we, you know, the pendulum swung to too permissive and kind of almost infantilizing teenagers and thinking, oh, they'd let them be kids longer. We never can seem to get it quite right in the middle. But I think sometimes we just underestimate our teenage capacity to lead, to respond to God. We think they have some kind of junior Holy Spirit, and we expect them to have spiritual maturity, but we don't really create opportunities for them to have it. What does it look like to have a ministry that invites students into spiritual leadership? Where have you seen kids step up and see God work? And how has that impacted their view of their identity? Created in the image of God and equipped for every good Work.
Doug Clark: Work.
Wayne Morgan: Yeah, I would say, our boss, Randy, Davis, talks about how student leadership was a part of youth ministry in the 90s, and then it kind of faded away. but we need to start seeing students as a part of the church. The students that are involved in church leadership and given responsibilities, those are the ones that stay. And so something even like I see with the pole from my experience being in the same location doing youth ministry for the last 20 years, I've been able to watch where students were equipped and empowered to go just pray for their school. they start to get a vision for their school, start get compassion for their school. And, and then that moves them, it changes them. Right. Instead of us telling them that there's needs, they start like the Holy Spirit starts opening their eyes to the needs that around them. And then there's, ah, there's a, there's a, there's a passion for the loss, you know, so one of our sister organizations says this. Pray, care, share. First you start with prayer, and then they start to care about what's going on, and then sharing the good news of Jesus is the next level for them. and I can say from being a camp speaker for the last 15 years that, there is A desire from this generation that is more intense, that is more deliberate than generations past. And so. So much so that, like, the conversation has been interesting where I've, actually, I still run a youth ministry here in northeast Pennsylvania, and I started handing the curriculum to students to teach it. And it's. The youth ministry is growing, and I'm like, so I stopped teaching. And you invite your friends. Got it right. Like, but they want purpose. They want to know what they have, matters. And I just. Looking back over the last 20 years here, one of the pastors at my church, he led c with the pole. The pastor's wife led c with the pole. another one of the pastor's wives. And when you were talking about what, do we do with culture, it was that pastor's wife, Keisha, who, when she was in high school, she goes, you know, water's toxic, but we don't teach people how to stay away from water. We teach them how to swim. And I was like, wow, you know, that's an insightful thought. Like, we're. We're bringing. We're helping you navigate through and helping equip students at, sea with the pole to see the needs of their community and not just run from them, but to bring them to God. You know, like, how do we appropriately deal with the stress and the anxiety at school? How do we appropriately look at things that, you know, break God's heart.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Heart.
Wayne Morgan: And cry out on the behalf of them being able to equip students to do it. Not just a pastor can pray for it, but. No, you pray for the protection of your school. You pray that the gospel fills the hallways of your school. We. You pray for hope to land at your school. You pray that there is peace and joy in the hallways and that people who are believers will find one another and encourage one another and bring the hope of the gospel into the hallways, not just keep it on the outside. And so, so I'm seeing a stirring of this next generation that re. They're really leaning in. And see with the pole is one of those easy places. If you heard me go, man, I would never give my middle schooler the curriculum to teach. Well, I've pulled some off the stage, let's be honest. But. But they're.
Doug Clark: They.
Wayne Morgan: They're hungry for it. And when we equip them, they're the ones that stay in the churches. What we see from research. So let's give them the keys, and let's see what God does as they step into, like, the space of Leadership.
Dr. Jessica Peck: So, Wayne, you're not passionate about this at all, I can tell. No, really, it's so good to see that passion, because everybody that I talk to who is not really directly involved with youth, they have this sense of. Of doom about this generation, that they're snowflakes, that they're weak, that, you know, all of the. Think of all the. Of the negative descriptors that we hear about Gen Z. But the people who are boots on the ground working with this generation, just like you just said, Wayne, they have a fire that seems to be more intense than previous generations. And we see those embers of revival. And every leader I have who comes on the show, every leader I talk to and who's working with youth today is saying the same thing. And, Wayne, you said something really important about equipping students to lead, helping them to have ownership. And one of the things, the ways that I think adults have really done a disservice to this generation is that we've kind of coped with the reality that they're facing by pretending it's not there. That's why you see these nostalgia trends. What was life like in the 90s? We see the cell phone bands, all those things. We are not willing to face the reality that these kids are facing, but to help them face that reality and say, all right, I'm limited in my ability to change the political forces in the world, but I am very equipped to be able to influence my sphere of influence and to equip them to swim. As you said, it's just a beautiful thing.
This year's theme is Come to Me
And Doug, that brings us to the theme for this year. There's a theme, and this year's theme is Come to Me. And when I heard that, I couldn't help but think about the prevalence of social media. And I always say, social media is about me. M M E, capital M, M, capital E. And it's like me, follow me, find me, you know, you know, whatever. It's. Interact with me. And you are giving them a radically different countercultural message, saying, come to me, meaning come to Jesus and bring him all of those burdens that we're carrying. Can you tell us more about the theme for this year?
Doug Clark: Yeah, I love the passage that, that's taken from, Matthew 11:28 to 30 is well known. And I. I think I'd like to read it just so your reader listeners can hear. As a reminder. It says, come to me, all you who are weary and burdened. Other translations say, distressed and downcast, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and humble or meek in art and you will find rest for your soul souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. And I love the richness of this passage that just describes how Jesus wants an intimate connection with us, to help us with the issues of anxiety and depression and the other things that are attacking and are very real, with, with the young people today. so we, we take this and we use it then in some devotional material. Just different ways to unpack it. So students literally through September can walk with this through the sea with the pole app. it has a, kind of devotional center that are there each day. and then they're sharing their burdens with Jesus and he's giving them direction and he gives them rest. And then they're working together, yoked together with them as they look at
Dr. Jessica Peck: the score school so well, Doug, when we come back, we're up against our next break, but when we come back, we're going to tell you how you can be involved and how to get your student involved, maybe how to have an event at your school. You can go to SYATP that. See you at the pole syatp.com to find out more. You can also join us after this break. We'll be right back with Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan. More on. See you at the pole right after this break.
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Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan talk about inviting students to prayer at school
When We Pray by Tauren Wells: People hurting people broken, beating down and feeling hopeless Wonder if it's gonna always be this way who will speak up for the captive? Show some love and heal a past that finds the wounds we think will never go away but what if we could be our people on our knees as one before the king? Cause we believe hey all the world's not changing when the church starts breaking strong Won't start to break up when we pray prison Won't start shaking at the sound of praising Nothing stays the same when we pray oh, oh, oh when we pray oh, oh
Dr. Jessica Peck: welcome back, friends. That is When We Pray by Tauren Wells. And that's exactly what we're talking about today is prayer. Prayer, the power of prayer. And so often prayer we use as a last resort instead of a first instinct. And prayer should just be as natural as breathing. When I wake up in the morning, I just continue the prayer that I had been praying at night. When I close my eyes, it is one continuous prayer, one continuous conversation with God and a way that we are talking about inviting students to prayer. This year is September 23rd, an event called See youe at the Pole. This was started in the 1990s in Texas and has just spread to millions of students. It's an invitation for your students to lead prayer at their school, for their school. This is not an adult run event that says simp students simply attend. This is intentionally student led. And the official see you at the Pole resources encourage students to plan, to prepare, to publicize to pray. And this year's theme is Come to Me if you want to know more about it. You can go to see, S Y A T P. That's syatp.com or you can get any young person to help you Internet search it and I'm sure they could help you find it as my kids often help me with technological resources. We're talking today to ministry leaders Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan. And Doug, I know there are people listening today thinking, you know what? Yeah, I've been meaning to ask my student about that. I've been meaning to think about, you know, helping to start an event at our school. And there's some people who are thinking, wait, I don't think I've ever heard about this. let's how if a child says, hey, I want to participate, any way to get involved, what do they do? How do you even start?
Doug Clark: Well, you just shared the URL for the. The See at the pole website, syatp.com That's the place to start. It'll also take them to the social media channels that we have. And I literally just got a text while we were starting this broadcast today that the See at the Pole Resource Store. Is open, so they can get a chance to see some of the different resources that available. We've said many times every year, all the time you don't have to pay a pen many to participate and see at the pole But there are resources available, some that are free, some that you can buy, like T shirts, etc, that people can get to participate and see at the pole But also on that website are all of the guides that they might need on how to plan, how to prepare, how to publicize some graphics they can use. And, even for people in the media, then there are some spots that they can use as part of radio spots and that kind of a thing. So all of it's right there on syatp.com, the most important thing I'd say is that students gather a group of other students, join hands, maybe with their youth leaders, and plan together what they're going to do on their se at the pole event and then execute it. Make sure it's planned out. Make sure they communicate to their school that they're doing this. They don't need permission. But if I was a principal, I'd want to know why 30 kids were gathered around the flag pole in front of my school, and why I didn't know about it ahead of time, you know, so it's certainly fair for them to communicate that as well to the administration.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, you know, Doug, you talked about at the beginning of the program, one of the first, the initial, the og see with the pole participants being a football player who was afraid that somebody would see him holding hands with people around a flagpole. And I think back to my high school days, and that was the fear that we had. And when we looked at things like bullying, it was really limited to the school cafeteria. You know, you might get bullied there, but then you could go home, you could go to grandma's house, you could go to summer camp. You know, there was places to escape. I see students today who have a real. And if I'm super honest, it's a legitimate fear about being so bold and public about their faith. Because more than someone just seeing them standing around at a flagpole, someone can video them and put that online and, you know, really make up any kind of narrative. And there's a lot of fear that way and stepping out and in your face. Wayne, what advice can you give students about, you know, their. Doug, you mentioned their legal right to be there. Wayne, what about the spiritual? You know, just strength and fortitude to be bold in their faith.
Students may feel trepidatious about participating in such an event
Wayne, we'll start with you. What would you advise students who may feel, be feeling trepidatious about participating in such an event?
Wayne Morgan: Well, one of the things that I would encourage is our area network got together and brought students together from many different youth groups and just did a, see with the pole pre rally to connect the Christian students because all those kids felt like they were all by themselves. So if you're a youth pastor and you're like, man, this is a good idea, what do I do? I would say make m it a priority, try to get those students together. Because every year kids would walk in and they'd be like, that person's a Christian. No way. And then it was pretty simple. We had all of the school districts on a piece of paper around the wall and they would just go and have 20 minutes to, to, to plan and prep. And we'd give them some of the resources to go to their school and say, we're going to be praying for you. And, and so they would, they would be equipped for success. And so I think if you're in ministry, doing those type of things, promoting it as a pastor, there's slides on the website that you can download to speak positively of it from the pulpit so that you can equip those students because there are some kids in your, in your group that are like, let's go. I just need permission to go. And then for parents, every single time, see what the pole is a success because some parent loaded up their van, their minivan with their friends, their kids friends, because it is the fear I'm going to be only one that's going to show up. Well, mom, you can, if you can get up just a little early on this day, you might start a revival at your school that you never thought was possible and you're spending an extra couple bucks in gas to do it. So, I think for those who are listening, as parents and as leaders, how do we equip and set them up for success for students? I just want to encourage them. If you think about it, tens of thousands of high schoolers and middle schoolers this summer went away to camp and had an encounter with Jesus. What would it look like if you ran into somebody that went to a different camp than you? You and God's stirring something in their heart. And you just start making a conversation as you go back to school about gathering together to pray on September 23rd and start leaning into that, just trusting that God's not just doing it in your life, but he's Also doing it in several people because Jesus used 11 uneducated guys to flip world history. There's probably at least 11 at your school. And so. So how can you walk into school looking for those people and inviting them into what God is calling you into? You might also transform your school just by that simple obedience. So, so those are a few ideas
Dr. Jessica Peck: spoken, from someone who clearly spends a lot of time with youth because those are exactly the kinds of fears and worries that they may have. And they, those are perfectly natural and normal to have. Doug, what would you like to add to that?
Doug Clark: Yeah, I'd say the. From tracking this for since 1991, I've seen very few examples of students actually being harassed. There have been some. The very first year we did it nationally in Metropolis, Illinois, Masset County High School, three girls were arrested. They, were not taken taken to the police department, but they were arrested and then released. and so there was a lawsuit that came out of that. In Richardson High school in the 90s, there were two different times when students were harassed and physically pushed. They weren't hurt. but that's. But I look at that. I keep looking for more examples of this kind of persecution, if you will. But it hasn't happened much. So I'd reassure first of all, a student to say, say, you know, it's really unlikely that that's going to happen, but it could. And so encourage him to step out, to be bold, but to. To step into it with courage. And if I could use it as an example, there's a guy in Edmond, Oklahoma by the name of Owen, who I've gotten to know. It's become like my friend somewhat. And this will be. He's going to be a junior this year. But when he came out of junior high school going to Edmond, Edmond North High School school, as a freshman, he thought there would be the same group that he had from his middle school high, junior high that would come and be part of se at the pole where he was a freshman. But he showed up and he was by himself. his parents took a picture and shared it with their family. I saw the picture. I asked the people who were part of the see at the pole Facebook group. And there's tens of thousands of them. And I said let's encourage all Owen. And they just went on. And there were over a thousand comments of support and encouragement, affirmation to Owen. Well, what happened next? The next week, the older students in the school, maybe out of shame, I don't know, or Embarrassment. But they came in and they had over 50 people a week later at sea at the Pole. Owen has shared with me that they have a Jesus club that meets every Friday. He has a Wednesday night worship thing that happens at his church that he helps lead. And they had 55 people at sea at the pole this last year. Year. So being willing to, to be Meshach, Shadrach, Abednego, Daniel, whatever example you'd want to pick out of the scripture will bear fruit. And it may be, it may be risky, but for such a time as this, it could be that that's exactly what God's calling you to do and your courage will be rewarded one way or another.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Well, we've already heard Wayne encourage the moms to fire up their minivans early and load up the kids groups of kids. I think the other thing that's really important that for parents to do right now, and not just parents, I'm talking grandparents. Any human being on the face of the planet who is listening right now, who is a Christ follower and wants to help, they can pray for these students starting right now. Doug, what would you say to people who think, well, I'm not a student, I don't work with students, or maybe I have a student wherever they are, how can they pray? Pray for protection, pray for God's spirit. How can they pray for this event even starting now?
Doug Clark: There are a number of prayer initiatives that are going on right now as part of what we call a prayer symphony to launch the school year this week. We're encouraging people to go and put their footsteps on a campus somewhere near them. It doesn't have to be during school. Just walk on by yourself, grab two other people, take your family, go and put your footprints on campus at their school. It's called footprints on campus. there you mentioned earlier this watching out in the school zone. The Assemblies of God have launched something called Prayer Zone Partners where they encourage people when they drive through that school zone and they're forced to slow down, they also use that as a trigger. Oh, pray for this school. So as I go through the school zone, I pray for the school zone. Claim your campus has something, that, that is, involving prayer walking. And that's going to happen the Saturday before and the Saturday after. See with the pole and if somebody wants to know more about some of the different. And there's a bunch of others, but there's so many different ways that it can be done. Prayer walking has become kind of a thing and I've been excited to See that people have, have been walking and praying together and enjoying not only the fellowship of doing something that's kingdom building, but the impact of their prayers themselves on, on the campus. But they can go to NNYM, our, our. Our organization's website, nnym.org/symphony nnym.org/symphony and it can tell them all about some of these different options that they have available to pray.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Oh, I absolutely believe in prayer walking. I have seen miracles come from prayer walking in so many circumstances. And again, I think prayer is tragically often our last resort instead of our first, first instinct.
Wayne says he's praying for students at his school to connect to God
And Wayne, I'd like to know what you're praying specifically for for. See you at the pole 2026.
Wayne Morgan: I'm praying that those students, I've, as a camp speaker, I've always been like, man, what would it be like if those kids that had an encounter with God at camp have another encounter at their school where they realize the body of Christ is bigger? And what would it look like for those students to be activated to care for their, their, their. Their community and that they're known for the love of Christ? Because sometimes as Christians we we can get our our rights, you know, all up in arms about our rights. But if we're kem together as the love of Jesus at that school, I wonder what could happen there.
Dr. Jessica Peck: Me too. I absolutely love seeing students at camp, but that's always the challenge is the high, the mountaintop of camp and then head back into reality and we see kids who have that, that cycle in their faith. And I share your hope and your prayer that this would be a connecting point for students to connect to God, to come to me, as the theme is for this year, for see with the pole and that they would also connect to each other and find courage in their fellow Christians in their school. That is so encouraging. Well, again, this is happening on September 23rd. If you are listening, you can be praying. You can be a part of it. By praying. You can go to syatp.com and find out more about how to pray, how to get involved, and how to encourage this generation of emerging leaders. I see God at work for sure. And encourage those young people who are around you when you see them exercising their faith, pray for them, encourage them, speak words of affirmation to them. And as you do that, I'll speak some words of affirmation over you as I always do, because I pray sincerely. The Lord will bless you and keep you and make his face to shine upon you. And I'll see you right here tomorrow.
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Jeff Chamblee: opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect those of the American Family association or American Family Radio.
For more than 35 years, the fourth Wednesday in September has brought students together
at their school flagpoles to pray. Jessica talks with Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan about
this year’s “See You At The Pole” (SYATP) event and how to encourage students in your area
to take part in this global, student-led movement.
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Chapters:
(00:00) More than 80% of abortion vulnerable women choose life after seeing ultrasound at a PreBorn network clinic
(01:47) Dr. Jessica Peck discusses challenges facing today's kids and teenagers
(06:37) Doug Clark is team pastor for the National Network of Youth Ministries
(16:48) Without people like you, this podcast would not exist
(19:30) Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan talk about see you at the pole movement
(25:07) I think sometimes we underestimate teenage capacity to lead
(31:36) This year's theme is Come to Me
(34:12) Wesley Biblical Seminary equips tomorrow's pastors and Christian leaders through biblical education
(35:14) Doug Clark and Wayne Morgan talk about inviting students to prayer at school
(40:50) Students may feel trepidatious about participating in such an event
(49:08) Wayne says he's praying for students at his school to connect to God
(51:19) Preborn has rescued over 400,000 babies from abortion
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