See You at the Pole unites local students, churches

Over a thousand youth students flocked to CrossCity Church for the annual United Fresno See You At The Pole night of worship and prayer, Sept. 27. More than a dozen citywide youth groups participated in the event.

The United worship and prayer night tradition continues its fifth annual gathering. Youth for Christ core director, Jameson White explains the history and importance of the worship and prayer nights.    

“A rally of youth groups to kick off each school year has occurred for decades,” White said. “Many of these city-wide youth events, including last year’s ‘The Movement,’ grow out of a monthly gathering of youth pastors who meet in a group called The Central Valley Youth Network. They gather to pray and coordinate for the good of one another and all our cities youth. They also focus on unity, prayer, worship, evangelism, and mission.

“Ten years ago an event like this one was called ‘The Commissioning,'” White continued. “After that, it became ‘The Power Rally.’ For the last five or so years we’ve been doing a specific prayer and worship event to go along with the nationwide event, See You At The Pole, called United Worship and Prayer. The goal is that the prayer for our schools, teachers and the community would continue past just one morning and be a movement.”

Multi-schooler Emily Lichti, ‘19, attends Peoples Church and decided to go to the worship night because she enjoys listening to the Gospel message from speakers she has not heard before. She did not possess the chance to go to the early morning See You at the Pole but remained thankful for the opportunity to go to the worship night at the church.   

“The night was great and I really loved it. It was awesome to see all the churches come together and share the love of God. My favorite part of the night was the worship. I decided to come because I love to praise God and I enjoy fellowship with other kids my age. Events like the one tonight are the perfect way to meet new friends, worship, praise God and have a good time. –Emily Lichti

“The night was great and I really loved it,” Lichti said. “It was awesome to see all the churches come together and share the love of God. My favorite part of the night was the worship. I decided to come because I love to praise God and I enjoy fellowship with other kids my age. Events like the one tonight are the perfect way to meet new friends, worship, praise God and have a good time.”

Before the main event began, Hume Lake Christian Camps provided students with a chance to hang out and enjoy the evening. They served hamburgers as well as bring attractions for students to including a rock wall, mechanical bull and archery tag.

Not everyone was able to participate before the worship time but Clovis East sophomore Sam Udall regrets missing out on that opportunity. Udall wishes he participated in the archery tag and the time to talk with friends.

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“Overall, the night was very emotional,” Udall said. “Before tonight I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come, but afterward I was so glad I came. The worship was by far my favorite part of the night. I may not have a voice tomorrow, but it was totally worth it. I love coming to events like these and can’t wait for what’s next.”

After the time of fellowship, the doors opened to the main sanctuary and students rushed in eager to get a good seat. The worship team consisted of Jake Watkins, Daisha Fowlks, Katie Mojarras, Joseph Rangel, Lindsay Rangel, Josh Ansiel, Josh Gibson and alumnus Tyler Duerr, ‘10, who immediately led the congregation in song.

Jake Watkins, worship team member, explains his opinion on how the night went as well as the importance of the event. As a member of the worship team, he enjoyed looking out into the crowd and seeing so many young people responding.

“This year during our preliminary united planning meetings we wanted a location that had a great layout and atmosphere, and CrossCity was just the place,” Watkins said. “We also knew God was going to move in a big way and we wanted to have a place that could hold the thousand-plus students expected to be there. Working with the tech team and worship team was such a blessing. These guys are so talented and humble at the same time.

Following worship, high school pastor at Cornerstone Church Nate Franklin spoke, encouraging students to keep their focus on Jesus. 

After the message students broke up into small groups to pray for their friends, schools, city and the nation as a whole.

For more articles read, Passion drives Urban Rescue to perform at next level, and See You At The Pole 2017.

The author can be reached via email: Braden Bell, Instagram and Twitter.

The slideshow below features images from the United Youth Gathering, Sept. 27.

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