United night of worship and prayer

Julia Castiglione, Photo Editor • October 3, 2023

Over 1,000 students gather in the Peoples Church Auditorium for this years United Worship and Prayer night at in honor of See You at the Pole (SYATP), Sept. 27.

Before the night officially began, there was a “pre-party” consisting of various outdoor games and food provided by Youth for Christ.

Mallory Friesen — Youth Pastor of Peoples Church, Marcus Marshall, prays with students to close off the night, Sept. 27.

Youth Pastor of Peoples Church, Marcus Marshall, shares the success this event had.

“I believe this event was very successful. There were over seven different church’s and we had over 1200 students attend the event. Many students were able to pray for their city, community and receive prayer for themselves. With the success of this event, a point to make is this is not just something that we say, ‘we want to be unified’ but that we showed each youth group that we can be unified together in communion.”

The worship team was lead by Associate Worship Pastor, Daniel Garrison, and a collective of five different churches.

Serenity Cortez, ’24, shares the importance of ‘See you at The Pole’ and how worshipping God and praying with her peers has impacted her and Fresno.

“United Worship and Prayer night has never failed to refresh me. The community and the communion we have during this night impacts each and every person there, offering each of us a space to freely connect with the Lord. The presence of the Lord is so strong in that room and I think that’s why it’s such an important event. It reminds us that God is indeed working in the people and the city of Fresno and we are not close to forgotten.”

Julia Castiglione — Lead Pastor of Prodigal Church, John Richardson, preaches to students during the United Worship and Prayer night, Sept. 27.

Following worship, Lead Pastor of Prodigal Church, John Richardson, shared a message about the importance of prayer.

Closing the night off, students gathered in groups to pray over their city, friends, school and youth pastors.

Every year, SYATP lands on the fourth Wednesday of September. For more similar articles, check out See You at the Pole 2018 and See You at the Pole 2017.

Earlier that day, Fresno Christian High School hosted a SYATP event in the SMC quad. Students and staff participated in the 7-7:55 a.m. event, worshipping God and praying for our schools, community and the nation.