Junior Asa Wilson was thrilled when one of his friends became a believer in Jesus Christ. What excited him most was the fact that he was the one who led his friend down that path.
Yet something odd happened while Wilson was discipling the friend.
He was losing her own faith.
“But when I saw my friend get saved, wow, it was like a reawakening for me,” Wilson said. “It kind of brought me back.”
Wilson’s faith is stronger these days, but he understands how it can sometimes waver. That’s why he made it a point to meet other student believers at the WHS flagpole.
Each year students from across the country gather at their school’s flagpole to pray for friends, teachers, the government, and the nation.
“Meet Me at the Pole” is a student-initiated, student-organized, and student-led event that occurs simultaneously at all participating schools.
“It’s just a moment when the student body can come together at public schools and join around the flagpole and pray so people can see the light of God, the love of Christ, and everything that we do,” said senior Jenna Karcher, one of the WHS event organizers.
“It’s really just a moment of fellowship that we can do publicly. We’re blessed to have that capability.”
Senior Avery Johnston attended because she had been struggling to get closer to God and wanted to be around like-minded Christian because “It helps me get closer to him,” she said.
Northside Baptist Church Youth Pastor Andrew Williamson said the event began in 1990 in Burleson when a group of teenagers gathered to pray for spiritual awakening at several schools. The event stuck after a Baptist General Convention in Texas where leaders in youth ministry decided to expand the event.
This year’s gathering at WHS was Karcher’s fourth, although she has been participating in Meet Me at the Flagpole at various schools since fourth grade.
“For me, it’s all about the fact that I am blessed just to have the love of Christ in my life, and I get a chance to share that with others and be able to be here and pray for the people in my school,” Karcher said. “It shows how truly blessed we are in this nation to be able to do something like that because we have such a difference of opinion, and I get to express mine without feeling that I might be harmed for my beliefs.”