Youth rally for See You at the Pole

As Laura Merida, 15, and Morgan Myers, 13, started to sing “Amazing Grace” on Wednesday evening, the crowd of more than 100 students joined them in singing the lyrics.

The students, all from different church youth groups in Brownstown, came together at Brownstown Christian Church for the youth group’s annual See You at the Pole rally.

“It was really exciting and it was fun to be up there to preach the word of God through music, which is one of my favorite things,” Myers said after the rally ended. “Whenever I’m singing, I feel like I’m giving a good message and I know there are people here who need that extra Word of God. See You at the Pole is such a great experience.”

Merida also said the experience was good for reaching out to the community.

“Most people don’t know which kids at school are Christian and which ones aren’t, so this is a thing to show that.”

Jamie Gastineau, 17, said she hoped the message of God got across to those in attendance.

Gastineau said there were 50 students at the morning See You at the Pole event at the high school in Brownstown and 30 in attendance at the middle school.

“A lot of people are embarrassed to pray in front of their peers, but it’s really a liberating experience,” Gastineau said.

Rob Johnson, Brownstown Christian Church youth minister, said the rally brought together youth groups from local churches. On a normal Wednesday night, the church usually has 50 to 60 kids, but this past Wednesday night, he expected 150 to show up for the rally.

Encouraging students to open a dialogue with God, Johnson gave each person in attendance time to write a personal letter to God and to also write a personal prayer on a poster board.

“God wants to know the good things and the bad things; he wants to be your best friend,” he said.