Photography

Check out my Photography blog at http://photography.loganbloom.com, where I'll post some of my favorite pictures from our life and ministry. I also frequently add photos to my flickr account for our supporters to be able to download in full resolution for free! View more photos and even download them in full-resolution at www.flickr.com/loganbloom.

See You At The Pole: A Launchpad

Every year, Christian students in public and private schools are invited to demonstrate their faith by gathering for prayer across the nation one day each year. Many local school campus ministries use this catalytic event to launch their first meeting of the year. For many, See You At The Pole (SYATP) is the school's largest demonstration of prayer for the entire year.

See You At The Pole is designed to jumpstart prayer in our schools, however for many, it has become the pinnacle. I love SYATP, but we often forget that SYATP exists to stir students to launch more than just one annual day of prayer. SYATP is a wonderful opportunity for prayer to be established, but it is also a representation of our need to make prayer a daily (or at least weekly) reality. What was meant to jumpstart daily prayer has become the pinnacle of prayer in our schools.

It is important to see SYATP not as the height of prayer in our schools, but as the baseline. One annual day of prayer is not enough. Therefore, I encourage you to use SYATP as a launchpad and catalyst. Use the national gathering of students to give vision for not only one day out of the year but daily prayer launched in our schools.

Imagine the impact of prayer happening not just once each year, but daily...

Why Pray?

Many may wonder why I am so obsessed with prayer when it comes to campus ministries in school. Why not just have evangelistic outreaches, or worship times, or Bible studies, guest speakers, or try to strengthen our community? Why so much prayer?

I love Bible studies and evangelistic outreaches! I think all of those things are great, but if they come at the expense of prayer, then they can actually be a hinderance to our ministry. Of course we should study the Bible! But when it comes to campus ministries (what you actually do on campus), if your goal is to impact your school in any way, it will come first and foremost through prayer.

What you may not know about me is that I led a campus ministry at my school my senior year. During that year, I did every kind of Bible study and evangelistic outreach I could conceive! I wanted to see a move of God in my school where every student was saved (revival). I shared the gospel in front of several classrooms (flat out, with the teacher's permission), I carried a literal 8 foot cross into the commons of my school to start conversation, I preached on the lunch table in front of hundreds, we even saw a lost person get physically healed, yet no one was saved and my impact was minimal. 5 years later, my school is no different. I sowed for an immediate harvest with no foundation or longevity.

I was fighting in the flesh a battle that has to be won in the heavens first. I didn't understand the importance and necessity of prayer! Since then, I have come to understand how prayer actually changes history and how in the short years we are in school, we can have eternal impact through our prayers. Prayer paves the way. Imagine revival coming to your school preceded by years of prayer, and you started that prayer meeting 5 or 6 years ago! This isn't a story. It's real!

Scripture is clear about the importance and power of prayer. Here is just a brief list of verses you can look at yourself where the power of prayer is demonstrated:

2nd Chronicles 7:14

Joel 2

Daniel 9-10

Luke 18:1-8

1 Timothy 2:1-2

Philippians 4:6

1 Thessalonians 5:17

James 5:16

These and many other passages clearly show the power of prayer and how it wins the most important battle in the heavens. When an entire nation was in crisis, God's command was to repent from apathy and return to the place of prayer! Why not in our schools? Prayer is not illegal in school so long as it is student-led. And when God's people give themselves to authenticity and prayer, God promises to move on our behalf and send blessing in the place of judgement.

Again, I love service projects and evangelistic outreaches, but we will be infinitely and eternally more effective if we do those things from the place of prayer. If we establish prayer as our foundation, then we are fighting like Daniel in the heavens, moving God's heart with our prayers. Imagine Christian students in several schools in Kansas City moving God's heart with their prayers!!!! Sign me up!

How do we pray? Simply. We don't have to pray long or loud prayers in old-english King James vocabulary with our "prayer voice." God hears our prayers! God is actually attentive to your prayers, personally. So pray personally. If you are struggling for what to pray, pick a scripture to pray. John Piper says that prayer is "wielding the Word," because scripture is our weapon, and prayer is how we best wield it. Prayer becomes more and more comfortable with practice.

What would happen if we prayed to God like He hears us and wants to move in our schools? What if the battle in the heavens was won in prayer and the gospel spread like wildfire through our schools? All we have to do is pray.

So why not pray? If God desires to move in our schools and all we have to do is partner with him in prayer, then what are we waiting for? If we give ourselves to prayer in our schools, we will see a massive shift in the culture trends in both the Christian students and non-believing students.

Cool New Flier

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The Importance of Prayer in Schools

It is not hard to look at the youth in America and see that we have a problem. The statistics and cultural trends are enough to make any optimist queazy. All of the abortion, suicide, violence and sexual immorality find their root in our generation’s need for the revelation of Jesus.

Scripture clearly outlines repentance from apathy and a return to prayer as the remedy to times of crisis like these. 2 Chronicles 7:14, Joel 2 and Daniel 9 are premier examples of the call to prayer and the promise of God to move on our behalf. Luke 18:1-8, 1 Timothy 2:1-2, Philippians 4:6, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 and James 5:16 are similar passages that clearly outline the importance of prayer.

In Acts 4, we find the model of ministry that fueled the early church under the leadership of Peter and John. The apostles would minister in outreach to the city and then they would gather together with the report of what happened and hold a prayer meeting. Acts 4:31 says that the “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.” Their ministry was fueled in the place of prayer.

History shows us the importance of prayer in our schools. In 1962, the Supreme Court condemned prayer led by the school faculty in the case of Engle v. Vitale. Looking back, we see that the removal of prayer marked a shift in the culture trends of our schools. Violence, sexually transmitted infections, teen pregnancy, even the national divorce rate drastically increased in 1963 and onward. The national SAT and ACT average scores dropped noticeably in 1963. More and more court cases began to emerge creating an even greater wall of separation of church and state, including the removal the Ten Commandments from schools and other public places. All of these trends and court decisions historically find their root in the 1962 court decision of Engle v. Vitale.

Although prayer cannot be led in school by the faculty, it can certainly still be led by students. Prayer, in and of itself has never been removed from school. Students just have not been leading it. This presents Christians with the opportunity to return prayer to our schools through student-led gatherings. The wonderful question at hand is if the trends that were effected in 1962 could be reversed now by the return of prayer to schools.

The call now goes to every Christian student in America. Our generation is in crisis, and we can effect change by repenting of our apathy and taking a stand in the place of prayer. Our schools have become America’s greatest missions field. The leaders of our nation 20-30 years from now are wondering the halls of our schools today. The harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. That is why Christian students need to accept a missionary mindset of their status in school. We need student missionaries who will pioneer prayer into the greatest revival our nation has ever seen. Who knows if in our darkest hour the Lord would poor out the greatest revival in our nation’s history?

Not only is it crucial that students become missionaries, but youth groups must become missionary bases for the surrounding schools. Youth pastors must become missionary commissioners, equipping their students and supporting them in the effort of reaching their schools. If students become missionaries and youth groups become mission bases, then our schools have a chance of becoming revival centers where every student in the city is required to attend. Oh that Jesus would be glorified in our nation once again.

To this end we pray.