Thirty-five members of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes club met on the courtyard on Sept. 25 for their See You at the Pole (SYATP) event, a time to worship and uplift each other. Beginning at 7:30 a.m., the club members invited guest speakers and enjoyed breakfast together afterwards.

SYATP began in Burleson, Texas in 1990 and has since spread into a nationwide annual event that is observed across over 1,200 schools with 45,000 students participating. At Bellaire, FCA club sponsor Juanita Camarillo has been hosting the event since 2020.

“SYATP is an international movement to gather believers with a heart of prayer for their schools, communities and nations,” Camarillo said. “Ideally, faculty, staff and community members gather at the flagpole of their school to pray.”

On top of worship, the club members bring breakfast foods and turn the event into a potluck of sorts. Camarillo believes it has become more of an “open-invite party.”

“We get a little carried away bringing breakfast foods, but that is because we believe that there will come a day when what we bring will not be enough to feed all that come,” Camarillo said. “It’s a precious gift for many of us to be able to host and lead events like this.”

When Camarillo hosted her first SYATP over Microsoft Teams in 2020, less than 10 students participated. Camarillo attributes the growth of the club and event to students gaining more confidence in their faith.

“More and more of our students are growing in faith and confidence in who God is,” Camarillo said.

For FCA co-president and senior Chloe Lin, it is “a blessing” to be able to watch the club and SYATP grow from her freshman year.

“SYATP is an opportunity for not only our club but also our school to come together and pray for the things going on around us and in our lives,” Lin said. “Having such an intimate time with fellow members brings us closer as we pray for our country and school.”

Outside of the club itself, the club invited five guest speakers to lead their worship, differing from their usual meetings led by worship leader and senior Alex Lin.

Among the guest speakers were Will Miller, FCA’s regional director; Jake O’Neil, a youth leader from Second Baptist Church and Fega Anigboro, a youth leader at Hope City Church who also brought vocalist Edwin Rodriguez and guitarist Jeremiah McDonnico.

Camarillo was “grateful” that Anigboro reached out to her and that the leaders at Second Baptist Church have been “faithfully stewarding the hearts of Bellaire.” She especially “loved” that having a worship leader from outside lessened the burden of the club officers.

“Alex and our worship group are doing an amazing and beautiful job, but SYATP is very early in the school year, and they would not have rehearsed as many times before the event, so having others come in and lead freed up Alex and others of our leadership to just be and mingle,” Camarillo said.

Hosting the event has also helped Camarillo herself learn to take a step back and leave things in God’s hands.

“Events like SYATP tempt me to go into control freak mode to get all my ducks in row because A, B and C need to align just so,” Camarillo said. “God has no such expectation of me. He loves me as I am. He has provided everything I need.”

Senior and co-president Victoria Shen believes SYATP gave her the opportunity to improve her relationship with God, having participated in the event for three years.

“I’m able to communicate with God not just by myself but with others,” Shen said. “Knowing that prayer in numbers is beneficial, I’m glad I can be a part of SYATP and develop a closer bond with God.”

FCA will be hosting their annual Thanksgiving potluck towards the end of November. For more updates and reminders for their upcoming events, follow their Instagram @fcabellaire and text @bhsfcyay to 81010 join their Remind.