By Connie Davis Bushey
News Editor, Baptist and Reflector
Randy Hogue, evangelist of Alabama who spoke at The Rally of Millington First Baptist Church as part of See You At the Pole, speaks at Munford Middle School, Munford, to all students, about 800, on hope.
MILLINGTON — For years Millington First Baptist Church has been holding a rally on the evening following See You At the Pole. See You At the Pole draws students in schools across the United States to their school’s flag poles to pray before school starts.
The church holds the See You At the Pole Rally — which is called The Rally — to capitalize on the momentum accompanying the well-known event, explained Jay Barbier, high school minister.
This year’s attendance and especially spiritual decisions increased dramatically.
More than 600 people gathered for The Rally at the church on Sept. 28 and, amazingly, about 100 students made professions of faith, reported Barbier. The church has baptized some of those students every Sunday since, he added. The record attendance at The Rally was 380 two years ago and about 25 students making spiritual commitments was the record.
Several factors led to the success this year, said Barbier.
The students of the church really worked to spread the word using social media and their influence. Millington First Baptist draws about 170 students to its high school and middle school ministries.
Also, Barbier and Randy Hogue, the speaker, along with Andrew Harbor, middle school pastor of the church, visited four schools, three of them public and one Christian, on the day of The Rally.
At Munford High School, in Munford, the ministers, with help from the principal and students of the church, held a SYATP rally on the football field which drew about 200. Students of the church helped by distributing about 600 donuts as they invited their peers to the SYATP rally that morning.
At Munford Middle School Hogue spoke to an assembly of all students about hope. Hogue then spoke at the chapel service of a Christian school. Finally that afternoon the men visited Millington High School where they met students and distributed tickets to The Rally.
Hogue, evangelist of Alabama, can really relate to students because of his “tough background,” explained Barbier. His father was an alcoholic and was abusive. His parents went through a difficult divorce when he was 13 years old. He turned to drugs and became addicted. Hogue later attempted suicide with a drug overdose.
His story reaches students, especially those who are not in church, said Barbier. Hogue has written the books, Down the One Way Street and Preventing Youth Suicide.
Another attraction of The Rally was the fact that the church provided 150 pizzas for those who came. Then students heard praise music led by Gateway Baptist Church, Munford Campus.
Hogue presented a very simple message, “Jesus saves,” said Barbier. “Sometimes … we can overcomplicate the good news.”
The very next Sunday morning the high school Life Groups saw about 30 guests, he added.
Follow-up on students becoming new Christians who attend another church has been completed, said Hogue. About 60 are being worked with by Millington First, he said.
“We’ve seen a lot of fruit from it (The Rally),” said Barbier.
