Shortly after sunrise Wednesday, Justin Isbell stood on a brick wall at South Junior High School to proclaim his Christian faith.

Strengthened by the presence of more than 75 peers gathered for the annual See You at the Pole youth prayer event, the ninth-grader tossed small candy bars to students circling the flag pole.

He told them the candy’s flavor would vanish from their mouth in minutes, but words of God lasted a lifetime.

“Acting like a Christian, not even evangelizing, you can bring people to God,” said Isbell, who helped organize the event.

Students at other schools in Lawrence and neighboring cities joined hands in prayer for the 13th annual See You at the Pole.

These public displays of faith at school were started in 1990 by a youth group in Burleson, Tex.

They’ve grown in popularity, with an estimated 3 million children in all 50 states and dozens of other countries participating annually.

Sarah Naff, a seventh-grader at South, stood hand-in-hand with other students to sing and pray. It was a rare opportunity for her to openly express her faith at school, she said.

“I pray for the people who aren’t Christian,” she said.

Isbell said he asked for his school to be blessed and for the school district to overcome its budget problems.

“I’ll also pray for the national government, President Bush and that all the international problems we’re having now will be solved,” he said.