Tomorrow, hundreds of thousands of students will gather nationwide to encourage their friends, classmates, teachers, parents and community members to pray, read their Bibles and commit their lives to Christ.
The 16th annual Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA, fca.org) Fields of Faith student-led and student-driven gatherings across the country are set for Oct. 9.
Last year, nearly a quarter of a million students, coaches, parents and community members gathered on more than 500 athletic fields nationwide to worship, pray, hear from inspirational speakers and bring glory to Jesus Christ.
Fields of Faith began in 2004 after FCA’s Executive Director of Ministry Advancement Jeff Martin had a vision to bring students together to lift one another up in prayer and in faith. Over the years, Fields of Faith has motivated millions of students to refuel their faith and get back to the basics of reading God’s Word through worship and personal testimonies.
Although Oct. 9 is set aside for this year’s national Fields of Faith observation, some students plan events on various days throughout October. For instance, thousands attended the Muncie, Indiana, Fields of Faith event on Oct. 2. Students led worship as well as shared their faith stories from the stage.
The Star Press in Muncie covered the event and highlighted the moving comments of several student speakers. One attendee named Christina “admitted to the crowd she used to be embarrassed to discuss religion with others.”
“I still had a lot of fear, and I was too scared to talk to people who I didn’t already know were Christians,” she said. “I always kept that Jesus topic brushed under the rug.”
But after her friend died in a tragic accident, she “realized she couldn’t stay in her comfort zone” and challenged the crowd to reach out.
Bella also spoke about feeling lost at times and wondered why so many shy away from their faith. Societal pressure is the reason, she said.
“There are too many people out there who would belittle and attack a Christian for (saying) what is right,” Bella said. “Because there are too many sheep out there who will follow the next big thing, and they will never be constant.”
Another Fields of Faith event this fall in Bradley County, Tennessee, saw thousands of attendees, and organizers reported that 150 made faith decisions for Christ.
An attendee named Tate, a high school sophomore, said it was encouraging to see students’ organizational efforts, including his own, pay off at the rally.
“Fields of Faith is always such a fantastic night to me because the community comes together regardless of what church or school you go to,” Tate said. “It’s the only opportunity in my year where I get to see that kind of unity between everyone in Bradley County; that’s always one of my favorite parts of the night, along with seeing so many give their lives to Christ. This year, Fields of Faith truly showed me how far a simple invite can go, as I saw a lot of people I knew give their lives to Christ.”
Read more about FCA here. For more information about the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, visit FCA’s web site at fca.org, its Facebook page at facebook.com/fcafans or its Twitter feed @fcanews.
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