Metro Voice News Celebrating Faith, Family & Community
Fields of Faith, an annual event sponsored by the Kansas City-based Fellowship of Christian Athletes, will be held on October 12.
The event is led by students. Peers invite their own classmates and teammates to meet on their school’s athletic field to hear fellow students share their faith testimonies, challenge them to read the Bible and come to faith in Jesus Christ.
“Fields of Faith helps entire communities experience God’s saving grace and gain the knowledge that lives can be transformed through Jesus while encouraging them to get into the habit of reading God’s Word,” said Shane Williamson, president and CEO of FCA. “It’s a powerful event that God is using to reach local campuses and bring the next generation to himself.”
This year’s theme, “Every,” based on Ephesians 1:3, reminds Christian coaches and athletes that they already have everything they need in Christ and encourages them to seek him both on and off the field, according to FCA.
Organizers believe an athletic field offers a neutral rallying point for a community of believers. On that turf and standing side by side, student-athletes invite, pray for, share with and challenge their peers to read the Bible and follow Jesus Christ. Last year, FCA saw more than 11,000 coaches and athletes reached through Fields of Faith, and in 2019, before the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 192,000 people attended the event.
This year, attendance is expected to explode. Some venues will see 2,000 plus students participate. Some events are being moved to larger college stadiums.
Although 2020’s event was scaled down because of COVID, Jeff Martin, executive director of campus sports ministry for FCA, said the purpose has remained the same: “One day, one message, one stand.”
“The word of God changes the country,” Martin said. “The impact on students, adults and the entire community from the very beginning of Fields of Faith is to get students to start reading scripture consistently.”
For more information, visit www.fieldsoffaith.com
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice
