Staff report
The Inter-Mountain
ELKINS, W.Va. — Davis & Elkins College will host neighboring institutions Alderson Broaddus University and West Virginia Wesleyan College as they join thousands of other organizations on athletic fields across the nation to share their Christian faith with fellow students.
The local event will take place today at 7 p.m. at Nuttall Field as part of the 14th annual national Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Fields of Faith. Admission is free and all ages are welcome to attend.
The rapidly growing, interdenominational outreach event will be celebrated at more than 500 locations throughout the nation.
While many Christian rallies are anchored to an entertainer or professional speaker, FCA’s Fields of Faith is structured as a student-to-student ministry. Peers invite their own classmates and teammates to meet on their school’s athletic field to hear fellow students share their testimonies, challenge them to read the Bible and to come to faith in Jesus Christ.
This will be the first Fields of Faith event for local Fellowship of Christian Athletes organizations. This community worship and prayer event is entirely student-led and will consist of three testimonies from students from each college participating.
Brian Hayes, a resident director at D&E, will follow up with a challenge and prayer. The high schools and Young Life organizations in surrounding areas have been invited to the event as well.
“An extensive amount of planning has occurred in order for this event to develop and we are very excited to be hosting the only Fields of Faith in West Virginia,” said D&E’s FCA President Alicia Roth. “We are holding this event to bring the glory to God and to spread the word of God to the community and those on campus.”
Roth explained that this academic year, FCA is focusing on making an impact on the D&E campus.
“We feel that this was one way to achieve our goal while partnering with the two local colleges, Alderson Broaddus University and West Virginia Wesleyan College, in holding the event,” Roth said. “We believe that this will be an incredibly special night at D&E and encourage all to attend.”
Since its beginning in 2004, more than 1 million people have joined the Fields of Faith movement. In 2016 alone, more than 192,000 students gathered on 519 fields, where 7,414 made first-time faith commitments, 8,612 recommitted their lives to Christ and 8,781 committed to reading their Bible.
Fields of Faith began with an idea from Jeff Martin, FCA’s executive vice president of Ministry Programs and Resources, who longed to help today’s generation of students face spiritual battles and temptations.
“It’s amazing that Fields of Faith has grown to welcome nearly 200,000 people to athletic fields where they can pray and worship together,” Martin said. “We are so thankful for the students who feel passionate about sharing their faith with their fellow students so they, too, can see how Christ can impact their lives. There’s no doubt that God is working through these young people and will continue to do so for years to come.”
In 2004, Martin’s vision became reality when 6,000 students gathered on school athletic fields throughout three states for the first Fields of Faith event. That was the beginning of what has become one of the most significant faith-related gatherings of students in a single day.
While Fields of Faith has its roots with FCA leadership, the event is designed to include multiple national Christian organizations, local churches and ministries.
More information about the 2017 Fields of Faith event is available at FieldsofFaith.com. To learn more about the event at Davis & Elkins College, anyone interested can call Jennifer Riggleman at 304-637-1383.
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