Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hosts 6th Annual Fields of Faith

Before the event started, attendees were greeted by volunteers from Farmington Baptist Church, which provided food for Fields of Faith. (Olivia Rareshide)

After having the opportunity to get the food provided by Farmington Baptist Church, attendees were greeted at the gates to War Eagle Stadium by student Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) leaders. The student leaders are an integral part of Fields of Faith; they have the opportunity to give a talk or testimonial during the night, and they help run the event by serving as greeters and welcoming attendees. (Sophia McMurray)

Before greeting the community and kicking off Fields of Faith, the student leaders met in a circle to pray. The prayer circle was led by FCA co-presidents Meredith Harpe and Isaiah Beaty. Harpe described moments like this as part of her duty during the night. “My role is kind of to swoop in if there’s a moment where someone needs help and to build up the group in every moment,” Harpe said. “I’ll be the first person they meet after they speak, and my goal is just to build everyone up as a whole.” (Olivia Rareshide)

Student leaders Riley Barnes and Westen Barefoot are the first people up to speak during Fields of Faith. They start the event off by welcoming attendees and seeing which members from different churches attended. As a community-wide event, many churches of different denominations bring people. Hannah Ehst, who is an Area Administrator and Davie Area Representative of FCA with her husband Sam Ehst, said that this is one of her favorite aspects of Fields of Faith. “It allows people to gather together from different schools. I know there are a lot of different churches that come as well,” Hannah Ehst said. “Denominations can sometimes divide people, but I think it’s a cool way of inviting all the churches, the different middle schools, and the main high school to come together and unite in a unique way.” (Olivia Rareshide)

Before bringing up the first group of student leader speakers, Beaty and Harpe introduce themselves as FCA student co-presidents and welcome everyone who came by thanking them. (Olivia Rareshide)

Student leaders Beaty, Grace Goodman, Ethan Diemer, and Harpe present “The Four,” an outline FCA uses to share the gospel. “The Four” consists of four parts: a heart, a division symbol, a cross, and a question mark. Each symbol represents a different part of the gospel. The student leaders had the chance to prepare a short speech to present each of these four elements. For Harpe, the opportunity to speak as a leader at Fields of Faith has been important to her on a personal level. “Fields of Faith has impacted my life in a huge way. I spoke at Fields of Faith last year, and it was a huge defining moment in my faith,” Harpe said. “It made me realize that I really like to speak in front of people, especially about God.” (Olivia Rareshide)

Student leader Isabelle Branham was the first student to share her testimonial at Fields of Faith. The student speakers at Fields of Faith help bring a message across to their peers in a unique way, according to Sam Ehst. “[Students] are invited to come speak because they’re speaking mainly to their peers — other high school, middle school, and elementary school students,” Sam Ehst said. “When you hear peers like that speak in front of you, it gives more of an emphasis on things and can reach students in a different way than if a pastor or adult spoke.” Providing training for and offering students the opportunity to speak is another important aspect of FCA’s goal to help students become leaders in their communities. Hannah Ehst said that this is why FCA is primarily student-led. “We want to pour into [the student leaders] as best as we can so that we can raise them and grow them out of their comfort zones, helping them lead in all situations of life,” Hannah Ehst said. “That’s why our goal is for FCA to be student-led, so that students can get out of their comfort zone.” (Olivia Rareshide)

The second student leader to share her testimonial was Ellie Wilson. When asked what the main idea of her testimonial was, she responded that it was about mental health. “No matter what you’re facing, no matter what you’re feeling, whether it’s fear, anxiety, or worry, God is still going to be there,” Wilson said. Wilson also noted that the opportunity to share her testimony at Fields of Faith sparked conversations with other attendees. “I think it’s important that leaders speak because a lot of people came up to me afterwards and said that my testimony was really cool to hear because nobody talks about mental health as Christians,” Wilson said. “It’s like, ‘Oh, if you’re a Christian, what do you have to be worried about?’ For me, sharing my testimony and other things that I’ve faced that other people struggle with helps Christianity become more relatable and helps people who are facing some of those struggles to understand that they aren’t alone, and it’s okay to feel that way.” (Olivia Rareshide)

After the first round of testimonies, student leader and head of the worship music team at FCA, Ava Jane Tomlinson, led the community in singing various worship songs. In an interview, Tomlinson said that the opportunity to lead the community by singing was an important part of the night because it brought people together. “I think it’s so cool to get to see so many people from our community worship our God, and I feel like it’s a really important part of my relationship with Christ,” Tomlinson said. “I want to give that to other people, and Fields of Faith gave me a really cool opportunity to do that, and to also show people that young people can lead worship too.” Tomlinson also discussed how her opportunity to sing impacted both her and those in attendance. “To be able to express my faith and worship through music has helped me grow so much as a leader,” Tomlinson said. “A lot of people came up to me afterwards and told me that they were really moved by the music. I think my being a student leader really helped people see the impact.” (Olivia Rareshide)

Jason McLeod, a family pastor at LIFE Community Church, was the main speaker at Fields of Faith. McLeod is also known for his role as Brock Kelley in the movie “Facing the Giants.” He was invited to Fields of Faith to give the main talk of the night and was the final speaker. (Olivia Rareshide)

After McLeod’s talk, he invited students onto the track to pray together as a community. Some students met in small groups, offering each other support and community. (Olivia Rareshide)

On the track, students were invited to join in singing the last round of songs together before the closing prayer. Harpe was one such student out of the many standing on the track. In an interview, Harpe said that moments like this, where every student is invited to engage with each other and have support, make Fields of Faith a unique opportunity. “It’s an amazing opportunity for Davie County and the high school to get to share their faith and see it in a different way, in a personal way, on a field that’s not intimidating,” Harpe said. “It’s like everyone is on an even playing field, and everybody can see Jesus, and everybody can hear about Jesus.” (Olivia Rareshide)

To close out the night, students left the stadium stands to travel onto the football field, where student leaders Barefoot, Barnes, and Wilson led the group in a closing prayer. (Olivia Rareshide)

Students stood in a large circle around the leaders who were praying, giving them the opportunity to see all of their peers gathered together. The circle marked the conclusion of Fields of Faith, a moment that further illustrated the purpose of the night, according to Hannah Ehst. “It’s really just a time where people come and worship. It’s community-wide, so anybody and everybody can come,” Ehst said. “It’s a time of worship, prayer, praise to God, and it’s really just a beautiful time to share the gospel and have it so clearly portrayed. If people don’t know [God], they can come to know Him. That’s pretty much the purpose of the night, to share Christ and worship together as a community.” (Olivia Rareshide)