Fields of Faith

A group of over 40 students from Waseca, Janesville-Waldorf-Pemberton (JWP), and New Richland-Hartland-Ellendale-Geneva (NRHEG) schools gathered on the Waseca football field for “Fields of Faith,” an event held simultaneously at more than 500 schools across the United States on Wednesday, October 12, 2022.

Fields of Faith is a movement started in 2002 by Oklahoma Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) Area Director Jeff Martin. Its purpose is for students to “challenge their peers to read the Bible and follow Jesus Christ.” Student-led assemblies take place across America at local athletic fields, which are regarded as a “neutral rally point” where communities come together.

The Waseca FCA took part in the event the same year it became national, 2004, just two years after its founding. 

At similar events in the south, it’s common for big-name Christian bands to provide music and draw thousands of students: Waseca had a smaller, more humble crowd. According to John Conway, one of the evening’s organizers, the students had to start from scratch again.

“Covid shut us down for the past two years,” he observes. “We usually can get near 100. But this year’s the first time since 2019 that we have started up again. So we weren’t expecting as many as we usually get.”

The meeting place for Waseca’s “Fields of Faith” has varied. Some years, it’s warm enough to meet at the football field. Other years, it’s been too cold to be outside, so the gathering is moved  to the nearby Intermediate school. This year, Conway said the decision was a close call. “We decided to still have it outside but end it a bit earlier than usual,” he said.

To start the evening, the students had half an hour of play time when most of them participated in football while others kicked giant stuffed footballs for fun or chatted with friends.

When the assembly gathered closer to the bleachers, people split into groups to introduce themselves. Then a few students shared bible verses, starting with Waseca senior Ella Dufault. She called attention to Genesis 1:27, which states, “So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”

“God is real, and He wants you to personally experience His love and discover His purpose for your life through a relationship with Him,” Dufault said.

Carter Miller, a JWP student, shared his verse, dubbed the “bad news” portion of the presentation. Romans 6:23, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

“People search everywhere for meaning and fulfillment,” Miller spoke, “but not with God. Everyone has sin, which damages your relationship with God.”

Camille Ring from Waseca shared Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

“Sin does not keep God from loving you,” Ring added. “Jesus died for us so we can be forgiven.”

Conway then used a football to describe being physically alive but spiritually dead. “Footballs need a good amount of air to go the distance,” he said. “When Adam disobeyed God in the garden, we went flat like this football. Sin entered the world, and we were separated from God.”

He then shared Romans 5:19, “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.”

“We’re born physically alive but spiritually dead,” Conway added. “That’s why Jesus says we must be born again, so we die physically but not spiritually. And that’s what ‘Fields of Faith' is about, that main message in the Bible. Just like air needs to go inside of the football, people must take in the Holy Spirit to be spiritually filled.”

After the students discussed where they were spiritually with their peers, they ended the event with a cup of hot chocolate.

Other schools including Owatonna, Mankato West, Pine Island, Lewiston, and many more around the region have held or will hold a “Fields of Faith” event this year. NRHEG has scheduled an event on Wednesday, October 26. 

Despite the lower-than-usual turnout, Conway was happy with Waseca’s event. “We have some great Christians here in Minnesota,” he shared. “We especially have a lot of student athletes who are dedicated to following Christ.”