Athletes to speak at FCA Fields of Faith

For the 11th straight year, students from Graham ISD and the surrounding area will share their Christian faith in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ Fields of Faith event at 7 p.m. on Newton Field Wednesday, Oct. 9.

“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,” a press release reads. “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.”

Jimmy Guinn, a member of the Graham Fields of Faith leadership team, said the event draws in students from many area schools.

“The premise was if we had a location here and encourage every school from every town to come within 60 miles,” he said. “We have Throckmorton, Woodson, Breckenridge, Olney, Newcastle, Jacksboro and Graford would come. To me what is special still is because it sponsored by the local FCA huddle, which is an approved on campus organization, the school districts can bring their buses with the kids to the stadium. To me it is really neat to see all the yellow dogs coming and parking just like a football game on Friday night.”

According to Guinn, there will be four students speakers at the event with a student from Bryson, Breckenridge and Graham each talking. He added a student from Olney will also perform the prayer.

“We specifically attempt to (spread out where the speakers are from), but it is not always,” he said. “We have a big committee that approves the nominations for the speakers.”

Guinn said he has been with Fields of Faith all 11 years it has been in Graham and was instrumental in bringing the event to town. He said he was driving back to Graham from the Abilene area when he heard an advertisement for the Abilene event and wanted community members to attend.

“It also starts at 7 p.m. and there are some other things that go in Texas on a weeknight, mainly football practice,” he said. “We realized we couldn’t get our folks there in time to get to Shotwell Stadium with all the kids associated with that.”

Guinn said a couple of years later his oldest child was a member of a FCA all-star game when he met the FCA Big Country Executive Director, Steve Keenum, who challenged Guinn to put together a group of men to help organize a Graham Fields of Faith event.

He added that Big Country FCA sends a worship band and pastor to each event with them rotating between the Abilene, Brownwood, Graham, San Angelo, Stephenville and Sweetwater events each year. He said volunteers, called encourages, will be on the field for students to pray with as well as a crisis team for those students to talk with a pastor.

For the rest of the story, see the Saturday, Oct. 5 edition of The Graham Leader.