The North Texas West region of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes hosted their annual Fields of Faith Event in Pilot Point on Oct. 15.
Hundreds of Christian athletes of all ages gathered for a night of food, fun and connection on G.A. Moore Field at Massey Stadium.
“Tonight is all about sharing the gospel message and coming together as a body of one, putting the banners of our church denomination on the floor and just coming to worship Jesus, and it’s come together incredibly,” said Tom Swartz, former Pilot Point coach and current FCA Metro Director. “I don't know how many kids we have out there, maybe 500600, and maybe even more than that … but I'm just so thankful that we have an opportunity to do this each year here in Pilot Point.”
Chad Worrell, Pilot Point athletic director and head football coach, was also on hand to share in the event.
“This is the second year I've been here that we've hosted this, and Coach Swartz and the FCA did a great job of putting this together,” he said. “It’s well organized, we have a great crowd, and I think it was bigger than last year's.”
The event began with the FCA staff and volunteers handing out food to the attendees while they all met and greeted each other.
The night program was kicked off by FCA Area Representative Damian Wells, who was a member of the track team at the University of North Texas, running a 100-meter dash against a few of the athletes in attendance.
Pilot Point’s own speedster Hunter Newman, who is a multi-sport athlete for the Bearcats, came from behind to take the win.
Once the race was concluded, the crowd paired up and played a game of thumbs up or thumbs down as Wells named multiple food, music and pop culture references to help teach the participants to learn about each other.
The student ministry band from Midway Church in Pilot Point was next on the program and led the crowd in song before the event’s keynote speaker, Coleman Maxwell, character coach for Texas Christian University’s football team, brought the message.
Maxwell’s message used biblical text and personal anecdotes from his own life to teach the young athletes just how precious and fleeting their athletic careers can be and emphasized the importance of having a relationship with God.
“I need these young people to know that Jesus really is the better way, because I was trying to find my hope and everything else without him,” he said. “I was in the streets at an early age, trying to survive and trying to find different outlets to make things work, and none of them worked until one of my friends shared Jesus with me, and it was lifechanging.”
The event concluded with FCA members and event volunteers breaking into prayer circles with the student athletes.
Kooper Vandergriff, who is a junior at Tioga High School, said he was blown away by the event.
“I didn't think it'd be anything too special, but I was wrong,” he said. “I felt the calling from God. To be honest, I didn't have any plans on coming here until I made the decision today, but it was nice to be able to come here and see everybody worshiping God.”
Pilot Point sophomore Kaleb Reid offered similar sentiments on the event.
“It was just a good environment,” he said. “Everyone is here for the same reason: to grow stronger in their faith and become revived. Even if you think you’re the strongest or highest-up person with God, or you're new here and you're trying to find God … you can't leave here tonight without getting better with him.”
FCA area representative Britt Lusk, who spearheaded the event, said he was pleased with how everything turned out and gave special thanks to Midway Church, Calvary Baptist Church, Mustang Baptist Church and Grace Point Church for their help and support.
“I partnered with about six churches to get everything organized and all of the equipment and food out here, so it was a blessing to plan,” he said. “I just know God was able to move tonight, and I saw it in the students and in the people in the crowd.”
