In an evening filled with praise, testimony and fellowship, Gibson Southern High School hosted its first ever Fields of Faith day on Oct. 22, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. It was held on the football field to help the school and local communities grow in their faith through Jesus Christ. Everyone in Gibson County was invited to attend.
Fields of Faith is a movement where everyone in the community gathers together on their school’s athletic fields to share stories and challenges with each other and apply the Bible as the game plan for life.
“I feel like [the] Fellowship of Christian Athletes has changed the community by allowing students a place where they can express their faith openly and without fear of judgment,” senior FCA leader Kennedy Ping said.
At Gibson Southern’s Fields of Faith, there were testimonies from different people, a lot of worshiping, challenges/games, a hot chocolate stand and lots of music.
Junior Bailey Baker and Ping ran the hot chocolate stand for everyone to enjoy a hot drink on a chilly evening. They received donations from Polka Dots Play Cafe in Haubstadt for the cups, and they also had donations from FCA students for all 15 gallons of hot chocolate.
“My favorite part was getting to make 15 gallons of hot chocolate with Bailey Baker in the evening, praying that it wouldn’t spill on the way over from Bailey’s house to the football field,” Ping said.
Live praise music was played at the beginning of the Fields of Faith. There was a welcoming from every school that attended the event. Junior Mavery Chandler gave the introduction for Gibson Southern. After the music, there was a prayer by Baker, introducing the testimonies. The spoken student testimony was given by Ping and the next testimony was presented by special guest Ubi Ntweo.
“I really didn’t prepare,” Ping said. “I kind of winged it because I didn’t want to sound rehearsed or like I was reading a book. I knew my story, so I told it.”
Instrumental music started playing as Ntweo was finishing his speech. At the end of the speakers’ presentations, there were songs sung by senior FCA member Cassie Reeves, sophomore FCA member Josalyn Turner and more FCA students from Princeton High School and Wood Memorial High School.
“It felt really good to be able to be a part of something like this,” Reeves said. “With worship being what I want to do in the future, it was awesome to think that I’d be doing stuff like this all the time.”
At the end of the celebration, everyone made their way to the middle of the football field and formed into a big circle to pray. The evening ended in a prayer by Pastor Brad Keenan from the First General Baptist Church in Princeton.
“My expectations were knocked out of the park,” Ping said. “I didn’t expect that many people to show up. It was really refreshing to see that many people there to learn more about Jesus and get to worship on a freezing Sunday night.”
While this was the first time Gibson Southern has hosted Fields of Faith, it was previously held at Princeton.
