Fields of Faith, a Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) event, was hosted at Pepperell High School on Wednesday, October 22. The function sparked an impressive turnout of around 1,000 people after taking a brief break last year. Fields of Faith is open to everyone, but is especially enjoyed by local students and young adults. Attendees enjoyed the music, speakers, reuniting with friends, and the sense of community.
“We started with a reading of scripture, which is where I talked, then we also had some student testimonies, we had a band play, we worshipped together, and then the main speaker shared his story,” junior Sara Jo Pierce said.
A few students, such as Pierce, had the opportunity to be directly involved, but many others want to see more students as a whole get more involved in the future.
“I think it starts with getting more involved with our school,” senior Kaya Nadu said. “Many people are aware that FCA exists, but it’s only at 7:15 a.m., which is really early for some. So I think starting to do other things at school, like in club period or something like that, would help other people at school get more involved. I think that would carry over into these events.”
Furthermore, the smaller size of our FCA group contributed to the somewhat lackluster turnout, but so did the lack of promotion leading up to the event.
“We didn’t have that many people coming. And from the other schools, there were definitely a lot more people who were volunteering for it. So I feel like if we got a bigger turnout next time for Darlington people, then it would be better,” Pierce said. “I think we need to promote it better because I don’t think anyone knew about it.”
Even though our student section at Fields of Faith was not overwhelming, the purpose and result of the event were fulfilling and encouraging for all who gathered.
“I think it brought the community together because it reminds you that you do have people in your corner, people that care about you, and people that share the same beliefs as you,” Nadu said. “I think that all of us kind of realize that, our community may be small, but I think that it’s small and mighty and that we still have people in our corner even though we don’t feel like we see them all the time.”