It all started a few short years ago…I was frustrated after being a minister for more than 15 years. Looking at the culture of the United States and its moral digression, I couldn’t help but think about my three kids who were about to become teenagers. I was particularly struggling with the fact that we had so many great Christian resources in America—more than at any other time in history—and, yet, we still seemed to be losing the moral and spiritual battle. Everywhere my wife and I went, we were, as parents, always on the defense against the culture and the media. And anyone who knows anything about sports knows that if you’re always on defense, you’re not going to win. At some point you have to go on offense.


One morning in which I was particularly frustrated, I happened to be reading 2 Chronicles 34 during my quiet time. There I read about a teenage king named Josiah who started a revolution in his country. The people of Judah had lost all their Scriptures because of how evil the country had become. My attention was captured. That seemed very similar to the movement of forces in America to remove God from the public square. I realized that I was reading about a once-Godly country in which the same thing had actually happened. The question began to nag at me, What is the difference between a country that has no Scriptures and doesn’t read them, and a country that has countless Scriptures and doesn’t read them? For both, the end result is the same: a godless country.

As I read through 2 Chronicles 34, I started learning more and more about King Josiah and his decision to take action. His first step in changing the culture was to clean out the idols. That was all he knew to do. During that long process, a curious book was discovered in the temple. It was brought to Josiah and discovered to be the Word of God, which to that point had been completely lost. When the Word was read to Josiah, he fell face-down and repented before God for the sins of his nation. Immediately he decided to do something. He got everyone together, great and small, in one place and personally read the Scriptures to them.

After he read the Word He looked out to everyone and said, “I want everyone to stand.” They stood up, and he basically said, “This is what I’m going to live by. And I want to challenge you to do that, as well.” The Bible says that as long as he lived, the people of Judah followed the Book of the Law.

After that, a light bulb came on inside of me. I thought about this influential teenager who had been doing the best he could. And, really, what changed that country? It wasn’t a program, a conference or anything like that. It was this king who stood up and said, “I’m following the Word of God.” That’s what God used to cultivate change.

The simplicity of that really began to soak in. I thought, What if we could do this? What if we could gather everyone in one location and have “impact teenagers,” the ones in leadership positions, stand up and say what the Word of God meant to them; and have them challenge the crowd to stand with them, to share their faith in Christ and to encourage their peers to follow in their footsteps?

So began the “Fields of Faith” movement. What started as a Josiah-influenced dream came true when more than 6,000 students gathered on school athletic fields throughout Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas in October 2004. In 2005, more than 9,200 students gathered at stadiums across the southwest. Thousands responded to the clear call to seek God through His Word each day. More than 450 students made professions of faith. In 2006, Fields of Faith grew into a national movement reaching over 50,000 people in 32 states.

While the ultimate goal of the Fields of Faith night is certainly to bring people who don’t know Christ into a relationship with Him, it also serves as a way of challenging those who do know Him to read His Word. As Christians, we believe that as we start to read the Word of God, we will see the importance of it, because it isn’t optional. As a result of that discipline our culture will start to change because we Christians will be moving from defense to offense. Our resources, the church and every ministry will be strengthened simply because people will be communicating with God, hearing what He asks them to do and acting on it.

At a Fields of Faith rally, that message is communicated from one student to his or her peers. This is an important point because a typical student will usually listen more intently to a peer rather than to an adult. Most events have great speakers or popular athletes who talk with kids, and while those are important discussions, the students listening don’t necessarily identify with the speaker. They may not relate to a high-profile person on a national stage, but when a peer and who might be struggling in algebra or whose parents have gone through a divorce is speaking, they will listen. And when that person has had all of those same struggles and still is living a life of Christ, the crowd is absolutely silent. The impact of that student is unparalleled simply because the audience is living that same life.

Now, when those leaders not only share the gospel, but also the importance of reading God’s Word, not only are lives changed, but one of the greatest tools for spiritual battle is unleashed. In Scripture, the Word of God is mentioned as an offensive weapon. And these students have to be armed, because this battle is far too important to lose. The result would be the loss of our nation and of our freedom. But when thousands of students hear and respond to the call in this time and in this culture to read the Word, it will be like a flood sweeping through our nation—a mighty movement by the hand of God overtaking the powers of darkness.

I know it sounds simple, but that is the power of God. It is not up to the special speakers or the great things that we try to put together to make a big “splash.” It is up to God and His use of untrained, ordinary people to communicate the message that He is waiting to speak to people through the Scriptures. Once they do that it will change them. It will change their town, their city, their state and their country.

Throughout history, God has sparked great spiritual awakenings through young people. And that is the power of what we are trying to accomplish through Fields of Faith. It goes beyond its appearance of a one-night rally on an athletic field. It goes to the heart of the future of a nation. It’s not just another event, it’s a change in culture. Bring on the battle.


To learn more about Fields of Faith go to the official website. http://www.FieldsofFaith.com