Christian athletes at Brookhaven High School are taking their faith to the field Wednesday night and are inviting their peers to join them.

The BHS chapter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes is hosting Fields of Faith, a student-led interdenominational outreach event, at King Field Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. The event is free and aimed at high school and junior high students and church youth groups.

Tennis professional Arthur Jones III, of Brandon, will be the guest speaker.

BHS senior Hannah Moore has been a member of FCA all four years of high school. She went into it looking for a certain boy, but instead found other Christians like herself who have helped her grow in her faith.

“I wanted to be a member of FCA in ninth grade because a boy I thought was cute went,” Moore, 18, said. “When I got there, I found a group of students who challenged and encouraged each other to grow as Christians. FCA is a fantastic way to meet people that love the Lord and want to make a difference. It didn’t work out with the boy, but it definitely worked out with FCA.”

This will be the first year BHS has hosted the national event, which is in its 13th year.

FCA’s Fields of Faith is structured as a student-to-student ministry. 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.

Fields of Faith began with an idea from Jeff Martin, FCA’s executive vice president of ministry programs and resources.

“Every year we are amazed at what God does in stadiums across the country,” he said. “Entire communities unite, and lives are changed for eternity right there on the athletic fields. Fields of Faith challenges this generation to be committed to reading the Bible and living a transformed life for Jesus Christ. It’s students challenging students; peers challenging peers, and that’s the heart and soul of Fields of Faith.”

While Fields of Faith has its roots with FCA leadership, the event is designed to include multiple national Christian organizations, local churches and ministries. A local leadership team will determine the program of each Fields of Faith event.

Fields of Faith is a peer-to-peer event that inspires students to refuel their faith and get back to the basics of reading God’s Word through worship and personal testimonies, said Moore, one of the local organizers.

The Panther cheerleader attended Fields of Faith at Loyd Star last year.

“It was a great experience,” she said. “The speaker was so interesting and reminded me that my accomplishments in life mean nothing if they aren’t used for God’s glory.”

She said she came away from last year’s event feeling blessed.

“Most of all, I could feel God’s presence there,” Moore said. “Matthew 18:20 says, ‘Where two or more or gathered, there I am with them.’ It’s so comforting to know that the Lord is always with us and ‘under his wings I can find refuge.’ Psalm 91:4.’”

Moore said she was blessed, also, to be raised in a loving, Christian home.

“My parents taught me so much about the Bible and God’s character. I realized that ‘all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God’ Romans 3:23, and that ‘all who call on the name of the Lord will be saved’ Romans 10:13.

“I’ve been growing in faith since, and although there have been some hard times, I find joy in trials because it tests and refines my faith and brings me closer to God.”

Moore plans to share her faith with others at the event.

“I would tell someone who came to Fields of Faith that the whole point of my life is to glorify my creator who loves me enough to send his son to die for me, and that it is beautiful and scandalous, and I don’t deserve that one bit,” she said. “I would also say that my God is a god of second chances; we can never go too far or be too bad for God. He will always be there.”

Martin said the event allows students to challenge other students and peers to challenge peers. “That’s the heart and soul of Fields of Faith,” he said.

Moore and others in the BHS FCA have been in prayer for the success of the event.

“First of all, prayer is a major component in effectively reaching people with the gospel,” she said. “We have been praying for open eyes, ears and hearts, and we have also been praying for a big crowd. We’ve been praying for God to speak through the band and speakers there.”

She said Christian students must stand united to reach others.

“It’s not really about us reaching our peers. We just have to be available and ‘ready to give an answer to anyone who asks bout the hope that is in you,’ 1 Peter 3:15,” she said. “God is the one who saves, not us. We are spreading the word about Fields of Faith and telling people about our hope in Christ. At the end of the day, it is God who provokes the heart. We are only the instruments.”

FCA members meet each Friday at 7:30 a.m. at the high school. The meetings, called huddles, last about 15 to 20 minutes.

Coach Kevin Bower is the FCA sponsor at BHS.