For over 20 years, Fields of Faith has been an FCA ministry program where athletes gather on athletic fields across the nation to challenge one another to read the Bible daily and grow in their relationship with Jesus Christ and His Church. What began as a local outreach has grown into a powerful movement reaching anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Please take a moment to watch the short video recap directly below:
Anna Mehlhouse, YME Huddle Coach, gave the Gospel message of the evening.
“There’s a lot in this world that tries to weigh you down and steal your joy and freedom. You’ll hear all kinds of things about Jesus from the world but when you actually open your Bible, you’ll see the truth. The truth is that real joy and real freedom are found only in Jesus Christ. So, who is Jesus to you?"
Anna recently got married and shared an analogy that literally brought this question into focus. While packing up her things to move, she found her missing eyeglasses. She had gone quite a while without wearing them and had convinced herself her vision was just fine. But when she put her glasses on, she was struck by how much clearer everything became. What she thought was "clear" before didn’t even compare to what she could see with the right lenses.
Anna likened this to reading the Bible. If we neglect God’s Word, we might think we’re seeing life clearly, but we’re missing the full picture. Life without our “spiritual glasses” can be blurry, confusing, and overwhelming, but the Bible acts as a lens helping us see who God is, who we are in Christ, and how we’re called to live.
Her message was simple yet powerful.
God loves you! He created you perfectly in His image and while sin separates us from Him, Jesus came to rescue us from that bondage. Will you trust Jesus?
"He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross."
- Colossians 1:15–20
Josh P., a student huddle leader at
Lakeview FCA, shared how he used to call himself a “Christian” without fully understanding what it meant to follow Jesus. His journey took a significant turn when he moved from Nebraska to Minnesota at the start of his freshman year.
Caught up in the desires of the world and struggling with sin, Josh felt the weight of a life disconnected from true faith. Everything began to change when he was invited to church. He was gifted a Bible, mentored, and lovingly challenged to repent. That was the moment things became real. Josh began to understand that following Jesus meant surrender, obedience, and transformation.
After attending a ministry event, he felt a clear call to live selflessly and to disciple others, just as he had been discipled. That calling led him to start a junior high Bible study, where his goal was simple but bold: to encourage other students to live for Jesus and to be courageous in their faith.
Josh made the decision to be baptized, publicly declaring his faith in Jesus Christ. His walk with God deepened even through the grief he experienced over the recent passing of his grandfather. "What God gives He can take away. Our lives are completely meaningless without God at the center."
Josh put it simply, what changed his life can change yours too:
"Read the Bible, it's God speaking to us. Pray about anything and everything. Know your worth and identity in God. Be bold and confident in your faith. We have the gift of Heaven because of Jesus' death and resurrection."
Taleigha B., a student huddle leader for Marshall FCA, shared her testimony of personal struggle, surrender, and spiritual growth. She found herself burned out and battling anxiety, insomnia, and other physical ailments during high school. “I let God be a part of my life,” she confessed, “but I didn’t let Him be the center of it.”
Even though she clung to Scripture, repeating and reflecting on truths like Proverbs 3:5–6, she still wrestled with being consistent in seeking God and the pressure of perfection remained burdensome.
Taleigha broke her wrist at the end of basketball season last year, which forced her to sit out of club basketball. The unexpected pause in her athletic career led her back to anxious thoughts and old habits. Even so, she recognized that God was at work in her life.
Her journey took a deeper turn at FCA Leadership Camp in St. Simon’s Island, GA, where she was both challenged and encouraged to start living with an eternal perspective. A message from camp speaker, Sara Roberts, made an impact:
"It’s easy to choose heaven over hell, but sometimes it’s hard to choose heaven over earth."
That quote hit home as Taleigha's brother, Drake, was tragically killed in a car accident several years ago. She shared of her realization that had she not stayed at a wedding dance that night, she would have been in the car too. The reality of living life without her sibling and knowing that her life could have ended in that instant, made the message even more personal.
It's easy to get caught up in the temporary things of this world and delay fully surrendering to Jesus, but life can change in an instant. Taleigha urged others, "Don’t wait to give your life to Jesus."
Multiple events, just like this in Southwest MN, were held all across the state of Minnesota this fall and the ripple effect is one that we'll never truly know. Praise God for how He has raised up leaders to share their testimony and challenge their peers to draw closer to Him!
Click the button below to learn more about Fields of Faith in Minnesota:
