Major Sponsor: Swords & Phelps Dentistry
Our Motivation
In the year 632 BC, a sixteen year old King of Judah began to purge his nation of Canaanite idols. Judah had fallen into a spiritual abyss. The worship of God had been silenced and the scriptures had been lost. The king's name was Josiah, and as the temple was being cleaned out, his men found the lost scriptures.
Josiah heard the word of God and was cut to the heart at the sin in his country. He immediately acted on... a single plan that changed his immoral, Godless country. He brought everyone together in one place, great and small. He read to them all of the scriptures. He then spoke to the people as follows:
"Then the King stood in his place and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord, and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant that were written in this book. And he made all who were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin take a stand. So the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers…all his days they did not depart from following the Lord God of their fathers." - 2 Chronicles 34:31-32, 33b
In our fast paced, mind-numbing world, the fundamentals of life can easily be overlooked and passed by. Our youth ministries have more ministry resources available now then at any time in history - books, DVD’s, web sites. "How To Do Ministry" conferences expand faster than new Starbucks stores. God can be presented in a new, modern, and high-tech way. We have the appearance of a well-equipped army.
The reality is we are losing the spiritual war in America. There is a movement in our country to remove God from the public square. It is rapidly taking ground and grows more emboldened every day.The question that must be asked is this, "If we have more resources and ability than ever before, why are we experiencing so many losses in the spiritual realm? The answer lies in one word…"fundamentals.
"American youth programs are guilty of depending on complex resources for ministry. We have neglected emphasizing the fundamentals of our faith! As one prominent youth pastor said, "we are guilty of pursuing an experience for our kids, instead of a growing relationship with a holy God." We have groomed a generation of Christian spectators waiting for the next speaker, musician or event to tickle their spiritual appetite. Think about it, spectators have never won a game. It is always the players on the field of competition that win.
What is the difference in a nation that has no scriptures and doesn't read them, and a nation that has an abundance of scriptures and doesn't read them? Nothing.
King Josiah changed his nation by gathering people together at one time and challenging them to stand on the scriptures. Simple? Yes. Fundamental? Absolutely. Effective? A nation was changed.
The bottom line is this. Christian teens are being assaulted by a highly organized pagan culture. Christian teens are not reading the scriptures, they have no way of fighting back. They are depending on their churches to make them feel good about their faith. Meanwhile, our culture is descending into the same abyss that Josiah had to face.
These facts are the heartbeat behind Fields of Faith. Our strategy is based on the Josiah method. Bring people together, read scripture, and challenge them to commit to reading the word of God and stand firm on its teachings.
Join Fields of Faith. We can win!
NOT A CHEROKEE COUNTY SCHOOL SPONSORED EVENT!
