HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. — Nearly 100 students have been baptized through a series of worship gatherings held after athletic events at Valor Christian High School in Colorado.
The private Christian school launched its “5th Quarter” gatherings in fall 2024, creating an opportunity for students, athletes, families and members of the community to gather for worship, student testimonies and baptisms after athletic competitions.
According to a September 23 report from The Christian Post, 96 students have been baptized across five gatherings since the program began.
The most recent gathering took place September 18 following a home football game. Several hundred people attended, and 17 students were baptized that evening.
Jessika Caldwell, Valor Christian’s assistant athletic director for spiritual formation, founded the event after being inspired by reports of college athletes publicly sharing their Christian testimonies and participating in baptisms.
Caldwell said she wanted to create a similar opportunity within Valor Christian’s athletic community, providing students with a setting outside traditional worship spaces where they could encounter and express their faith.
One of the students baptized during the September 18 gathering was freshman Annika Lumpkin. Her older brother, senior Clayton Lumpkin, assisted in her baptism before the siblings embraced afterward.
School officials say the gatherings typically attract a few hundred participants, including students, athletes, coaches, staff members, parents and local residents.
Andrew Shepardson, Valor Christian’s chief of Christian integration and discovery, said the response has reinforced the school’s emphasis on personal relationships and mentorship in helping younger students develop their faith.
Valor Christian High School was founded in 2005 and reports enrollment of more than 1,100 students for the current academic year.
The continuing participation in the 5th Quarter gatherings reflects how the school is connecting athletics with worship, testimony and public expressions of Christian faith.
Reference:
christianpost/branded/96-students-baptized-after-high-school-games-in-colorado
