Nearly 100 students have been baptized as part of a growing worship gathering at a Colorado Christian high school, where students are coming together after athletic events to worship, share testimonies and publicly declare their faith.

Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch has seen 96 students baptized during five of the “5th Quarter” gatherings since the events began in fall 2024. The school holds the gatherings twice each academic year, typically drawing several hundred students, parents, staff members and people from the surrounding community.

The latest gathering took place Friday night following a home football game. Despite Valor Christian suffering a late loss on the field, the evening ended on a celebratory note as 17 students were baptized.

The idea for 5th Quarter came from Jessika Caldwell, Valor Christian’s assistant athletic director for spiritual formation. Caldwell told The Christian Post that she was inspired after reading about a worship gathering at Ohio State University where student-athletes shared their testimonies and people were baptized.

“I remember sharing with my family how moved I was and then moved on with my day,” Caldwell said.

But the idea stayed with her. While praying on her way to school the following Monday, Caldwell said she felt God place a question on her heart: “Why couldn’t we do something like this at our high school, Valor Christian?”

Caldwell wanted to bring worship into a setting where students, particularly athletes, might not expect to encounter God.

“My prayer was that by creating a space where maybe they didn’t expect to encounter the Living God, that they would in turn do so,” she said.

The resulting gatherings combine worship with student testimonies and opportunities for baptism. They also bring faith directly into an environment that is already central to many students’ lives, rather than limiting worship to a chapel or traditional church setting.

“My continued prayer is that more schools across the country would offer up opportunities outside of the norm to help our students experience Jesus in a new way,” Caldwell said.

Andrew Shepardson, Valor Christian’s chief of Christian integration and discovery, believes the response also reflects a broader spiritual openness among young people.

“Gen Z has a soft heart toward God,” Shepardson said.

He recalled one student-athlete who approached him before a 5th Quarter gathering and said he wanted to be baptized.

“He has everything going for him, athletic ability, intelligence, and charisma, but he needed to make his faith his own,” Shepardson said. “His parents came to support him, and he came out of the water beaming with joy at what God was doing in his life.”

Shepardson said the experience has reinforced the importance of personal relationships when helping young people grow spiritually.

“What we’re learning about discipling thousands of Gen Z students is that there is no substitute for the biblical model of life-to-life connection and mentorship,” he said.

Founded in 2005, Valor Christian is a private college-preparatory high school with more than 1,100 students enrolled this academic year. What started as an idea inspired by another campus has now led 96 students to take a public step of faith — and school leaders are praying the impact extends far beyond Valor’s campus.