Godsfield

Free, family-friendly event on August 22 gathers a city’s comeback — a rebuilt downtown, a recovery turnaround, and a racetrack brought back from the dead — onto a single field.

MANSFIELD, Ohio — On Saturday, August 22, 2026, churches from across Richland and Ashland counties will come together at the newly revived Mansfield Speedway for the Festival of Hope, a free, family-friendly community day built around a single idea: something written off can be brought back. The event is free and open to everyone, with gates opening at 3 p.m. at 400 Crall Road E., Mansfield.

Organized by Godsfield — a cross-denominational movement whose name reflects its conviction that “Mansfield is God’s field” — the Festival is expected to be one of the largest faith gatherings in the region’s recent history. It will feature live music, a free meal for families, a kids’ zone with games and activities, classic cars on display, community-resource tents, and grand-prize giveaways, capped by a message of hope from the main stage.

A city rebuilding itself in plain sight

The Festival lands in the middle of a city that has spent years deliberately rebuilding. Mansfield is a legacy manufacturing town whose decline began in the 1970s. Today its downtown is in the final year of a $19.3 million Main Street Corridor Improvement Project — a roughly 20-month rebuild scheduled to finish in October 2026 — with 82 percent of the funding drawn from outside the city, anchored by a $7.3 million federal RAISE grant. The project grew out of “Mansfield Rising,” a plan local residents authored themselves, and the state has since pointed to Mansfield as a model for other Ohio towns.

The comeback isn’t only bricks. Ohio has posted the largest drop in opioid overdose deaths of any state since the national peak in 2023, and Richland County’s recovery organizations are part of that turnaround. “Every thread of this city’s recent history is the same story in a different language,” organizers say. “Something written off, brought back. The downtown. The people in recovery. And, fittingly, the racetrack itself.”

A track brought back from the dead

The venue is the story in miniature. The Mansfield Speedway opened in 1959, was a regional racing proving ground for decades, then sat abandoned after 2019. Former NASCAR driver and Ohio native Matt Tifft and his wife, Jordan, bought the property in 2025 and poured more than $5 million into reviving it, reopening the gates on May 2, 2026. Tifft — whose own Cup Series driving career was cut short by an epilepsy diagnosis before he became the youngest team owner in NASCAR Cup Series history — reached out to organizers himself, saying he felt called to host the event at his newly revived track.

“This is something that’s going to change and impact so many lives for people who maybe have never connected with God before. A completely free event here to come with many churches to go celebrate a day of worship music.”

Matt Tifft, owner, Mansfield Speedway

The people on the stage

The Festival is led by people already doing the work of restoration in Richland County. Jess Wilging, executive director of Godsfield and a recovered addict who now leads outreach and recovery work, carries the day-to-day vision. Judge W. Steve McKinley of the Richland County Juvenile Court — a father of six who runs his court on a restorative-justice model — will speak to hope and second chances for the next generation. The keynote message will be carried by evangelist Markus McFolling of the ministry Reach1, who overcame a prescription-drug addiction that followed a career-ending football injury.

“Being a recovered addict myself, I see the number one thing that makes people stop short in overcoming their mountains is losing hope. If hope stays lit, people accomplish the miraculous.”

Jess Wilging, executive director, Godsfield

Why a racetrack, and why now

The choice of venue is the strategy: a beloved local landmark that just came back to life is a place people will come to who might never walk into a church. The timing is deliberate, too — the churches behind Godsfield have been gathering across denominational lines since 2019, and the Festival turns that unity outward toward the city at the exact moment the whole community is visibly betting on its own future.

Event details

• What: Festival of Hope — a free, family-friendly community day
• When: Saturday, August 22, 2026; gates open at 3 p.m.
• Where: Mansfield Speedway, 400 Crall Road E., Mansfield, OH 44903
• Cost: Free and open to everyone; registration encouraged
• Register, donate, or volunteer: godsfield.org/festivalofhope

About Godsfield

Godsfield is a cross-denominational revival movement uniting congregations across Richland and Ashland counties. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based at P.O. Box 3306, Lexington, OH 44904. Learn more at godsfield.org.

Media Contact: Jessica Wilging • jess.fusionchurch@gmail.com • godsfield.org