During a promotion one night at a recent Lancaster Barnstormers' game, a man spotted team official Brian Radle and asked if he worked at the ballpark.

"Yes, I do," Radle said, not sure if he was going to get a compliment about something the team was doing, or be hit with a line drive, fan-criticism style.

But it turned out to be all praise.

The man told Radle, during one of the team's "Faith & Family Nights" this summer, how he was "really happy you guys are doing this. … These are the kinds of events that make me want to come to the ballpark."

The team wants the "Faith & Family Night" series to be something with a "fun, family atmosphere" that also helps reflect Lancaster County and the strong influence of faith here, said Radle, the Barnstormers' events and entertainment director.

Three times this season, with one more night to come on Sept. 9, the Barnstormers have offered everything from faith-based music to testimonies from Barnstormer players about their spiritual beliefs.

The series is something recognizing "the market here in Lancaster, realizing how much faith is a part of people's lives," Radle said.

"And we want to have something that has some substance, some integrity."

At the same time, they want to be sensitive, so "we definitely don't want to alienate anyone from a certain belief," Radle said. "It's as much about family as it is about faith in what we do."

Christian recording artists Chuck Gibson of Lancaster and Brett Rush of Quarryville performed before Wednesday night's game against the York Revolution.

Both singers perform contemporary praise-and-worship music, with Gibson's style slightly more electric.

Previous entertainers at Clipper Magazine Stadium faith nights this summer included the Matt Goss Band, worship leaders at the main LCBC church in Manheim, and Steven Courtney, the veteran performer of music for children.

On Saturday, Sept. 9, Lancaster Christian rock/funk/jazz/gospel band Salt & Light will perform at the stadium starting at 5:45 p.m. The band has performed at First Fridays in downtown Lancaster and at other venues.

The Barnstormers, seeing the good response they drew when they held once-a-year "Faith & Family" nights in recent seasons, wanted to expand the number this year.

Christian contemporary music station WJTL-FM (90.3) are co-sponsoring this year's series.

For artists like the 36-year-old Rush, playing at Clipper Magazine Stadium is both an honor and a chance to reach a wider audience.

"Lancaster County really has a wealth of (musical) talent in its churches," he said, and music "reaches people in a way that preaching doesn't," the pastor and singer at Quarryville's Shiloh Community Fellowship said.

On Wednesday, the Barnstormers drew 5,857 people for their game against York. An earlier faith night, on Saturday, July 16 (also featuring fireworks), drew 8,219 fans, the eighth-largest crowd in stadium history.

The 32-year-old Gibson, worship director at Community Fellowship Church in East Hempfield Township, played first before Wednesday night's game, offering an all-original set of music.

Gibson, in an interview before his show, said his music is similar to current worship artists, "but it does add something of a flair that's a little heavier than that … very electric-guitar driven, but I wouldn't say it was hard rock or anything."

As a pastor and music leader, Rush likes to "take truth from the word of God and put music around it."

"I can't do that at church on Sundays. … I can't show up and preach the same message, so music gives me an opportunity to communicate truth into people's lives," said Rush, who has released three CDs of worship music.

Gibson, who has released a new CD of worship music titled "I Will Follow," called it a "privilege" to play at the stadium.

He has held other jobs, but "I always had this passion to do music, to lead worship," he said.

doconnor@lnpnews.com