A group of Ohio State University football players led a Christian revival service on campus Sunday night. About 1,000 people attended and dozens were baptized, according to the student newspaper. lanthanumTreveyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive end JT Tuimoloau and former OSU wide receiver Camryn Babb led the revival service.
Event organizers, which included Columbus-area churches, set out four pails filled with water, and by the end of the evening, about 60 students who attended the vigil were baptized. The Daily Wire reported..
During the rally, OSU football players spoke about their faith in Jesus Christ and the crowd joined in singing hymns.
Babb, whose career ended with a fourth-degree ACL injury, admitted he didn't realise how “broken” he was until he felt “God's weight, love, grace and mercy wrapped around me”. [him] “Like a blanket.”
“I was just doing what I wanted to do because it was fun. Honestly, I was having fun being on the High Street,” Babb told the crowd. “It was fun, but at the same time, I didn't know where I was. Mentally I was dead. I could go out and smile and laugh, but inside I was broken.”
After the message, about 50 attendees prayed with the football players on stage, and many of them decided to get baptized afterwards. After the baptism, event volunteers escorted them to a nearby building where they were given Bibles to read through.
“We've been praying for an event like this for years, and we've been praying in anticipation. We serve a God who works miracles,” said Egbuka, who is expected to be the team's leading receiver next season. “So when it happened, we were definitely expecting it, but God has just enriched it more and more than we ever expected, so we're just blessed and thankful.”
“Whatever I've accomplished on the field is nothing compared to what's happening right now,” Tuimoloau continued.
Henderson, who led the Buckeyes with 926 yards rushing and 11 rushing touchdowns during the 2023 season, agreed with Tuimoloau, saying, “No matter what I've done, what God is doing here right now is much more important and much bigger.”
The Christian Revival Gathering concluded the first weekend on campus after the start of the fall semester, which began on Tuesday, August 20th.
Kevin Walsh, a Christian and sports content creator, posted on social media about his experience at the event.
“Ohio State football is making a difference,” Walsh said. Written Videos posted on Instagram show people worshipping God on campus.
“Words cannot express how amazing this Resurrection of Jesus was on Ohio State University's campus. Countless participants committed their lives to Jesus Christ and professed their faith through water baptism.”
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/DenisTangneyJr
