Revival at OSU
The Buckeyes, spearheaded by many of their star football players, led a revival this past weekend.
There is so much darkness in the world. We’ve had a lot to say about universities being a breeding ground for left-wing activists and pro-terror protests. They’re also expensive and don’t necessarily provide the education needed for post-grad success.
This story, however, provides a lot of hope for the next generation.
Ohio State University, home of the Buckeyes and the alma mater of Ohio Senator JD Vance, is set for a new school year and a new season of football. But now it’s going to be known for even more than that. Last weekend, Cru — a college and university Christian ministry formerly known as Campus Crusade — partnered with local Columbus-area churches by holding a public event with several football stars whose goal was to share their faith in the hope of leading their fellow students to Christ.
On Sunday evening, running back TreVeyon Henderson, wide receiver Emeka Egbuka, defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau, and former OSU wide receiver Kamryn Babb led the service and gave their testimonies. By the end of the night, a crowd of between 800 and 1,000 sang songs and prayed. In a public proclamation that they’d accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior, 60 people were baptized, according to OSU’s student paper The Lantern.
It was quite a thing to behold.
Ohio St football players leading other students to Jesus! @OhioStateFB pic.twitter.com/mJwYNaGIja
— Dr. Derwin L. Gray (@DerwinLGray) August 26, 2024
Egbuka stated: “We were praying for years and years for an event like this, and we were praying with expectation. We serve a miracle-working God. So we definitely had an expectation when it came out, but God did increasingly and abundantly more than what we thought. So, we’re just blessed and thankful.”
The other three OSU football heroes shared the sentiment, with Tuimoloau adding, “I don’t think anything I accomplish on the field compares to what is happening right now.”
This is not the first revival we’ve seen across the universities. Last year, Asbury University had a days-long revival. Auburn University had a similar movement occur. Players for the University of Michigan football team — OSU’s biggest rival — regularly pray after games, and former Wolverines head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is now coaching in the NFL after leading Michigan to last season’s national championship, is a strong Christian.
God is on the move and feeding the starving college kids searching for purpose and meaning in their lives.
