Nearly 2,000 Ohio State students made the decision to follow Jesus last week at a huge campus revival, according to Unite US, the event organizer.
Unite US shared the news on Instagram, stating that a total of 6,500 students attended the event held in The Schottenstein Center on the Columbus campus, while almost 2,000 of those “responded to the altar call.”
“We’ve been in awe of how God has already been moving on this campus over the past year, and He met us here again tonight,” Unite US said in its post. “God is moving in this generation, and we know that He’s just getting started!”
Unite US founder Tonya Prewett shared a video of the evening, showing students streaming towards the front of the stadium.
“I will never be over this sight – thousands of students giving Jesus their yes,” she said. “May we never take for granted how God is moving in this generation.”
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Many students at the event were spontaneously baptized, according to a correo on X from Matt Brown, pastor at Sandals Church in California.
Brown said that the baptisms at Ohio State were conducted in the back of U-Haul trucks.
“Last night the temps were cold but that didn’t stop students from getting baptized in the back of U-Haul trucks!” Brown wrote.
Ohio State’s revival is the second event held by Unite US this year. On February 13, Unite US hosted a similar program at the University of Kentucky that 8,000 students attended, according to a post on Instagram.
‼️The cold temps couldn’t keep these Ohio State University students from going public with their faith in Jesus.
They walked into altars and to Jesus at Unite Ohio State.
🚩Let them know you’re praying for them.@coach_prewettAU @Unite__US pic.twitter.com/5DimEVOrG6
— Pastor Travis Johnson (@BasedPastorTrav) February 19, 2025
Bible study grows into a movement
Unite US was started in 2023 by Prewett, who is the wife of Auburn University Assistant Basketball Coach Chad Prewett.
Prewett reportedly started a Bible study with five college women, struggling with anxiety and depression. A month later, around 200 were attending.
Then, in September 2023, several thousand students gathered at Auburn’s Neville Arena to worship, according to Unite US’ sitio web. The event featured the band Passion and speakers Jennie Allen and Jonathan Pokluda, lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas.
“What began in Auburn, Alabama, has continued to grow into a movement reaching college campuses across the nation,” the website said. “Unite US exists to see college students gathered to lift the name of Jesus.”
Last November, more than 10,000 students were drawn to a Unite US revival at Texas A & M University in College Station, El Informe Roys (TRR) previamente reportado.
Prewett told CBN News that Unite US partners with local churches to help disciple the students who decide to follow Jesus at their events.
“We connect with every pastor in the community, and every campus ministry leader in the community, and we bring them in and so they set up tables, these students can get connected that night,” Prewett said. “We’ve heard so many testimonies of students who have gotten so plugged into the church, and they’re now serving through their church or leading small groups or discipleship programs post-event, it’s really amazing.”
“God moved here”
After the latest event at Ohio State, many attendees took to social media to share their experiences.
Ohio State alum Andrew Reynolds thanked Prewett on Instagram for showing him “what a life fully surrendered to the Lord looks like—you’ve been a constant example of faith in action.”
Reynolds state the spiritual revivals happening across the country are just the start of God’s work.
“From thousands flooding the altar at college campuses across the nation to what God is doing right here in Columbus, He is moving in ways we can’t fully comprehend,” he wrote. “This is just the beginning.”
Ohio State alumna Kylee Brianne said on Instagram that she attended the event with her young adult’s group. She said she was grateful for the community and friends that it connected her to.
“God moved here and is continuing to move,” Brianne said. “My prayer is that the seeds that were planted grow and bear fruit and this revival continues throughout this generation.”
February’s Ohio State revival follows after the Ohio State Football team led a similar spiritual movement on campus last semester, according to NPR.
Leading up to their championship in the College Football Playoff, players were sharing their testimonies and faith widely on campus.
Ohio State’s student newspaper, The Lantern, estimated that nearly 1,000 students attended a revival event held by players in August. Around 60 students were baptized by the end of the night.
Unite US will host its next event at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana on March 5.
Liz Lykins is a correspondent covering religion news for The Roys Report, WORLD Magazine, and other publications.
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Una respuesta
I’m always skeptical of such ‘campus revival’ statistics. There’s no way to establish how many of the event respondents are first-time followers compared to the most-likely larger contingency of respondents that were already followers.
It’s similar to what I’ve witnessed at church repeatedly — at church altar calls, ‘already-followers’ (regardless of age) will habitually go forward as a re-dedication, which is fine, but it’s pads the numbers when measuring specific numerical results. Not to mention, student-aged individuals (whether ‘already-followers’ or not) who choose to go forward often do so simply as a reaction to their fellow friends in attendance who responded first, and they don’t want to be recognized as remaining behind in their seats and therefore risking unwanted judgement from their peers.
Question: Are there any statistics regarding how many ‘first-time follower’ respondents were at the 2023 Asbury University (Wilmore, Kentucky) ‘revival’? Even if there are no numbers available, I suspect a majority of students that responded at the Asbury event were already believers.