Something remarkable is happening on college campuses around the country. This fall, reports emerged of players taking a strong stand for Christ on the Ohio State and Notre Dame football teams. As it turns out, that was only part of the story. About six months ago, a group of churches organized a worship service on Ohio State’s campus with four football team players scheduled to preach. In a crowd of 800, many responded to the Gospel, including most of the team. They were baptized immediately in tubs brought by the four players for that purpose.

Last month, the team worked with an organization called Unite Us to hold another evangelistic meeting on campus. This service attracted 6,500 people, with about 2,000 responding to the altar call, many of whom were baptized in tubs brought to campus in U-Hauls, despite the frigid weather.

Reports are also emerging that this good news is spreading beyond Ohio State. Unite Us, an organization of students committed to spreading the Gospel on college campuses, has been holding evangelistic events across the country the past couple of years. At Auburn University, 5,000 people attended, and 200 were baptized. At Florida State, 310 people were baptized, and 1,000 responded to the altar call. At the University of Alabama, 260 were baptized. At the University of Tennessee, 8,000 people attended the rally, and 150 were baptized. At the University of Georgia, about 150 were baptized of the hundreds who responded to the invitation. Overall, the total number of students who responded to an invitation to accept Christ numbers in the thousands.

Historically, a failure to properly follow up with those who respond has been the critical weakness of rally-type evangelism. Unite Us carefully walks those who respond through the Gospel to make sure they understand what they are doing. They also work closely with local churches to connect converts with local believers and ministries for follow-up and discipling.

In the parable of the sower, Jesus told of the seed sown in rocky soil. After quickly sprouting up, distractions and opposition cause it to wither. Church community and on-going discipleship is essential for all believers, but especially for young, new ones. At the Florida State Unite Us rally, for example, about 800 of the 1,000 students who came forward filled out a card.

Unite Us gives credit not to their own work, but to the Holy Spirit and events that are “saturated in prayer” for the success they’ve had so far. They are also not the only organization reporting success in reaching Gen Z, including students on university campuses.

With so much bad news coming from college campuses in recent years, reports of students open to the Gospel and interested in spiritual conversations is encouraging. Whether this is merely a short-lived fad on a few campuses or part of a real a kairos moment revival remains to be seen. But we rejoice in what is happening in the hearts of these students, for the testimonies of Christians willing to go public about their faith, for God’s faithfulness to those who call upon Him, and for His Word that never returns void and always accomplishes what He intends.

And we should pray for those who acknowledged their need of Christ, that their conversions would be genuine as He completes the good work in their hearts and minds that He started. We should pray for revival and for those who have committed to work for it, that God would bless these events and their other efforts with fruit that will last.

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