COLUMBUS, Ohio – As the light faded on a warm summer evening, hundreds of Ohio State University students gathered around a stage in a campus courtyard.
They sang, they clapped, they bowed their heads in prayer – and they sat and listened as the campus' most revered idols — the football players — gave testimony about their Christian faith.
Senior student Lucas Brill stopped on his way home.
"I saw, like, probably about a thousand people out. Just felt like the whole, the whole courtyard was just flooded with people," Brill said. "They were just getting all hyped. It was like a locker room, but for Jesus."
One of the players on the stage was starting running back and campus celebrity TreVeyon Henderson. Henderson has been outspoken about his faith since discovering God after suffering an injury his sophomore year.
"God just started drawing people in and, you know, and we didn't know it was going to be that many people," Henderson said.
Then the baptisms began. Student after student was dunked in one of several large tubs on or near the stage. Brill, already a believer but still unbaptized, decided to take the plunge. He emerged from the water to a chorus of claps and cheers from his peers.
More than 50 students were baptized that August night.
Brill didn't get baptized solely because of the football players' testimony, but the players did draw him in that night.
"For them to be on a big stage every Saturday and then say that something's bigger than them, that's pretty humbling. And I don't know, it was kind of easy to follow their lead and humble myself," he said.
Students and players deemed it a revival. The story made national news, including appreciative stories in religious publications and Fox News. Now, as Ohio State University's football team prepares for the college football playoffs, players like Henderson have a bigger platform to share their Christian beliefs.
Football and faith have long been connected. But the scale of that event – and the fact that college athletes were baptizing other students – was unusual, said Paul Putz, director of the Faith and Sports Institute at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary.
"It does mark something that's a little different, a little unique," Putz said.
Putz said collegiate athletes, especially football teams at southern schools like Clemson University in South Carolina or Auburn University in Alabama, have often baptized teammates.
That practice doesn't usually extend to the rest of campus, though.
Ohio State's main campus in Columbus, Ohio, draws students from all over the world and represent a diverse set of beliefs.
Many of them are also devoted to their football team.
"Now, in terms of the football piece and when you think about how tied, how close football is to the identity of a public university, that does get a little bit tricky," Putz said.
He said when football becomes closely tied with the identity of a school like it is at Ohio State, and Christianity becomes aligned with the football team, it can create a sense that expressions of other faiths may not be welcome.
In a statement, university spokesman Chris Booker said that "Ohio State is home to more than 66,000 students of numerous religious faiths. Our campus is an open and welcoming place for students to express their beliefs."
Henderson said not everyone wants to hear about God, but that doesn't faze him.
"You know, there are times where people don't want to hear about Him. But, you know, God calls us to hear His word whether the time is favorable or whether it's not," Henderson said.
Overall, Henderson's message seems to have been well received, as have the Christian messages of many collegiate and professional football players before him.
So, why are athletes such successful evangelizers? Putz said there's a star power involved. American Christianity is, as Putz puts it, "attuned to charisma and celebrity."
"When those people embrace faith and then choose to express their faith, we tend to see a lot of Christians get excited about that," he said.
Henderson denies that his own star power is the driving force behind his message's success. He says it's all God's work.
"You know, we all are loved by him equally. And so, you know, God can use anyone," Henderson said.
Throughout the season, Henderson and some of his teammates have taken many opportunities and found many platforms to profess their faith.
Around a dozen team members, including Henderson, wide-receiver Gee Scott Jr. and offensive lineman Carson Hinzman, appeared on the Christian podcast, "Buckeye Revival." The podcast created by the Mansfield, Ohio-based The Walk Foundation gives updates on Buckeye football while telling the story of each player's faith.
"The strong faith in Jesus Christ that these football players have their ability to share the Gospel and share the good news of Jesus Christ has sparked this excitement across the campus," said Jacob Byrd, founder of The Walk Foundation.
During a scuffle that broke out following the team's recent loss to rival Michigan, Henderson and a handful of teammates were nowhere near the fisticuffs – they were in a prayer circle.
Scrawled across Hendeson's eye black tape was the verse, Romans 10:9. It reads, "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved."
Henderson said before finding God, he would have been in that scuffle with Michigan.
"The work that God has done in my life – like, I truly am thankful that I no longer am the person that I once was, you know, that he's transforming me and making me more like him," Henderson said.
Henderson doesn't know what the end of the season will bring, but he says God has a plan for Ohio State – and it's not about tackling and touchdowns.
"You know, He's not done working on this campus," Henderson said. "He's going to continue to move throughout this campus and draw more people to him."
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