More than a thousand students, including many athletes, were baptized during a historic evangelistic event at the University of Florida last week. Unite US—a group founded after the highly publicized revival at Auburn University in 2023—hosted the event. Over 6,000 students attended and approximately 1,000 of them made public professions of faith.
Johnathan Pokluda, who serves as the lead pastor of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, spoke at the event. “Salvation has come to this campus,” Pokluda said at the end of the night. “We just saw God move, the Holy Spirit move. There were thousands and thousands in the arena, and the Gospel was preached. We gave them an opportunity to come forward and place their faith in Jesus, and over a thousand college students rushed to the stage. It was just unbelievable. … My heart is so glad.”
Jennie Allen, a best-selling author and Bible teacher, also addressed the students. “Life is hard, it is broken,” she said. “God is behind us like a wind chasing after you, for you, with you, through you … We are going to remember that our God wins.” Like Pokluda, Allen expressed surprise at the response. “We are in awe that over 1,000 students came forward to make the decision to follow Jesus tonight,” she wrote on Instagram.
According to Unite US, members of the University of Florida’s volleyball, football and basketball teams were among those baptized. Students even posted photos of young adults being baptized in pick-up truck beds filled with water.
“This is the spark of something in our team,” one Gator football player said following the baptisms. “We needed this, and I feel like our team is going to be turned for the better because the Lord is going to be in the presence of our locker room.”
Unite US is scheduled to continue holding similar events at colleges and universities across the country. According to their website, the group exists “for nonbelievers to hear a clear presentation of the Gospel in a welcoming environment; for believers to know and experience true freedom from sin and burdens on their hearts; and for students to find community and discipleship through connection to local ministries and the local church.”
Photo: Unite_US Instagram