A movement of God that began at Auburn University last fall has now spread to four other campuses, with thousands of students being saved and countless individuals being plugged into a local church to continue their faith journey.
The Unite US launched at Auburn University's Neville Arena last September and saw some 5,000 students attend and approximately 200 get baptized afterward. Since then, Unite US has held similar events at Florida State University, the University of Georgia, the University of Alabama and the University of Tennessee. Organizers partner with local churches.
More than 5,500 students attended the Unite event at Tennessee this week. The official Unite Instagram account said hundreds made professions of faith and more than 120 were baptized outside the arena with “Neyland Stadium in the background.”
“God is doing something special at college campuses across the country, and we believe there is even MORE to come!” the post said.
Tonya Prewett, the founder and visionary behind Unite US, told CBN it is “all a move of God.”
“I'm not capable of doing this, we're not capable of doing this, it's the hand of God. It's way bigger than us,” she said.
The movement, she added, has seen “thousands of students give their hearts to Christ.”
“We've seen over 800 baptized,” she said. “We're just being obedient, we're just walking in obedience and God's gone before us and he's moving in incredible ways.”
Each Unite event has three main objectives for attendees, according to its website:
1) Salvation
2) Freedom from sin and burdens on their hearts
3) For students to find community and discipleship through local ministries and the local church.
This week’s Unite gathering at Tennessee included songs from Passion Music and gospel messages from Jonathan Pokluda of Harris Creek Baptist Church in Waco, Texas, and Jennie Allen, the founder of IF:Gathering.
“We connect with every pastor in the community, and every campus ministry leader in the community, and we bring them in and they set up tables, [so] these students can get connected that night,” Prewett told CBN. “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 is on the move on college campuses, she said.
“I am no prophet, but what I do feel like God has shown me is this will be called the greater awakening, and this will be something our nation has never witnessed,” she said.
Photo credit: Credit - Unite US
Michael Foust has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years. His stories have appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, The Christian Post, the Leaf-Chronicle, the Toronto Star and the Knoxville News-Sentinel.