University of Pittsburgh football players lead campus revival

The ongoing revivals on college campuses have reached the University of Pittsburgh. Sixty-five people accepted Christ and 80 were baptized at a recent “Pitt for Jesus” worship service.

Jake Overman, a tight end on the Pitt Panthers football team, helped organized the event.

“In the time our nation is in, I think a lot of people are looking for answers and looking for people to be bold one way or another,” he said, according to “Crosswalk Headlines.” “As believers, we have to rise up and be bold in our faith, and there’s nobody better to do that than a football program on a campus.”

Overman, offensive lineman Caleb Holmes and defensive lineman Joey Zelinsky shared their testimonies at the event. Earlier this month, Ohio State University athletes similarly took part in a campus worship night. Overman said his faith has grown in college.

“Right now, there are so many distractions going on in the world,” he said. “There is so much happening — there’s politics, social media, different beliefs. In the midst of all of that, we know that there is one truth, and that truth is found in Jesus.”

A recent Barna report found that Gen Z church attendance has risen every year since 2022, with today’s young adults attending more often than older generations in a striking reversal of past trends. Millennials also are returning to church at higher rates than in previous years. An April Barna survey further showed that personal commitment to Jesus is climbing nationwide, led by Gen Z and millennials. More than six in 10 in both generations say they have made a commitment to Jesus that remains central to their lives today.

Sarah Sharar, who graduated from Pitt this year, shared her testimony at the campus event. “People want the real deal with things,” she said. “They don’t want things that are fake. There’s a spiritual awakening. We’re seeing the visible power of God. People’s lives are being transformed, and they can’t stop talking about it.”

Overman agreed.

“If God can touch a football team, then he could touch a campus,” he told CBN News. “And if he could touch a campus, we think he could touch a city. If you could touch a city we believe that he could touch a state. If he could touch a state, he could touch a country.”