More Than 700 Students Commit to Christ, About 100 Baptized at Appalachian State Rally

BOONE, N.C. —

More than 700 students at Appalachian State University made public commitments to follow Christ at a worship rally on the night of Tuesday, Oct. 13, and about 100 of them were baptized right after the meeting, according to the ministry that organized it and reports in CBN News and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association's Decision magazine.

The rally was held in the Holmes Convocation Center on the Boone campus. It was led by UniteUs, a campus ministry founded by Tonya Prewett, who spoke along with Jennie Allen. The baptisms took place in the backs of pickup trucks lined with plastic and filled with water, Decision reported.

Students wrote about the night on social media. “God was so present last night. Best night ever!” one wrote, according to both outlets. Another said there was “nothing more beautiful than watching people publicly declare their faith through baptism.” Decision reported that one student was overheard asking, “Can we just do it every night?”

Evangelist Franklin Graham, whose hometown is Boone, noted the rally on social media. “It's great to see God working in the lives of young people on college campuses across our country,” he wrote.

UniteUs held its first worship rally at Auburn University in September 2023. CBN News reported that the movement has since reached more than two dozen campuses and more than 100,000 students, and Decision said it has held events at Ohio State, Purdue and Georgetown universities. This fall it has already been to Pepperdine University and the University of Miami. The ministry says it works with local churches to disciple new believers after each event.

The next UniteUs outreaches are set for the University of South Alabama on Oct. 27 and Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn., on Nov. 10, according to Decision.