About five people signed up to be baptized at the University of Toledo on September 14. By the end of the night, about fifty had gone into the water. I have run follow-up after nights like this, and that gap is the whole story: a plan built for five now owes fifty. Football's Ben Sahakian, quarterback John Alan Richter, and volleyball's Janelle Green led it. Local churches handed out Bibles. The work starts when the shirts are still wet.
Article Summary
- Monday, September 14, 2026, Fetterman Training Center: about 400 people, about 50 baptisms. About five had signed up beforehand.
- Leaders: football defensive end Ben Sahakian, quarterback John Alan Richter, volleyball's Janelle Green.
- About eight local churches and seven on-campus ministries helped. After the water: Bibles, devotionals, a book, local church information.
- Lina AbuJamra of Living With Power asked the next day: They got baptized. Now what?
- A follow-up plan built for five now owes fifty.
| What Monday held | What Tuesday still owes |
|---|---|
| Sahakian, Richter, and Green leading | Older believers who will walk with one student |
| Worship, a gospel message, testimonies | Prayer and church the week after |
| A tub on the turf, about 50 baptisms | Someone who will open a Bible with them |
| A clip that will travel | Ten years of following Jesus, AbuJamra's prayer |
Attendance, baptisms, and leader names from Sports Spectrum, September 17, 2026. Follow-up framing from Lina AbuJamra, Living With Power, September 16, 2026.
How the night arrived
UToledo Baptism Night reel on Instagram
Ben Sahakian had the idea at Cornell, and a campus baptism night never came together there. He transferred to Toledo, had dinner the first night with starting quarterback John Alan Richter, and went golfing the next day. Sahakian told him the vision, and Richter said he had had the same one two years earlier. A mutual friend later connected Sahakian with Janelle Green, a volleyball transfer from Cincinnati, and the three of them started planning. Seven weeks later they had a night, as Cole Claybourn reported for Sports Spectrum.
Then we started worshiping, and I don't really know what happened. It was truly God.
Ben Sahakian, to Sports Spectrum
About five people had signed up when worship started. Then more kept coming, about fifty by the end: students and people who were not students, children and adults, including an 80-year-old man. Sahakian baptized his cousin and several teammates, and he told Sports Spectrum the Lord really worked it out.
PRO TIP I have run follow-up after events like this. Hand someone a Bible, then set a reminder for seven days out and actually ask how the week went. The reminder is the part most of us skip.
After the water
Newly baptized people met a follow-up crew with a Bible, devotionals, a book, and names of local churches. About eight churches and seven campus ministries had already been in the building, which means the night was never only the athletes.
Getting someone interested in Jesus and teaching someone to build a life around Jesus are two very different things.
Lina AbuJamra, Living With Power, Sept 16, 2026
AbuJamra was there as a sponsor, then wrote They Got Baptized. Now What? the morning after, while the night was still in her bones. Her challenge is the one I trust: find one younger person and walk with them. She is praying that ten years from now the students in that water are still following Jesus, which is a longer prayer than a clip can hold.
Young adults who are coming to church more often name prayer as a reason they show up, which is the same ordinary hunger I keep seeing in these rooms. The full Barna snapshot lives in the worldwide piece if you want the numbers in one place.
Obedience is Monday
I keep thinking about the person who went home in a wet shirt with a Bible and no plan. I ran follow-up in youth ministry, and the week after is where most of it failed, even when the night had been beautiful. Sahakian is a fifth-year graduate-student player whose Toledo window is short. The athletes opened a door. The churches already in the building get to keep it open.
If you are in Toledo, find one of the fifty. If you are not, find one where you are. That is the whole assignment, and it will still be the assignment in October.
PRO TIP Read Matthew 28 in the Bible app inside the WWJD.COM SuperApp. The commission is baptize and teach. Set the seven-day reminder before you close the app.
After the water, walk
- Read Sports Spectrum for the leaders' names and Lina AbuJamra for the now-what.
- Pray for Sahakian, Richter, Green, and the about 50, including the 80-year-old.
- Watch the night-of reel from @utoledo.baptism_.
- If you are near Toledo, ask one of the eight churches how follow-up is going, then offer to take one student.
- Find one younger believer and walk with them this month.
FAQ
How many people were baptized?
Sports Spectrum reported about 50, from a gathering of about 400, on September 14, 2026. About five had signed up before worship started.
Who led it?
UToledo athletes: football DE Ben Sahakian, QB John Alan Richter, volleyball's Janelle Green. About eight local churches and seven on-campus ministries helped. Instagram: @utoledo.baptism_.
Where and when did it happen?
Fetterman Training Center at the University of Toledo, Monday, September 14, 2026.
What is Living With Power's part?
Lina AbuJamra's ministry helped sponsor the night. The next day she wrote They Got Baptized. Now What?. Her challenge: find one younger person and walk with them.
Did they plan discipleship?
They staffed a follow-up table with Bibles, devotionals, a book, and local church information. A plan built for five now owes fifty.
Where can I watch the night?
The students posted this reel from @utoledo.baptism_. Sports Spectrum also embedded that clip in its report.
Sources
- Sports Spectrum: Athlete-led Toledo baptism night: the Lord worked it out
- Lina AbuJamra: They Got Baptized. Now What? (Sept 16, 2026)
- Instagram: @utoledo.baptism_ reel from Sept 14
- Instagram: @utoledo.baptism_
- WWJD.COM: UK ocean baptisms
- WWJD.COM: Worldwide youth awakening
- WWJD.COM: Faith Is Rising
- WWJD.COM: Statement of Faith
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