{"id":50660,"date":"2026-05-06T09:24:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:24:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=50660"},"modified":"2026-05-06T09:24:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T13:24:56","slug":"all-in-for-christ-carolina-panthers-teammates-baptized-publicly-declare-their-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2026\/05\/all-in-for-christ-carolina-panthers-teammates-baptized-publicly-declare-their-faith.html","title":{"rendered":"&#8216;All In For Christ&#8217;: Carolina Panthers Teammates Baptized, Publicly Declare Their Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_50663\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-50663\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/05\/Teammates-Baptized_credit-Sheena_Marie3-X.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-50663\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-media.beliefnet.com\/sites\/87\/2026\/05\/Teammates-Baptized_credit-Sheena_Marie3-X.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-50663\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">@Sheena_Marie3 \/ X<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Two members of the Carolina Panthers are stepping into the new season with more than just football on their minds\u2014they&#8217;re stepping forward in faith.<\/p>\n<p>Running back Jonathon Brooks and linebacker Princely Umanmielen were baptized together Sunday at Vizion Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, making a bold, public declaration of their commitment to Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">The team that prays together, stays together. <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Panthers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#Panthers<\/a> teammates Jonathon Brooks and Princely Umanmielen were baptized today; Chuba Hubbard was also in attendance to support.<br \/>\n? <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/GriffinZett?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">@GriffinZett<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/rbdmm9rAVE\">pic.twitter.com\/rbdmm9rAVE<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Sheena Quick (@Sheena_Marie3) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Sheena_Marie3\/status\/2048565674352451752?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 27, 2026<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>For Brooks, the moment carries even deeper meaning. His journey to this point hasn&#8217;t been easy. After suffering two ACL tears, the young athlete has faced both physical and emotional challenges that tested his resilience and faith. But through it all, he&#8217;s remained anchored in trust.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Dear God\u2026I trust in your plan,&#8221; Brooks <a href=\"https:\/\/sportsspectrum.com\/sport\/football\/2026\/04\/29\/panthers-jonathon-brooks-princely-umanmielen-baptized\/\">wrote<\/a> after his second injury, a simple but powerful prayer that reflects his mindset.<\/p>\n<p>He later <a href=\"https:\/\/www.panthers.com\/news\/panthers-jonathon-brooks-reflects-on-past-year-as-he-eyes-return-acl-running-back\">described<\/a> the ups and downs of recovery as &#8220;an emotional roller coaster,&#8221; but pointed to a bigger purpose behind the pain. &#8220;I know that God has a plan for me and I know that He makes no mistakes,&#8221; he said. &#8220;He&#8217;s using my story to show the world the amazing things He can do.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Now cleared to return to the field, Brooks says he feels close to full strength and is focused on steady progress. But his outlook goes beyond football. &#8220;When you&#8217;re a believer, it&#8217;s not just God&#8217;s part,&#8221; he explained. &#8220;You have to kind of meet Him in the middle\u2026 trust that He has a plan, but you also have to put in the work.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>For Umanmielen, faith has long been central to his journey, dating back to his college days at Ole Miss. He&#8217;s spoken openly about the importance of building a personal relationship with God\u2014something that grew stronger over time.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Just keeping my trust in Jesus Christ and God,&#8221; he said, emphasizing the role of discipline and routine in his spiritual life.<\/p>\n<p>His mother also played a key role, faithfully praying with him before games. But as his career progressed, Umanmielen felt called to take greater ownership of his faith. &#8220;I really took it upon myself to find a closer relationship with God,&#8221; he shared.<\/p>\n<p>That personal decision now culminates in baptism\u2014a step that symbolizes new life, surrender, and a public declaration of belief.<\/p>\n<p>As both players prepare for the upcoming NFL season, their shared moment in the water serves as a powerful reminder that identity isn&#8217;t found in performance, stats, or success\u2014but in Christ alone.<\/p>\n<p>In a league often defined by competition and pressure, Brooks and Umanmielen are choosing to lead with something deeper: a faith that grounds them, strengthens them, and ultimately defines who they are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Two members of the Carolina Panthers are stepping into the new season with more than just football on their minds\u2014they&#8217;re stepping forward in faith. Running back Jonathon Brooks and linebacker Princely Umanmielen were baptized together Sunday at Vizion Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, making a bold, public declaration of their commitment to Jesus Christ. The&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":50663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-50660","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-television"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>&#039;All In For Christ&#039;: Carolina Panthers Teammates Baptized, Publicly Declare Their Faith<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Panthers teammates Jonathon Brooks and Princely Umanmielen were baptized, boldly declaring faith in Christ ahead of the NFL season.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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