One80: Testimonies of Transformation
Be inspired by stories of Christian transformation from around the world--and next door! Hear miraculous coming-to-Jesus stories from all walks of life and be amazed at how God writes a story in all of us. One80 is a production of OneWay Ministries.
One80: Testimonies of Transformation
86, From Touchdown to Faith: Wes Tucker
What happens when your entire identity and self-worth are wrapped up in athletic performance, and suddenly that's taken away? Wesley Tucker, an offensive lineman at Baylor University, lived this reality when a devastating injury sidelined him just as he was beginning to rebuild his relationship with God.
Growing up with sporadic church attendance, Wes had basic knowledge of Christianity but lacked genuine faith. By high school, football had become his god – dictating his sense of value based on performance. "I had a good game, I loved myself. I had a bad game, I hated myself," he recalls. Though he accepted Christ around age 15 after a powerful youth camp experience, that commitment faded as athletic achievement again took center stage.
Arriving at Baylor as a freshman, Wes faced the jarring transition from high school star to bottom of the depth chart. Searching for validation, he made choices that pulled him further from faith. But God wasn't finished with him. Through Baylor's team Bible study, Wes gradually reconnected with his faith. Then came the defining moment – a catastrophic knee injury that ended his season. Lying on the field in excruciating pain, something shifted: "Okay God, it's yours. You want my attention? You have it."
What followed was remarkable. Instead of despair, Wes found peace. The injury that stripped away his athletic identity became the catalyst for complete surrender. On December 17, 2024, surrounded by teammates, Wes was baptized – making "an outward profession of an inward transformation." Today, former drinking buddies attend church with him, inspired by his journey.
Have you tied your identity to something as fragile as performance or achievement? Listen to Wes's powerful testimony of finding purpose beyond the field and discovering that no one is ever too far gone for transformation.
Helpful links:
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Baylor Sports Ministry Discipleship
Ohio State Football Team Awakening
ESPN discusses football players faith being lived out
Austin Football Player interrupts press conference to give glory to God
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OneWay Ministries
Welcome back. We're putting together an awesome season four for you, but in the meantime, we had to get you a couple stories of what God is doing on college campuses, which is just incredible. So we've got some special shows highlighting college football and Unite US.
ESPN:But it seems that both faith in above and faith in one another is what got Ohio State through. I should talk to them But it seems that both faith and above and faith in one another is what got Ohio State through. I should talk to them. What did they share? You know, that was something, Emeka Egbuka and I talked about this when I went to visit with Ryan Day and several the players before the Tennessee game, few days before that. And
ESPN:you know, I mean, look, we hear a lot of times people talk about their faith and people. Sort of dismiss it. These guys were sharing their faith and reaching out and baptizing guys on campus, you know, not just football teammates. And it became something powerful then. Not because they thought it was going to be handed to them to win a game, but it developed, it changed their relationships.
Margaret Ereneta:If you happened to pay attention to college football this year, you might have noticed that faith came alive in many players and was noticeable in victory speeches and with lots of media, so exciting. One of thos students happens to be Baylor offensive lineman Wes Tucker. We sat down with Wes to talk about his personal transformation this year and his baptism. Welcome to Wes's 180.
Wes Tucker:My name is Wesley Tucker and I'm from Argyle, texas, growing up in the church for me kind of a basic story. I had a family, we went to church sometimes, sometimes we didn't. You know, I always kind of knew about God, about Jesus, about the story, but it was more so just, I'm just doing this on some of the Sundays because my parents said so and then as I started to grow up and get a little bit older, obviously sports became God in my life. It was who I was, it was what I did, it was everything. It was what I decided either made me a good person one day or a bad person the next day. It was all based on how I was doing in my sport.
Wes Tucker:The true idea of God and all that kind of just pushed it off to the side. People would ask like are you a Christian? Oh yeah, I'm a Christian, but you know, not really. And then I started kind of getting involved in like this youth camp. It was a church camp out in East Texas and it was just so powerful and almost like shocking to me seeing people my age and then people who are a little bit older within, like the staff and the counselors and whatnot, who just seem like so on fire for God and like the love they had for to me.
Wes Tucker:This like idea or concept that I never truly got or understood was just wild to me, and so it piqued an interest. Luckily for me, there was enough good people who were willing to pour out onto me and work to me to where I came to know Christ and I decided like, yeah, this is for me, this is what I want, this is who I want to be, and when I was probably about 15, 14 or 15, it was when I accepted Christ into my heart. It was the first time I really said yes to Jesus and actually meant it, and so that's kind of how it started. However, it didn't last as long as it should have, or I wished it would have.
Margaret Ereneta:However, is a big part of many people's testimonies. Wes made a genuine faith profession, but he left it, turned away from the Lord for a while and later came back to a renewed faith in Christ. If you have a however in your story, rest assured you have a story to tell and we call it a reckoning. Listen in.
Wes Tucker:You know, you come off that Jesus high where everything seems so great and everything's so easy, because you say that you love God so much and you do all this. But then, once things start to get a little bit difficult and the aspect of discipline comes into play, you start to fall back. Sophomore year of high school and all that, like football, became God in my life. I prioritized football. I said I have to go D1. I have to be a great player, I have to do all this, this and that, and it was all that I was. All I cared about was football. I thought that football was what made me special. I thought it was what would make people like me. I thought it was what would make my dad proud of me.
Wes Tucker:I have an older brother and he plays football as well and I thought, well, if I can just be as good as him, then I'll be enough. And it just never was, because it was so inconsistent. I had a good game, I loved myself. I had a bad game, I hated myself. There was never an in-between. It was either I'm the best or I'm the worst and I just that's all, all I ever cared about. And then I was lucky enough to where a handful of schools were offering me scholarships and wanted me to come play for them, and Baylor ended up being one of my favorite offers. They really showed me that they wanted me and that they cared about me and that's ultimately why I came to Baylor and that was just so cool to me and it was just very exciting.
Wes Tucker:Everything was starting to trend upwards once again and I ended up graduating high school a semester early. My first semester at Baylor would have been my second semester of my senior year. So I got to Waco in January of 2023 and quickly realized that I was no longer the best at everything. I went from being pretty much the best to at the very bottom and that was hard for me and it's hard for a lot of people and you know it's obviously kind of expected, but it always hits you a lot harder than you think it does.
Wes Tucker:And as somebody who my whole identity and whole sense of self-worth was through my on-field performance, I'm sure you can imagine how bad it was when I was routinely the worst, how bad it was when I was routinely the worst, and through that I tried my best to find other things that would make me happy and make me feel like I was in control and I was doing things I shouldn't do. I was with people I shouldn't have been with, putting things in my body I never should, and trying so hard to say, like I can do this, or if I can get this girl to like me, like then I'll be enough, then I'll be cool, then I'll be valuable. And no matter how much of those things I was able to accomplish, it only got worse because I was filling my mind and my soul with terrible things and disregarding God and, at some point, almost like ignoring him.
Wes Tucker:Because it got to the point where I was recognizing like what I was doing was bad and I knew that I had the ability to do better and that's what God wanted me to do. But I was almost like too scared because then I would have to admit that I'm the issue, what I'm doing is wrong. I need to change those bad parts of myself and and and give up what, at the time, was making me feel good and I think for so long I was just too afraid to do that and I was afraid to do what was hard in order to grow and become better, which, like looking back, is like well, duh, that's what you have to do. But in the moment, even if you do know it's true, you just don't want to do it because it's hard and people are afraid of doing what's hard.
Wes Tucker:And then I end up making really good friends who are really good people, who are, they're like, attempting to pull me in. They're telling me to come to church with them, and I probably went over a full year in Waco without ever going to church. There was a Bible in a box when I moved to Waco that had never been opened, in a box when I moved to Waco that had never been opened. They're just completely infatuated with myself and what I wanted to do and disregarding the things that I even was aware of what was good for me. And so I was lucky enough that the good group of guys decided to bring me in meeting other people at Baylor who had a genuine interest in me and my salvation, which was like to me at the time, was like so weird.
Wes Tucker:But luckily I am blessed enough to go to a school where there's a lot of people who are like that, and this is where our team Bible study comes into play, and so we have a team Bible study that we do throughout the entire semester, each semester, and each semester is kind of like a different theme or a series. It was cool to me to see all of these guys on the team, who I had previously never been super close with or had any relationship with, all come together after we've just had two days of hard practice, a full week left. Everyone's tired, everyone wants to go home, we have homework, all this stuff, but they care so much about growing together and growing in the word that they are willing to do this and to me that was a little bit crazy, but it was also very motivating.
Wes Tucker:As time went on, I started to get more into it, I started to learn more, I started to grow more and it got to the point where new people would come and they would ask me for help, ask me for assistance, and I just thought that was crazy, because that's who I had been a year ago, six months before. That you realize like this is real, this is real, like this is working, this is I'm finally starting to make the positive change that God had been trying to get me to do for so long and that ended up just being like, really motivating.
Wes Tucker:I was kind of really trending upward, obviously still messing up in certain areas, but overall just trying my best to stack the little wins and really see the way that God was using me and working through me and really feeling the amount of love that he had for me and finally starting to follow His direction. And then this past season had started and things were not going super well and I still wasn't performing as well as I wanted to in football and I had allowed that to consume me and I was only focusing on my failures and shortcomings and I wasn't focusing on on my blessings and my gifts that I have been given that I got to the point where halfway through the season last year there was a playing practice where I got hit and I ended up tearing my ACL, mcl and meniscus.
Wes Tucker:Complete three-part tear required a complete three-part surgery. It's going to end up being close to a 10-month recovery and I remember being on the ground and being in so much pain and the only thing I could think was basically
Wes Tucker:"O kay, god, it's yours. Like you, you want my attention, you have it Like. Here you are I am. I am done holding back, I am done trying to be one foot in, one foot out. Here I am trying to be one foot in, one foot out. "Here I am, you have me."
Wes Tucker:At first I was so hard. I was like, okay, well, my season's completely over. I now pretty much bring no value to the team. I don't contribute, I'm not able to perform, I'm off to the sides, I'm behind everything. What am I good for? What am I good for Like who even am I now, you know? Like, what purpose do I serve If I can't play football? I don't deserve to be at Baylor. All of these thoughts.
Wes Tucker:But then I shortly realized, like no, that's not true, this is just a different direction in my life. And with that came such an overwhelming sense of of like peace and security and calmness. And I routinely found other people feeling a lot worse for me or feeling more sad for me than I felt for myself, which was like so interesting. And I realized that that was a way of God to work through me and show his power through me, and knowing that if I can stay strong and if I can be
Wes Tucker:good through this, all other people will see that. And the whole goal was for them to be like how is he doing so good, how are you doing okay?
Wes Tucker:And people asking me that, people asking others that, and I am then able to say, because I know that the Lord has me, I know that this happens for a reason.
Wes Tucker:I know that it will all make sense in the end. I know that he would never allow something so bad and damaging to occur if it wasn't for a greater purpose and a greater plan. And even if I had no clue what that was even at times when I have no clue what it is I have to understand why this is happening, why I'm doing this, who I'm doing this for, and that has allowed me to impact people and reach people in a way that I never would have been able to before. And then, continuing on with my faith, as the semester was coming to a close and our semester Bible study was ending, one of our main leaders of the Bible study Garrison Grimes is his name is an amazing friend of mine been so incredibly helpful in my faith. He said that two of the pastors from Harris Creek Baptist Church, jp and Nate were their names. He was like, hey, these guys are going to come and they're basically going to speak to us really quick, and they had even mentioned that they were open to doing baptisms.
Margaret Ereneta:Baptisms on a college campus with Pastor JP. Does this sound familiar to you? This is Wes Pastor pastor, but Jonathan Pecluda JP of Waco's Harris Creek Baptist Church happens to be the very same Pastor JP who is going to many college campuses all over the country baptizing. There's actually been 13,000 decisions made for Christ with this. So Wes' story is an example of stories being made all over the country
Wes Tucker:with college students. We'll link some of those exciting stories in the show notes.
Wes Tucker:And I remember the second. He said that it like really hit me hard because the idea of baptism had always frightened me a little bit. I was always like, well, I know I'm supposed to get baptized, but I don't think I'm good enough to get baptized. Maybe I'll wait another year to become a better Christian, so that way then I'll be good enough to be baptized. But then I realized that that's not what it's about. Baptism isn't something that you earn by completing enough tasks. It's you making an outward profession of an inward transformation. It's basically me saying God, I'm yours and I'm ready to fully be yours.
Wes Tucker:And so, on December 17th 2024, myself and four other teammates were baptized together, and I ended up being baptized by Garrison, and it was amazing. I remember coming out of the water and feeling just like a weight lifted off of me and knowing that this is who I'm supposed to be, that this is not a hobby, this is not something that I do to check a box like. This is my life, this is my purpose. And it hasn't been
Wes Tucker:all smooth sailing and sunshine and rainbows since then, but it it certainly has been much better than it ever was, because I I understand that the hard times are still going to be there. The struggles are still going to be there, the challenges are still going to be there, but I'm not going through them alone, and knowing who is inside of me and who is pushing me along has made me so much stronger than I ever thought I could
Wes Tucker:ever be, and so that is kind of a very long version of my story very long version of my story.
Margaret Ereneta:Next West talked about the change that happened in him and how he's now able to witness to the old friends and even bring them to church with him.
Wes Tucker:I think something that I encounter frequently is, unfortunately, there are people who I used to know, who their idea and perception of me is who I was when I knew them, and rightfully so. And so I frequently find myself in situations where people are asking me to do something or telling me to do this, this and that, and making jokes and everything, and I kind of just say like hey, like that's not, that's not me anymore, you know. But to be able to kind of have that access towards certain groups of people that others might not have, just because of who I was and what I've done, it's really special to be able to impact them, because I think other people might see it as well. If Wes can do this, then I can too, because it's it's no longer somebody who's kind of like a the picture perfect Christian who came in and has always done everything right.
Wes Tucker:You know, it's like we used to see that guy out on the bar or we used to see that guy with that girl and then with that girl, whereas, like now, it's like guys will come to me with questions and ideas and stuff and they're obviously afraid because they either don't want to branch out or if don't understand, and knowing. that there have been times where I can be that person for them because they don't feel comfortable going to anybody else,
Wes Tucker:is really special and I'm really grateful for that.
Wes Tucker:For them, because they don't feel comfortable going to anybody else, is really special and I'm really grateful for that. And so when people kind of heard about me getting baptized, it was like wow, well, if he can do it, then surely I can do it. And I have so many great friends who a year or two ago we started off as drinking buddies and now we're
Wes Tucker:going to church together all the time and in the same Bible study group and learning and growing together and kind of just choosing to leave the self and worldly glorifying ways in the past together, whereas for a long time I think there were a lot more people who were honestly just too afraid to start because they thought that they were too far gone.
Margaret Ereneta:So many people think they're too far gone. But don't give up on them, God can do anything. Wes ends his show with his advice for others living a dual, fake Christian life. Listen in.
Wes Tucker:I would say that try your best to truly give God a try and to truly look inside of yourself, because there's so many self-gratifying things that you can do that might feel good in the moment or might make you feel cool or powerful or valuable and whatnot. But think of those things and then try to think. If they have ever lasted, Think about those moments where you felt cool and think how long did that moment last, or was it truly fulfilling? You know the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result, and so you are truly insane if you think that this thing that continuously fails you is what the truth is, is what is going to work. And I also understanding that it is hard. But once you kind of find your purpose and your true calling and your true home and you find others who are looking for the same thing, you start to not care about what you used to really care about and it becomes a thing where it starts off as oh, I really want to, but I know I shouldn't, so I'm not going to, and then it ends up being that's not even a thought for me.
Wes Tucker:Something that we always focus on is don't flee from sin, run to God, and in doing that you will get further from sin. And so you can't just focus on leaving something. You have to focus on obtaining something else, and that is what will separate you from your past. And there have been so many times where I have made the wrong choice and just felt horrible. And so I guess a piece of advice for somebody who is really struggling in that aspect of living for the world and chasing self-gratification is just that once you understand just like how powerful and massive and amazing God is compared to who you are, then you'll kind of be like there's nothing I could give myself that's better than what he is trying to give me. And so just truly understanding and looking at yourself and inside of yourself and looking at what am I doing, why is it not working? Understanding why it's not working and learning what works and learning what works.
Margaret Ereneta:Thanks for listening today. We're so grateful that a Baylor student recommended Bay to be on 180. If you know somebody who has a story to tell, please share it with us. The link is in our show notes. And that Unite US movement on college campuses actually ended at Baylor with Pastor JP. We went there so you could get a front row seat to what it was like on college campuses actually ended at Baylor with Pastor JP. We went there so you could get a front row seat to what it was like. Listen in next week for our show on Unite US,
