He is an athlete from the United States who competes in team and individual archery. In 2007 and 2011, he won gold in the Pan American Games. In 2010, he won gold in the Archery World Cup. And in 2009 and 2011, he won gold in the World Indoor Archery Championships. He led the United States archery team in the London 2012 Olympics to a silver medal in the team archery competition.
He accepted Jesus Christ into his heart when he was a child, but at the time, he said, “I never knew what that meant. I believe that God saved me from dying in a horrible car accident in Vermont, and from there I started to take my faith a little more seriously. I met a man named Jansen Asbill and he really opened my eyes to the Lord. And then my wonderful girlfriend and family helped change me for the better.”
Regarding how his faith impacts his sport, he says, “Once I put winning in God’s hands, I stopped worrying about that. I just went to tournaments and shot with no fear, doing only the best I can do and leaving the rest up to God.” His name is Brady Ellison.
She is an American track and field athlete, known primarily for running the 400 meters. She is the NCAA and American indoor record holder in that event. She was also a United States representative to the 2011 World Championships in Athletics and she anchored Team USA to a gold medal in the 4 x 400-meter relay at the 2011 World Championships in South Korea. She was a part of the U.S. Women’s Track & Field team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. She and her team won gold in the 4 × 400 meter relay competition.
Before she left for the 2012 Olympics in London, she said of the race, “I want to win for Jesus Christ. It’s a tough race, but if you have faith in God and faith in yourself and just faith in your training and what you’ve been working towards, it can be fun. It’s all about your mindset.” She says of her faith, “I tell my friends and family all the time, ‘Jesus is the one who gave me this ability.’ I can’t get out here and run on the track by myself. It’s all Him. He blessed me with this talent, and I just want to use it to glorify Him. No matter how fast I run, it’s important to not get ahead of God. I make sure He is leading the way on and off the track.” Her name is Francena McCorory.
The New York Giants and the New England Patriots will meet today in Indianapolis for Super Bowl 46. And for so many Americans, this is the biggest event of the year. But some of the men who play on the field will be quick to tell you that football — even the Super Bowl — is not the main thing in life.
Devin Thomas, a wide receiver for the New York Giants who was a decisive player in the NFC Championship Game that sent the Giants to the Super Bowl says, “Jesus Christ is my Lord and Savior and I put Him first. He’s given me this opportunity to showcase on a large scale about the work He has done in my life.”
Danny Woodhead, running back for the New England Patriots and two time Harlon Hill Trophy Winner, says “Without my relationship with Christ nothing else really matters. This is obviously the greatest situation to be in in football and in my athletic career but my faith comes first.”
Prince Amukamara, cornerback for the New York Giants, says “My faith has helped me because I know it’s an audience of one and that I’m just performing for Jesus.”
Matthew Slater, wide receiver and special teams captain for the New England Patriots, says, “I’m a true believer that God is in control. You know, Romans 8:28 says that God is going to work everything together for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. So, you have to at the end of the day just trust the plan. And trust that we don’t always know what the plan is but it’s not up to us to know what the plan is. It’s God’s plan.”
Hakeem Nix, wide receiver for the New York Giants and one time NFL Offensive Rookie of the Month, says “I’m all in. I’m all in with Christ … He put me here to exalt Him and humble myself.”
Deion Branch, wide receiver for the New England Patriots, two time Super Bowl Champion, and one-time Super Bowl MVP, says “Life is bigger than football. You can’t do this forever. What I’m going to be is a God-fearing Christian.”
She is one of the most prominent American fitness and aerobics instructors. She has the #1 inspirational Fitness Video in America, “Sweating in the Spirit” followed by ”Body Gospel”. She has starred in more than 25 award winning videos including the best selling “Buns of Steel”. She was appointed to the Presidential Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition under both President Bush and President Obama.
She was inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame and was named by Essence Magazine as “one of the twenty five most inspiring women in America”. She is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for creating and leading the world’s largest line dance, with over 50,000 participants at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Megafest conference in Atlanta, Georgia. On top of all of that, she is a wife and a mother. She is the wife of the hardest working man in radio, the “Flyjock”, Tom Joyner, and together they have raised two great sons. Her purpose and passion in life is to educate, empower, and energize women, children and families about living a healthy lifestyle.
Growing up in the church, she came to a new level in her relationship with Jesus Christ when troubles in a relationship caused her to do some soul searching. She often encourages her audiences to honor God by taking care of their bodies. She says of her work, “For the past 20 years, I have traveled to over 30 countries helping people get healthier. My greatest challenge was here – my family, my church, my community, and our country. Most people have tried everything, but there was one missing ingredient: God. While it is easy to ‘fall off the wagon’, there is no such thing as falling off the wagon with God. There’s only the chance to be caught by Him.” Her name is Donna Richardson-Joyner.
He is an NFL football player who plays inside linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. After a 10-year drought, he is partly responsible for helping his team reach the playoffs this season. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers, in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi. During his senior season at Ole Miss, he was awarded the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award as the nation’s top linebacker. A year later as a member of the 49ers, he led the NFL in tackles, earned First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors while being named the 2007 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He has earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in all five years he has played in the NFL. He is the only player to receive the Butkus Award for best linebacker in more than one category. He is regarded by many as the best inside linebacker in professional football.
He says of his faith, “My grandmother was a big influence on my life. Through her, I learned about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. My grandmother always told us about faith and always put us in church.” When he joined the San Francisco team five seasons ago, they were a losing team. But he never doubted that’s where God wanted him to play. He recalls the prayer he prayed just before the NFL draft, he said, “Lord, you know I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’ve done everything I could possibly do to put myself in the best situation. Wherever you bless me to go, that’s where I’m going to play the best football I can possibly play. Whatever happens on this day, it’s your will.” He goes further to say, “No matter the outcome of a game, my No.1 goal is to glorify God. I always pray, Lord, I don’t know what today’s game is going to be like, but I pray that you bless me to go out here and play for you. Be a soldier for your army, go out here and lead this team the way you want me to lead it.” His name is Patrick Willis.
He is a New York Times bestselling author many times over. He is also an attorney. He is best known for his popular legal thrillers such as “A Time to Kill”. He began writing in 1984, and had his first novel “A Time To Kill” published in June 1989.
As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide, and he is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing. His first best seller was “The Firm”. Released in 1991, it sold more than seven million copies. The book was later adapted into a feature film. Seven of his other novels have been adapted into films as well, including: The Chamber, The Client, A Painted House, The Pelican Brief, Skipping Christmas, The Rainmaker, and The Runaway Jury. His books have been translated into 29 languages and published worldwide.
He and his wife teach Sunday School at First Baptist Church of Oxford. He says of the millions that he makes from his writing, “I used to ask God all the time, why me? I don’t know why it happened to me. God has a purpose for it. We are able to contribute an awful lot of money to his work, and maybe that’s why…Both my wife and I have middle-class backgrounds and we’ve struggled with the overnight financial rewards of being a best-selling author. We give a lot of money to churches, missions, charities.” He not only shares his wealth but he also shares his time by taking missions trips and putting his physical back to work along with his financial backing. The missions trips help him remain aware of how much he has and how little some other people have on which to survive each day.
He tells of his salvation experience, “I was eight years old. We lived in Arkansas at the time. Back then, my father often worked seven days a week. My mother had us bathed and scrubbed and in church every Sunday. She’s a devout Christian. I came under conviction when I was in the third grade, and I talked with my mother. I told her, ‘I don’t understand this, but I need to talk to you.’ We talked, and she led me to Jesus. The following Sunday I made a public confirmation of my faith. In one sense, it was not terribly eventful for an eight-year-old, but it was the most important event in my life. It did not readily change me, but it was very real nonetheless.” His name is John Grisham.
He is the quarterback for the Carolina Panthers of the NFL. He was drafted as the first overall pick by the Panthers in the 2011 NFL Draft, becoming the third player to win the Heisman Trophy, a national championship, and be the first overall pick in the NFL draft all in the same one-year span.
He played college football for the Auburn Tigers. He became just the third player in major college football history to both rush and pass for 20 or more touchdowns in a single season. His performance earned him the Heisman Trophy as the most outstanding college football player, and he led Auburn to their second national championship in school history. In his NFL debut, he became the first rookie quarterback in NFL history to throw for 400 yards in his NFL regular-season opener, breaking Peyton Manning’s rookie record.
He stood tall on and off the field in victory, after overcoming hurdles during the regular season that included an NCAA investigation. After winning the national championship in college football, he was quick to offer praise to God. “It’s just a God thing,” he told a crush of reporters as he stood on the field. “I thank God every single day. I’m just His instrument and He’s using me on a consistent basis daily.”
In his remarks after the game, he continued to marvel at the ways God is using him. “He’s using me to extend his Word and I’m a prime example of how God could turn something that was bad into something that was very great.” “If God is with me who can be against me.” His name is Cam Newton.
He is no doubt one of the most talented persons living today. He is an actor, director, playwright, entrepreneur, screenwriter, producer, author, and songwriter. He is the baddest man in entertainment. He wrote and produced many stage plays over the past two decades. In 2005, he released his first film, Diary of a Mad Black Woman. Since then he has produced other well-known plays and movies including: Madea’s Family Reunion, Daddy’s Little Girls, Meet the Browns, Why Did I Get Married?, I Can Do Bad All By Myself, and his latest Good Deeds. As of June 2011, his films had grossed over $500 million worldwide. Family, faith, and forgiveness are recurring themes in his movies, television shows, and books. In 2011, Forbes named him the highest paid man in entertainment, earning $130 million between May 2010 and 2011.
Growing up in an abusive home, his mother took him to church each week and it is here that he sensed a certain refuge and contentment. He says of his faith, “My faith is extremely important. I am a Christian, I am a believer, and I know had I not been a person of faith, I couldn’t be here in this place, and I wouldn’t be walking the path that I’m on now. And I think the greater good of the path I’m on now is to teach people to learn to forgive and move on, in a way that’s done through the healing power of humor. Because of my faith in God, because of my love and my belief–everything in my life, no matter how bad, work together for my good. His name is Tyler Perry.
He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in NFL history. He invented the now popular 4-3 defense, and the “flex defense” system made famous by the “Doomsday Defense” squads he created during his 29 year tenure with the Dallas Cowboys.
He won two Super Bowl titles (Superbowl 6 and Superbowl 12), 5 NFC titles, 13 Divisional titles, and compiled a 270-178-6 record, the 3rd most wins of all time for an NFL coach. His 20 career playoff victories are the most of any coach in NFL history. He was named the NFL Coach of the Year in 1966 and the NFC Coach of the Year in 1975. His most impressive professional accomplishment is his 20 consecutive winning seasons (1966–1985), an NFL record that remains unbroken and unchallenged. It remains one of the longest winning streaks in all of professional sports history.
He recalled his spiritual journey of attending church with his parents as a child. But as he climbed through the ranks of football, he experienced a “restlessness and emptiness” on the inside. As he neared the top of his profession, he wondered why his happiness at his achievements didn’t seem to last. Two years later, he shared his restlessness with a friend who invited him to church. At 35 years of age and having attended church all of his life, he had never entered into a personal relationship with Christ. After attending this church service, he gave his heart to Jesus Christ. He said of his faith, “I’ve often said that if they would have told me you’re saved by grace, it would have saved me a lot of time. It took me a while to get through all the facts to really understand the Bible and what the gospel of Jesus Christ was all about…I believed my destiny always had been controlled by a power greater than the Cowboys’ ability to win football games. As a Christian, I know my life is in God’s hands. He has a plan for me. Therefore, I never worry about tomorrow or never worry about winning or losing football games. That knowledge gives me a lot of composure in tough situations.” His name is Tom Landry.
I thank God for the life of Tim Tebow, however we need to remember today that there is a long line of Christian men who represented Jesus Christ on the gridiron, and the most distinguished gentleman of all time, and my personal favorite, is none other than Tom Landry. Tim Tebow is continuing that long tradition of men who use the football stage as a platform to share the glorious gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He led his team, the New Orleans Saints, to a Superbowl Victory in 2010. He was also MVP of Super Bowl 44. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl five times in his career – with the Chargers in 2004 and the Saints in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010. He was named the NFL’s Comeback Player of the Year in 2004 and the Offensive Player of the Year in 2008. He was also selected by voters to appear on the cover of Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL 11. Sports Illustrated named him as its 2010 Sportsman of the Year. He and his wife founded, the Brees Dream Foundation to advance research in the fight against cancer and to help rebuild what was lost in Hurricane Katrina. In his book, Coming Back Stronger, he chronicles his journey with the underlying message of never giving up and following God’s plan.
He says of His faith, “I live for God, for the faith that I have in Him. Knowing the sacrifices that Jesus Christ made on the cross for me and feeling like it’s in God’s hands, all I have to do is just give my best, commit the rest to Him. Everything else is taken care of. That takes the weight off anybody’s shoulders. It’s to give you confidence to know that you’ve got somebody looking out for you.” His name is Drew Brees.
She is a track and field athlete, who competes internationally for the United States of America. She is an Olympic gold medalist, winning gold at the Beijing 2008 Olympics as a member of the United States’ Women’s 4 x 400 meters team. She is also a two-time Olympic silver medalist at 200 meters, as well as the only woman ever to be a three-time Athletics World Championship gold medalist for that distance. She is also a member of President Barack Obama’s Council for Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition.
Raised in a Christian home in Southern California where her father was an ordained minister and New Testament professor, she sees her running ability as a gift from God. She says of her faith, “My faith is the reason I run – it calms my heart and makes everything feel like a lift. My speed is definitely a gift from Him, and I run for His glory. Whatever I do, He allows me to do it.” Her name is Allyson Felix.
By his early teens, he was constantly in fist fights, selling hard drugs and sleeping with married women. He continued to slide deeper into a life of violence and crime until he became a Shotgunner – an armed guard for drug dealers. His father, a former marine, grew fond of saying “Boy, somebody’s gonna kill you one of these days!”
Haunted by his father’s words, he became increasingly concerned that he was going to be killed because of drugs and slowly began to distance himself from his former life. Soon, his wife, Lynn, accepted Jesus Christ and helped bring him to Christ as well. After committing his life to Jesus, he kicked his drug addiction, built a church, became its preacher and managed a thriving construction business in Pennsylvania.
But in 1998, he went to Uganda as a volunteer for a construction project. That one trip, which was supposed to last only a few weeks, drastically changed the course of his life, his family and of hundreds of children in southern Sudan. Since 1998, he has spent his time in Africa rescuing children from being recruited as child soldiers or being forced into sex trafficking. He also runs an orphanage in Southern Sudan. His name is Sam Childers, and he is now known as the “Machine Gun Preacher.”
Beyond his stellar college football career with the University of Florida, he played for the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals. He is the winner of 4 NFL rushing titles, and is the first player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in 11 consecutive seasons. In 2002, he surpassed Walter Payton’s All-Time Leading Rushing Record of 16,726 yards to become the NFL’s All-Time Leading Rusher. During his career, he led the NFL in rushing 4 times, won 3 Super Bowl Titles, League MVP honors in 1993, the Super Bowl MVP Award (in Super Bowl 28), and has been selected to the Pro Bowl 8 times. He is the only running back to ever win a Super Bowl championship, the NFL Most Valuable Player award, the NFL rushing crown, and the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player award all in the same season in 1993. He finished his career with a total of 18,355 yards. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2010, and is the first player from the 1990 NFL Draft to be inducted.
A devout Christian and family man, he shows his strong belief in God in his daily life and in projects that he uses to help others such as the Charities for Underserved Children which he heads with his wife. He urges Christians to pursue their God-given dreams and to combine persistence, humility, determination, courage and faith to be a winner in their calling. His name is Emmitt Smith.
He is a former NBA basketball star who played in more consecutive games than any other player in NBA and ABA history. With 1,192 straight games played, he earned the nickname “Iron Man”. He played for the Los Angeles Lakers, Phoenix Suns, Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat. He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 2003. He is a three time NBA champion in 1987, 1988, and 2000. He was an NBA All-Star in 1990 and Pac-10 Conference Player of the Year in 1984. At the 2011 All Star Breakfast, he was awarded the Bobby Jones Award for character, leadership, and faith in the world of basketball at home and in the community. He is also well-known for beginning and ending his NBA career as a virgin. Currently, he runs youth camps through his foundation promoting abstinence until marriage.
While growing up in a very religious home, he did not accept Jesus Christ into His life until he was on his way to college with a full-ride basketball scholarship. Being an All-American player, and being very popular, he says of his salvation experience, “I had a lot of things going for me but at the same time I was very empty on the inside. Something was wrong. I finally decided that the most important thing for me to do was to find out what it took to go to heaven and understand more about this Jesus person that I have heard so much about.” He goes on to say, “I was at a church in Hermanston, Oregon and the amazing thing was that God really spoke through the Minister. He had a sermon that day, in which he asked, ‘do you want to go to heaven or do you want to go to hell?’ He spoke from what I now know as the gospel. I had to make a decision whether I wanted to trust Jesus and live by the standards that He set or be someone who seeks to please man.” Out of his ten friends that were with him that day, he was the only one to go to the altar that Sunday morning and accept Jesus Christ into his life. He said, “I learned that it wasn’t important to be a people pleaser, but to be a man who pleases his Lord and Savior…Now, I put everything on the line for Jesus.” His name is A.C. Green.
He is recognized as a hero for his actions aboard United Airlines Flight 93 on that fateful day of September 11, 2001. After United Airlines Flight 93 was hijacked, he and other passengers communicated with people on the ground via in-plane and cell phones, and learned that the World Trade Center had been attacked using hijacked airplanes. Trying to place a credit card call through a phone located on the back of a plane seat, he was routed to GTE supervisor Lisa Jefferson. He reported that one passenger was killed and, later, that a flight attendant had told him the pilot and co-pilot had been forced from the cockpit and may have been wounded. He was also on the phone when the plane made its turn in a southeasterly direction. He later informed Lisa Jefferson that some of the plane’s passengers were planning to “jump on” the hijackers and fly the plane into the ground before the hijackers’ plan could be followed through. Before ending the phone call, he recited The Lord’s Prayer with Jefferson, and his reported last audible words were, “Are you guys ready? Let’s roll.” He and his wife taught Sunday School at their church for six years, and he is known today as a man of faith, selflessness, and courage. He was posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2002. His name is Todd Beamer.
The Gospel Light Minute 