James Dearth

My whole life until I was 17 was all about athletics.

Athletics was the most important thing in my life, and I loved it more than anything in the whole world.  I didn’t know anything about God.  I knew there was a God, but I didn’t know anything about God.  I definitely didn’t know anything about Jesus, and would not have recognized the name if someone was saying it around me.  To me, Jesus was just someone’s name.

I thought I had it all.  I was successful in every sport I was involved in during my entire life and now I was starting my senior year bigger, stronger, and faster than I had ever been.  My goal was to dominate and win.  My ultimate goal was to play in the NFL, and nothing was going to stop me.

During my senior year, a kid named Scott Emerine moved into my town and started attending my school, Scurry-Rosser High.  We had a lot of classes together.  We became friends and at that time we were very different.  All I cared about was sports and winning, and all he cared about was Jesus and good grades.  He was a very good friend to me, and redefined the meaning that I had in my head of what a friend should be.  I could not make sense of why he continued to tell me stories about how this man named Jesus changed lives.

I heard testimony after testimony as we drove around together.  At the time, none of it made sense, but he continued to plant the seed.  That year, our football team was undefeated and many colleges were showing interest in me as a player.  My love for the game continued to grow. 

One day, Scott invited me to go to church with him.  It was the same church my girlfriend (my wife now) was going to, so I said yes.  I don’t remember what the service was about, but I left there knowing something in my life was missing.  I had questions – and many of them.  Why was I hurting inside despite having a loving family?  Why did I feel this great big void in my heart when I was doing so well in the thing I loved most in the world?  Why was I not going to heaven even though I considered myself a pretty good guy?

After many days and weeks of searching for the truth, the testimonies that Scott has shared with me began to make sense.  And one Sunday morning, I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ.  I finally realized that Jesus was the only Son of God, who came to die for all sins by shedding His innocent blood on the cross.  He paid a debt He did not owe, for a debt I could not pay.  I also realized that no matter how much I loved football, football could never love me back.  With Jesus, no matter how much I loved Him, I could never love Him as much as He loves me.

My new relationship with Jesus affected my life tremendously (2 Corinthians 5:17).  Football was no longer first in my life, and neither was I.  I no longer had a void in my heart.  Meeting Jesus was very humbling.  I thought I was a pretty good guy, but now I knew I was a sinner saved by grace, not by anything I could do on my own.  I no I could not do anything without Christ so I could not depend upon myself or my abilities, because I would fail. 

Since that day, my confidence comes through Jesus  (Galatians 2:20).  My mindset has changed altogether.  I do my best to lead my life according to God’s Word and lead my wife, Laurie, and my two children, Kaitlyn and Kendall, to do the same.  Every day I need to surrender my life to Jesus.  By getting to know Jesus and putting Him first, it allows me to serve others the way Jesus has called me to do.

On the field I try to lead by example, trying to be the hardest worker I can be, and making sure I am studying and know my job the best I can (Colossians 3:23).  I also do my best to be a friend to my teammates and all who are around me, using the example that was shown to me by Scott and His relationship with Jesus.  I try also to say encouraging words to my teammates, lifting them up whenever I can.

Just being in the NFL puts players in a tremendous spotlight.  Everyone is watching and following you and your teammates.  The world will tell you that being an athlete, being successful, and having lot of money makes you a man.  So many people look up to the players and watch their every move, wanting to get to know them somehow.  This leads to great opportunities to share the love of God with fans.

We get many opportunities to share our faith at speaking engagements. When fans want an autograph, it is easy to slip a Scripture under your name and number.  People care about what we have to say.

We get opportunities so hare our faith in the media as well.  With all this attention we also want to be active in opening some doors for the glory of God.  We must ask God for wisdom to realize when He has opened those doors for us to be used by Him.

Having a relationship with God has helped me on the field because I am confident in Him.  God has blessed me with the abilities I have for a reason.  God does not make mistakes (Proverbs 16:3).  I need to use these abilities to the glory of God.  I also know the way God thinks about me (Jeremiah 29:11).  Knowing God is important, because without knowing God, you can’t have much of a relationship with Him.  Having a good relationship with God allows you to know what He expects of you.  It also helps you to understand that you have to trust Him.  The Bible says that where I am weak, He is strong (Philippians 4:13).

God has always revealed Himself to me through athletics and has allowed me to grow because I have to lean so much on Him.  Because of my athletics background I can relate to Paul when he talks about running the race to win.  Winning is hard work – so is being a leader in your home and in your church.  Paul also talks about training and exercise.  We must train not only physically, but spiritually as well.  That’s why it’s important to get into the Word of God and pray every day.

I have a passion for reaching the lost, and I plan on being more active with the passions Jesus puts in my heart, such as starting football camp ministry in Dallas, TX.  Lord willing, I would like to start a football camp where NFL players, who follow Christ, can share their faith with young children.

The camp will be set up like an NFL mini-camp, with two-a-day practices and a single practice on Sunday.  We will have a service at the end of every day and on Sunday mornings.  After every practice, an NFL player will share his faith with the kids.  Not only would we see the lives of many change, but this would also minister to the players and those involved as well.  It’s amazing what can happen when believers come together for the cause of Christ.  Proceeds will go to scholarships for athletes and back into the ministry to sponsor children that cannot attend due to lack of funds.  I want to see as many kids reached as possible.  If the camp does well, we will be able to go into the poorer parts of the city and sponsor kids who have no hope.  This is important because we are trying to bring people to Christ (Matthew 28:19).  My long term goal with this camp is that it would grow and that we would have other camps just like it across the country.

Even through I travel with the team on Sundays, I try to remain active in my church.  My church puts on an event called Trunk or Treat on October 31^st, where we share the Gospel message with kids.  I also feel led to do a marriage Bible study with the football team this year.  The divorce rate in the NFL is very high, so hopefully I will be able to build some strong foundations into the marriages of my teammates and fellow players.  That foundation is Jesus Christ.

Nothing compares to the salvation you get in Jesus Christ.  It is the ultimate victory.  In football, when you win a championship, everyone is living it up for a few days and they automatically start thinking about the next championship.  When do you become satisfied with what you have?  As an athlete, you can never have enough victories – nothing will ever satisfy your hunger for another win.  With Jesus, what more can you want than knowing you are going to spend eternity in heaven with your Savior, Jesus Christ?  I don’t have to fear death because Jesus has already taken care of that issue for me.

I would like to encourage you to reach out to the student athletes in your area because they are a big influence on the younger children in the community.  As athletes, they are looked up to and can impact many lives by the examples they set. 

As a student-athlete, the thing that impacted me the most was someone who was sincere and cared about me.  They were intentional with their time, and didn’t give up on me.  Scott Emerine spent most of my senior year sharing the love of Christ with me and being my friend.  Because Scott took the time to share the Gospel with me and invest in my life, a few student-athlete’s lives were impacted at our school, and now God is using the fruits of his labor to impact the NFL!  You may never know how God will use your investment into the lives of others.

If you would like to know more about Jesus and what He can do for you, just click the button on the left side of your screen to change your life.