Atlanta Falcons kicker puts spotlight on Christ

With all the negative stuff in the news about sports players, it is refreshing to read something positive...

Atlanta Falcons kicker puts spotlight on Christ
Dec 27, 2005
By Luanne Byrd
Baptist Press


ATLANTA (BP)--“I don’t have a game plan when I share my faith,” Todd Peterson, a kicker for the Atlanta Falcons, said. “If I act like Jesus, if I’m controlled by the Holy Spirit, and if God is the One who is empowering me, I don’t really have to have a game plan or a strategy for sharing. God will give me that opportunity.”

Team evangelism is quite familiar to this 12-year NFL veteran after previously playing for the Seattle Seahawks, Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers and San Francisco 49ers. Step aside from his field goal career stats that include an impressive number of long kicks and you’ll catch a glimpse of his much larger career focus -- sharing Christ with his teammates.

“It’s more than leading, it’s a serving capacity. My job on the team is to make sure that the guys are equipped, feel connected and are aware of what’s going on from a ministry standpoint,” said Peterson, who played college at the University of Georgia. “My wife and I have always felt that this is something we should spearhead because there are not many athletes in the NFL doing it. This is a role I have played for the bulk of my career.”

Peterson, his wife, Susan, their daughter, Hannah, and son, Zach, live in the Atlanta metro area, where they attend an evangelical church.

For remainder of article:
http://www.baptistpress.org/bpnews.asp?ID=22357