The Church in the Locker Room: How God Turned Varsity Football Players into Disciple Makers

When Preston moved from Alabama to Northern Virginia, he never imagined his next mission field would smell like turf and sweat. A former quarterback turned campus pastor, he and his wife, Meg, had been faithfully serving at their new church. But Preston’s heart longed for more than sermons and meetings. He prayed, “God, how can I partner with You in what You’re already doing in this community?”

The answer came quietly: Coach.

It sounded simple—almost too simple. But Preston knew the Lord was nudging him toward the local high school. With his background in football, he offered to help the team as a quarterback coach. It wasn’t glamorous work, but it was incarnational—God sending him onto a field instead of a pulpit. To make it happen, he cut twenty hours a week from his church schedule to invest in players who might never attend a Sunday service.

From the first day, Preston’s mission was clear: listen, love, and look for the spiritually hungry—the “person of peace” that Jesus talked about. Every locker room, every film session, every bus ride became a place to watch for those in whom the Spirit was already stirring.

One afternoon, as the team wrapped up practice, Preston heard a chant echo across the field.

“Who did?” one player shouted.

“God did!” the team roared back.

At first, Preston wondered if it was sarcasm. This wasn’t East Texas—it was Northern Virginia. But when he asked, one player grinned and said, “Coach, you just gotta give God glory.”

That simple phrase lit a fire. Preston asked, “Hey, have you ever thought about starting a team Bible study?” The player’s face brightened. “Yeah, I’d love to do that.”

Within weeks, that young man gathered two or three others—some believers, some not—and Preston began training them to lead. He never called it a “Discovery Bible Study,” never used insider lingo, but that’s exactly what he was modeling. The first week, he led the group and paused often to ask, “What did you see me do? Do you think you could do that?” The next week, they led while he watched quietly from the back.

From day one, Preston decided he would never lead their Bible study. He trusted the Word of God and the Spirit of God to be enough. His role was to equip, encourage, and coach—not to control.

Soon, Thursday-night pasta dinners turned into spiritual feasts. Eighteen varsity players and eight JV players showed up to the first meeting. By midseason, the numbers had doubled. And now, there was a separate study with the coaches on Sunday nights.

But what amazed Preston most wasn’t the numbers—it was the ownership.

Each week, he met with the leaders afterward to debrief:

“What did you do well?”

“What could have been better?”

Then he challenged them to train new leaders for each section of the Bible study. Before long, the players themselves were coaching each other, running debriefs, and passing on what they had learned. It was messy, unpolished, and utterly beautiful.

There were moments when Preston wanted to step in—when they forgot questions or skipped parts—but he resisted. “They’re not doing it as good as me,” he’d think, and then the Holy Spirit would whisper, That’s the point.

After several weeks, Preston gathered the leaders and said, “You’ve been doing an incredible job. What if next week you read about the gospel and invited your team to be baptized?”

The room went quiet. One of them finally asked, “Can we do that? We’re not ordained pastors.”

Preston grinned. “You can do whatever the heck you want. Jesus has authorized you to make disciples. You can do this.”

That’s when one of the younger players—a tough defensive lineman—looked up and said, “Coach, we can totally do this because we’re a church.”

Preston hadn’t taught them that. He hadn’t walked them through Acts 2 or defined “church.” Yet the Holy Spirit had already done it. A sixteen-year-old football player had discovered his identity: We are the church.

When other players began saying, “I’m so glad you started this,” Preston smiled and stayed silent. They thought their teammates had started it. And that was exactly how it should be.

That week, they read Acts 2 together—the story of Peter’s call to repent and be baptized. They read a simple, handwritten gospel summary Preston had given them, and one player shared his testimony. The Spirit moved. They decided it was time.

Preston didn’t know how many would respond, but he chose to act in faith. That Sunday, he loaded the horse trough from his church into the back of his wife’s Jeep Patriot. He even went to Walmart and bought twenty-four towels. “We’re going to need them,” he told Meg.

When the day came, the school trainer offered the cold-water recovery tub. They filled it with warm water and gathered in the locker room. The players stood shoulder to shoulder, anticipation hanging thick in the air.

The first quarterback stepped into the tub while another player read from a printed page, his voice trembling with excitement.

“Do you believe Jesus is the Son of God, died on the cross, rose from the dead, and became king all over again?” he asked.

It wasn’t perfect theology, but it was perfect obedience.

“Yes,” came the reply.

“Then I baptize you in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.”

The locker room erupted. Cheers, tears, laughter, applause. And then another stepped forward. And another.

Fifteen players were baptized that day—fifteen young men declaring that Jesus is Lord and they would follow Him no matter the cost.

Afterward, Preston stood in the corner, overwhelmed. The same boys who once huddled around playbooks were now opening Scripture. The same locker room that once echoed with banter and bravado now reverberated with worship.

Since then, the ripples have spread beyond football. Coaches meet weekly to study Scripture. The basketball team wants to start a group. Baseball players are asking questions. Even the wrestling team is exploring what it means to follow Jesus.

The players have set their eyes on a bigger vision:

“What would it take to have a player-led Bible study on every team in our school?”

Reflection

When God’s people trust His Word and Spirit enough to step back and equip others, disciples begin to multiply. Preston didn’t bring revival to that locker room; he simply equipped a few students to obey Jesus and then watched as God did what only He could do.

Disciple making is messy. It’s not perfect. It’s not polished. But it’s powerful. And sometimes, it looks like fifteen soaking-wet football players grinning through tears, shouting praise in a locker room.

Call to Action

Where is God asking you to “coach from the sidelines”?

Who in your life might be ready to lead if you simply trained them and stepped back?

Pray for eyes to see your “person of peace.”

Equip them. Encourage them. Let them lead.

And when revival breaks out in the most unlikely place—whether a coffee shop, a classroom, or a locker room—be ready to say what those players said that day:

“God did.”