How This NFL Chaplain Serves His Team

Published: February 13, 2025

How This NFL Chaplain Serves His Team

By Movieguide® Contributor

NFL fans know all about the players, coaches and owners, but team chaplains often go as unsung heroes, even though they play a vital role in the locker rooms.

Baltimore Ravens chaplain Johnny Shelton sees his role as a God-given “privilege” and has found himself not only as the go-to for his team but also for other NFL chaplains.

“I say this about you all the time, man, you’re a go-to guy for the other NFL chaplains,” Pittsburgh Steelers team chaplain Kent Chevalier said on the “Jesus Calling” podcast about his friend. “You are the one that is the calming presence for us. You’ve been at this for a long time. I can come to you with all kinds of questions, but also, you’re like the pastor to the chaplains.”

A chaplain’s duties include leading team Bible studies, assisting players through difficult life situations and offering prayer.

“I pray for [the team’s] safety, for their minds, their hearts to be clear, to be able to focus on the task at hand,” Shelton shared last year.

He also loves to do a prayer walk on the field before each game.

“One thing that we do before any game, we do a prayer walk around the field. We’re just praying to God for His presence, for guys to seek Him the way that He would want them to. We do that before the games,” he said on the podcast.

“It’s a privilege because God has called us to do that. He has equipped us to actually be that light in the midst of darkness,” he continued to say of his role in ministry. “We have their best interests at heart. I mean, it’s plain and simple. So many people want something from these guys as athletes, whether it’s financially or making appearances or something. And we as chaplains, we don’t want anything from them. We just want to love on them. That’s when the closeness comes.”

“And that’s why I love the fact that you have organizations like the Steelers and the Ravens and the other NFL teams who have a chaplain in place for those such moments, because these guys love this game,” Shelton added. “But what they find out is that this game doesn’t love them back. And these situations happen, but it’s part of the game. And the fact that they love it and they’re gifted to play this game…we as chaplains are called to be in this space with them side by side, walking with them. It is definitely a privilege.”

He frequently posts encouragement on his Instagram.

“Thank you God for blessing me more than I deserve,” he wrote in a recent post.