Chiefs backup Justin Fields says missionary work may follow football
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Justin Fields says he is already thinking about life after football, and he believes missionary work may be part of it.
Fields, who joined Kansas City this month as Patrick Mahomes’ backup, spoke about that future in an appearance on “The Walk” podcast.
“I’ve been thinking about this a lot, and people ask me this question a lot,” Fields said. “I think I want to be a missionary. I think I want to go to different countries, go to different places and be able to spread his word and just help people find Christ and help people just get that relationship started with him.”
It was not a throwaway answer. Fields sounded like someone who has been carrying the idea for a while.
He said he has talked with friends about going abroad, mentioning Africa and other places where, in his view, people may not have had much opportunity to hear the Christian message.
I love just being a servant to others, being able to bless others.”
“I’ve actually been talking to a few friends, and I’m going to try to go somewhere, whether it’s somewhere in Africa or just somewhere where people haven’t necessarily gotten the opportunity to build that relationship or even get that relationship started,” he said. “So I think that’s what I’m going to pursue.”
Service matters
Fields said service itself matters to him, whatever shape that takes.
“I love just helping people out,” he said. “I love just being a servant to others, being able to bless others.”
That was not the first time Fields had spoken that way about his faith publicly.
Last season with the Jets, he said his relationship with God kept him grounded even when things around him turned difficult.
“There’s nothing in this world that can faze me, and that’s just due to my relationship with the Lord,” Fields said, according to the Jets’ team website. “Everything happens for a reason.”
For the 27-year-old from Kennesaw, Georgia, his goal isn’t retirement but calling. Even as he settles into his new role in Kansas City, football isn’t the end-all, but a step onto the platform God has given him.
–Dwight Widaman
