“Who’s gonna watch the football game this afternoon?” Chris “Shep” Shepherd asked a crowded sanctuary. A loud cheer erupted.
“Now, who’s excited about this sermon?” he asked, which brought forth a more reluctant, and quieter, response.
“You should be ashamed of yourself,” he said. “This is God’s house!”
This introduction and the sermon following caught the attention of junior Aaron Tracey and senior Tim Jagielski when they heard Shepherd speak in Alabama over spring break, and they decided then and there that they wanted him to speak on Hillsdale College’s campus.
“It was an automatic thing,” Jagielski said. “To see how the crowd responded to him and how many people he touched was amazing.”
Former NFL player Shepherd will be giving his testimony on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Sports Complex. The event is open to the public and free of charge.
Shepherd grew up in Florida as one of 15 siblings. He went on to play football in college for Florida Atlantic University. He was the first male in his family’s history to graduate high school and the first overall in his family to attend college.
“I had a tough upbringing,” Shepherd said. “I came through a lot of adversity.”
Shepherd had a short stint in the NFL with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and then became a character coach for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. After doing this from 2005 to 2012, Shepherd is now the founder and CEO of Keep the Change, Inc.
“My passion was never football,” he said. “When I was playing, I never prayed for success. I prayed for effectiveness. I was always considered the spiritual leader of my team.”
He now travels around the nation and speaks about 270 times a year, though he did say that he still gets nervous.
“I get the jitterbugs every time,” he said.
But he keeps proclaiming his story and sharing the Gospel.
“When I saw the difference that my story makes and talk to people whose lives are different — I would be a selfish individual not to share that,” he said.
Tracey said that Shepherd has a powerful story that will make students on campus think.
“He can make you determine if you call yourself a Christian or if you are actually a Christian,” he said. “He can make you think about how God can be a part of your life and about doing everything for the glory of God.”
Tracey also said that Shepherd is a powerful prayer warrior.
“The power of prayer is something I wanted to bring to campus,” Tracey said.
Tracey and Jagielski have been promoting the event on campus as well as in the community.
In addition to Sigma Chi, Greek InterVarsity and Athletes InterVarsity are also co-sponsoring the event.
Besides promoting the event on campus, Tracey and Jagielski have also been handing out fliers to local businesses, schools, and churches.
“Hopefully we will get as many people as we can to fill the place up,” Tracey said.
