{"id":13019,"date":"2018-02-07T16:31:07","date_gmt":"2018-02-07T21:31:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/?p=13019"},"modified":"2018-02-09T15:57:14","modified_gmt":"2018-02-09T20:57:14","slug":"13019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/idolchatter\/2018\/02\/13019.html","title":{"rendered":"Dallas Cowboys\u2019 Baptizes 3 Players Who Find Faith in Christ"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cowboysbaptism\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Philadelphia Eagles made headlines this year for their displays of Christianity, but other football teams have also been sharing Christ with the world. The Dallas Cowboys followed suit with their own public profession of the faith.<\/p>\n

Jonathan Evans, chaplain for the Cowboys\u2019, shared a video to Facebook of him baptizing three of his teammates at The Star, the team\u2019s new headquarters and practice facility. Linebackers Justin March-Lillard and Anthony Hitchens, and safety Kavon Frazier all chose to take the leap.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was an honor to baptize 3 Dallas Cowboys who identify themselves as Christ followers first,\u201d wrote Evans of the sacred event.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd like I said in the prayer, baptism is just an external expression about an internal reality,\u201d Evans said in the video. \u201cNow after accepting Christ, he\u2019s a new man. Going under the water means he died with Christ and coming back up means he\u2019s resurrected to the newness of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the began the first baptism, Evans instructed, \u201cI want to hear you say in front of all your teammates, that number one you\u2019ve accepted Christ and that number two you\u2019ve decided to live for him.\u201d<\/p>\n

All three players proudly confessed their faith in front of their teammates, who emphatically cheered them along from the pool sidelines.<\/p>\n

Many of the players on the team are already very religious, and the team holds prayers and chapel services on Sunday. According to the American Bible Society, \u201cDallas is the most Bible-minded city in Texas,\u201d so for some, these baptisms come as no surprise. While some players maintain their religious nature through their entire lives, others need to reconnect with it at certain points in their careers.<\/p>\n

Frazier admitted that he was baptized when he was younger, but wanted to do so again as an affirmation of his renewed commitment.<\/p>\n

“We all decided we wanted to get baptized again,” Frazier said Thursday. “I got baptized when I was younger. My mom made me get baptized when I was [3 years old]. I was always a believer but this is the first time that I really took it serious, or took God serious, and started fully trusting Him on and off the field with every situation.”<\/p>\n

The NFL players also wanted to send a message to the younger generation, that it\u2019s okay \u201cto come out of the closet in their faith.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey don\u2019t see their friends really worshiping God and really talking about God,\u201d Frazier told The Undefeated. \u201cEven me growing up, I went to a Christian school all my life, but I really wasn\u2019t going around talking about God. But now it\u2019s different \u2026 but from this video, hopefully younger people will start learning [about God] a little bit quicker.\u201d
\nThe players credit the video going viral to God\u2019s plan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made it go viral just so we can use our platform in a whole bigger sense than just football. It wasn\u2019t supposed to blow up, it just happened. We didn\u2019t do it for the press. We did it to renew our vows with God.\u201d Frazier said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe spend a lot of our time here [at the practice facilities],\u201d March-Lillard said. \u201cYou\u2019re more with the guys here than you are with your own family, so it\u2019s like a family environment. \u201cOur church is here, so for us it was kind of like that\u2019s why we got baptized here, because this is our church, this is where we have Bible study.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Philadelphia Eagles made headlines this year for their displays of Christianity, but other football teams have also been sharing Christ with the world. The Dallas Cowboys followed suit with their own public profession of the faith. Jonathan Evans, chaplain for the Cowboys\u2019, shared a video to Facebook of him baptizing three of his teammates…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":600,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7,3294,10,1],"tags":[3618,1161],"class_list":["post-13019","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","category-football","category-sports","category-television","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-football"],"yoast_head":"\nDallas Cowboys\u2019 Baptizes 3 Players Who Find Faith in Christ<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Three of the players from the Dallas Cowboy's football team wanted to make a bold statement and show their love for Christ.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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