When the former NFL player stepped onto the stage, he knew the several hundred youth seated before him may have expected someone bigger.

Former NFL wide receiver Daryl Jones holds up his Bible during his message at a Go Tell student camp in Nacogdoches, Texas.

“I know some of you are shocked,” Daryl Jones said to students at the Go Tell student camp on the campus of Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas. “You heard about a football player-preacher coming to speak, and you see this short dude standing up here. But I serve a big God, and that big God decided not to make me big, but I can run really fast.”

Jones, a wide receiver on the national champion Miami Hurricanes in 2001 who also played in the NFL for several years, spoke to students from Matthew 5:14-16 on the importance of shining as lights in a dark world.

Using examples from his football days, Jones recounted how God uniquely placed him on teams in order to shine the light of the Gospel in those locker rooms. In addition to one-on-one relationships with players, Jones led chapel services and Bible studies during his time as a player.

“[Jesus] wants you to know who you are and where He has placed you,” Jones told the students. “You are light, and He has placed you in the world.”

Click here to continue reading.
SOURCE: Baptist Press