July 15, 2025 • 26 mins
Los Angeles Rams Chaplain, Kevin Nickerson joins K&C to give us a glimpse of the gridiron and how he shares his life and faith with the LA Rams players and franchise team. From his own College Football playing days to now pastor and evangelist, Kevin brings a unique and needed perspective to the professional sports world!
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
In 2 Samuel chapter 23, there's a whole list of
David's mighty men. Two of them are pretty crazy. You
have Shama who battled in a lentil field, and the
Bible says his hands stuck to the sword. You also
have Benaya, who fought a lion or chased a lion
into a pit on a snowy day, fought it and
killed it. These are crazy stories, but they're in the
Bible and they're.
(00:20):
Real. Now, how does that relate to anything I'm about
to say? Kevin Nickerson is our next guest on Kingdom
and Culture. He is the Los Angeles Rams chaplain. He's
got a lot to share on what it means to
live victoriously and namely in Christ. And so I hope
you're inspired by what you're about to listen to with
Kevin Nickerson here on Kingdom and Culture.
(00:53):
Kevin, glad to have you here and as we talked
about just uh before we got uh on the air
here I wanted to uh just let the audience get
to know you a little bit, your background story, what
got you interested in uh athletics, and I mean I
still kind of don't know.
How it is you became the chaplain for the LA Rams.
(01:15):
So yeah, tell us a little bit about yourself, family too.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
OK, well, I don't know if I should start with
my family first, but I guess if, uh, I hear
when you speak or when you're talking, if you talk
about your family, uh, people will listen to you more.
So I'll tell you a little bit about my family.
I've been.
I'm married, uh, to my wife BB for 20 years.
We just, we just celebrated 20 years, uh, two weeks ago. Congratulations.
(01:40):
That's been, that's been a ride, you know, being married is, uh,
ebbs and flows. Oh I know and good. He who
find a wife find a good thing, and I have
4 children. I have, um.
Oh, a 16 year old who, who's a junior now
at uh Jerra, uh, a 14 year old and a
(02:00):
13 year old, she just turned 13 on Friday, and
I have a 10 year old, so I'm right in
the middle of it. I'm in the middle of it.
So yeah, but it's, but it's, it's really good. It's
really cool, um, uh, but the question is, you asked me, uh,
my story, how did I get started here. Well, again,
I was raised going to church.
(02:21):
Uh, you know, the VBS thing and all of that, um,
but
Coming to know, coming to know the Lord, um, I
played sports all my life since I was 7 years old.
I played sports. My mother said when I would, I
would run around the house all crazy all the time,
but she said anytime a football game or basketball game
(02:41):
was on, she said I would just sit in front
of the TV quiet, locked in, locked in, locked in.
And so, um, guy used sports to keep me out
of trouble and then um.
Sports became my idol. I wasn't.
I, I played college sports, high school sports. I didn't
(03:03):
get drafted into the NFL because most people who play sports,
their desires to play at the highest level, um, and
I didn't, I didn't get that opportunity. And so, uh,
when I didn't get that opportunity, uh, it led me
down a life and a path that I wasn't, I
wasn't accustomed to. I was around it a lot, but
I wasn't accustomed to, accustomed to living that life myself
(03:25):
and so.
I began to drink and uh just do different things, uh,
that was out of my character and I, and I just,
I remember like it was yesterday, February 1st, 2003, I
was at my grandmother's funeral and uh um.
And I remember God's saying, because when you look at
over your life and you think about uh how did
(03:48):
you get to a certain place, you start thinking about
all the times where God was protecting you and keeping
you and, and I was thinking about some of the
things that I've done over my life and just how
God protected me for that moment to be able to
encounter him, to have a supernatural encounter with God. And
I just remember sitting at the head of my grandmother's
casket crying.
(04:10):
And the pastor was preaching. I didn't hear anything the
pastor was saying. I heard the music playing, uh, but
the only thing I heard was, do you surrender, son?
And I felt like it was a choke hold, and
I remember saying, yes, and my life was different from
that point. And
Speaker 1 (04:27):
how
old were you when that
happened?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I was 22 years old. OK. I was 22 years
old when that happened. And
Speaker 1 (04:31):
how
many years would you say you were in that struggle
from
OK, I didn't get to go do what I wanted
to do and now I'm here in this place and.
God wants me to
surrender.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Well, fortunate for me it wasn't that long. It was
about a, a 6-7 month, uh,
Speaker 1 (04:47):
that's
long enough. Yes, it's
long,
Speaker 2 (04:49):
right? But I mean, and there's different things, but it
was a, it was a, it was a critical and
pivotal time for, you know, yeah, so
Speaker 1 (04:58):
powerful. Now did you grow up in Southern California? Where,
where did you grow up? Where's home for you? I
got to
Speaker 2 (05:02):
tell you that, but I'm, I'm
Speaker 1 (05:03):
born. That's OK. That's why I'm
Speaker 2 (05:05):
here. I'm born in. I gotta
Speaker 1 (05:06):
do
Speaker 2 (05:06):
something. I'm born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, OK,
born and raised.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
OK, let's put a pin in that Kansas City. We're
just gonna put a pin in that,
Speaker 2 (05:14):
not Kansas, but Kansas City, Missouri,
Speaker 1 (05:17):
and if some of them say, uh, uh, a guy
I work
Speaker 2 (05:20):
for Missouri, yeah, Missouri or misery, uh, depends on how,
how you locate.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
So that happened in the Midwest. You grew up there and,
and then here you are. Maybe I don't know how'd
you get out to
SoCal?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, again.
I met my wife when we were in college, so we,
she went to school in Minnesota. I went to school
in Missouri. Um, my best, one of my best friends,
he went to school, uh, with my wife. We, we
went there, we, we met each other. We were friends
for a long time and, and I moved out here and.
(05:52):
Uh, Christmas of 2003, that was a big year for me.
So
Speaker 1 (05:57):
you surrender your life to Jesus.
Friendship with your wife. Then you move out to SoCal
and here you are.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I moved out here to train. OK,
Speaker 1 (06:07):
trained specifically to football or just physical training in general.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
OK, OK, I can tell you a little bit about
that too. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I mean, you, you get to, man. Tell me what
you wanna do because I got another question, but, uh,
Speaker 2 (06:17):
I can maybe the question, OK,
Speaker 1 (06:19):
cool. So in light of that, um, I, I, I
think I wanna pathway into um.
Yeah, when you were in high school and into college, uh, what, uh,
What kept you grounded and it sounded like football was
part of that journey. Did you go to youth group? Uh, if,
(06:41):
if there's 16 year olds listening right now, I hope,
or maybe 20, I don't know who's somebody's listening, but
your young person's self, how was that journey and transitioning
and then obviously we already got, we already got the
payoff pitch, uh, not to confuse sports here, but, uh,
with uh God giving you that point of surrender. But yeah,
just tell us a little bit that journey.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The truth is, when I was 1516.
Going through college when I was at my high school
and college years were not years of of of faith
for me um.
I use God as a genie in a bottle type
of thing and so my, my focus was not oh
how can I serve God, how can I please God?
(07:22):
My focus was, uh, how can I play sports, how
many girls can I have and things like that. So
that was really focus at that time, which
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I mean that's probably a normal teenager, right, American teenager
uh concept in in many respects, and, and, uh, and
then obviously God got a hold of you.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
That's it, so.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
OK, so in light of that, um, yeah, what led
you to continue that journey in athletics and, uh, to
now reach your platform and feel free to fill in
the blanks because I'm skipping all the way to here, uh,
that led you to the platform now that you're, you're the,
let me just say it for humor and for clarity's sake,
the Los Angeles Rams chaplain, that's cool. Let let's not,
(08:03):
let's not mince words here. It is. That's awesome. It
is so.
Come on, tell us about how that came. Well, all
that journey and everything.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So the journey sports. So again, I told you how, um,
I've been playing sports since I was 7, but there
was a, there was also a pivotal moment because again
I grew up without my father in my home, and
then there was a that is a, a key component
right there. There was a so that brought a lot
of anger, bitterness, sadness, all of these emotions that I
didn't really know how to I can relate.
(08:34):
You know, communicate, but it just came out in the
way that I play sports. I just the way that
I communicated and actually kind of live my life, uh,
but there was a, a coach, his name, there was actually, um,
there was a community of people, but coach Tim, uh,
was the, was the point person that kind of took
(08:55):
me in and showed me the value of sport.
In education and so he didn't necessarily have the, the
spiritual component quite at that at that time, but he,
he showed me, uh, that if I didn't cheat the game,
the game would take me far. And so I put
a lot into, to sports and then I took my
(09:17):
grades serious, serious enough to be able to get a
full ride scholarship to play uh collegiate sports and come
on and do and do things like that. But, uh,
but it was Coach Tim that kind of helped me
along my way.
Um, athletically, right, and then, as I mentioned earlier, when
I gave my heart to heart to the Lord, God
(09:37):
just started opening up all kinds of doors, and I,
you know, when we, when we commit our ways to
the Lord, God will give us the desires of our heart.
And so I didn't understand that idea until I committed my, my, my,
my ways to the Lord, um.
So I got my contract to play in the CFL,
the Canadian Football League. I played there for 2 seasons, uh,
(09:58):
played arena football for 5 seasons. And in the middle
of all of that, God had called me into ministry.
God did some crazy things, spoke to me. I, I
feel like God has a way of speaking to me.
God speaks to me supernaturally most of the time, um, and, and,
and God said to me, he said, you're a nobody,
(10:18):
and you're gonna reach somebody. I'm what?
Like, thanks, you know, thanks for the encouragement. Thanks, you know, but,
but that's what the, the pastor said. He said, You're
a nobody. You're gonna reach somebody. You have a unique
and special call to young people, specifically young men. And
so I'm leading to how I believe God.
Has orchestrated all of this, me being the chaplain of
(10:41):
the Rams, starting, uh, our nonprofit organization Gang Breakers Academy,
all of this all plays a part. And so when, um,
because I've been in, I've been in ministry since '05, since,
since 2005, I've been in ministry, uh started uh as
a youth pastor.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Uh, shout out to
youth pastors. Those guys are in the
grind all the time
Speaker 2 (11:05):
and all of the youth leaders that work alongside that
come alongside youth pastors that help them, uh, see these
young people through, uh, and then I work with this
with the with the sports ministry for 9 years serving
as the director of all of LA County. So again,
I'm bouncing around a little bit, but I'm trying, I'm
trying to get you to how I got to the
(11:26):
to the chaplain role and and all of that because
is good. How did you, how did sports.
You know, connect
To ministry and things like that and so.
Um, so I'm, I'm.
Doing my sports, God has a call. I'm still playing
professional ball, um, and then the opportunity came for me
(11:47):
to combine the two, working with the sports ministry, the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and so I was able to,
I've heard about those guys. I was able to combine
my love for, for Jesus and then my passion for sport,
and then I got to just share the gospel all
around LA County. And so it was, it was amazing
and then um.
(12:10):
The coolest thing was I remember laying on my couch
because sometimes when you just sometimes you just fall asleep
on your couch and I, I, I've done that but
I don't do that anymore.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Uh, it's
OK if you do. We're
Speaker 2 (12:22):
OK with back. It's off my back. So, uh, so
and I remember when they said it was on NFL
Network they said the Saint Louis Rams are coming back
to LA, and I remember a lot of people don't
know this story, Mike. You're getting a lot of this
good stuff right now.
And that's what we're here for. I, uh, I remember
turning over and I was like, oh, it would be
cool to serve the rims. I just, that's all I did,
(12:45):
just turned and I turned back over.
Couple of weeks later, uh, the president, the, the VP
at the time called and said, hey man.
There's this opportunity, would you wanna come and, and serve
and
And see what it looks like to to serve the
rounds because they already have a chaplain. They have a
guy that they that they have in place and things
(13:05):
like that. Would you want to come and support him?
I was like, Sure, what does that
Speaker 1 (13:09):
look like? So hold on, you had that thought just
rolling over on your couch and then you get a
phone call. I
Speaker 2 (13:14):
get like two weeks
later.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So it's like the Lord just like
Speaker 2 (13:17):
beep bing, but here's the deal. Here's the deal, Mike.
I didn't, it wasn't my desire to like be the chaplain. My,
my plan was to go and serve.
And helped the, the, the guy that was supposed to
be the chaplain. We go there. Some things happen. They're like,
hey Kevin, we need you to help us find a chaplain.
(13:38):
So I was like, All right, cool. So I'm, I'm,
I'm showing up to training camp every day. We got
different guys coming in and we, and, and I think
we have our guy. I'm like, oh, this is the
one right here. This is the guy.
And I remember it was the first game in the coliseum.
The Rams playing the Cowboys. It's actually the first time
I saw Dak Prescott, and I was like, oh this
(13:59):
guy's gonna be really good. So, he pulls me out,
the guy's in the middle of preaching.
And our director of player engagement at the time, his
name was Leroy Glover, was Leroy Glover. He pulls me
and he says, Kevin, come here. What's up, man? I'm
listening to the word, bro. I'm trying to get excited. I'm,
you know,
Speaker 1 (14:15):
supporting
Speaker 2 (14:15):
the
guy, he said.
Man, the fellas and the coaches want you to be
the chaplain. Would you do that?
I said what about he's like
Speaker 1 (14:26):
while the guy's preaching,
Speaker 2 (14:28):
he pulls me out, he said, and I'm like.
Yeah, I'll do it, you know, and so literally that's
how I became the chaplain I was, and I, I
didn't apply for it. I didn't do any of that.
It was what guy had.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
You were on the field serving literally, literally while it's
happening and like David in the shepherd field, if I
could correlate and somebody says, hey, we need, we need
a guy and you're the guy.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Nobody reaching somebody come on.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Kevin, that's powerful and I hope, I hope those who
are listening and and are watching.
Get a little encouragement from that that as you serve
the Lord faithfully, you surrender because let's go back to
that at your grandma's casket, you surrender.
I hear my Lord send me type thing and then
God's like lips and you, you are nobody and and
(15:21):
let's be honest, I mean the doctrine of human depravity,
we're all messed up, broken people in need of a savior,
and if we weren't, we wouldn't need Jesus, but sorry,
I don't wanna preach here but we're here for, yeah,
come on, but you, uh.
But you were there. You made yourself available and God said,
All right, I got a thing for you. I got
an assignment. And here you are. So what year was
(15:43):
that when that was happening and when the Rams came
that that started,
Speaker 2 (15:46):
uh, I think that was 16.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
OK, so you it
Speaker 2 (15:49):
was 1617,
Speaker 1 (15:50):
you're going on almost 10 years, 1,
Speaker 2 (15:53):
10th year this year.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
That's
Speaker 2 (15:55):
awesome. Two
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Super
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Bowls, one Super Bowl ring.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
And I think I kind of said this.
It was after you guys won the Super Bowl the
first time I was it was the win and I
was like.
I, I'm a little biased here. I have no doubt
you had some.
Maybe I'll put the question. I wonder.
I don't know if it's a question for you or
(16:18):
just a question to the ethereal internet if you will,
wherever wherever these waves are going, uh, yeah, K waves
very well played, well played.
Um, that, uh, your spiritual influence.
I could maybe propped up some of the guys in
ways that maybe those X factors where maybe a guy
(16:40):
was discouraged but had that little extra.
I can do this all day type thing like I'm
gonna go for it and make that long catch or
that that bee and uh bob and weave through the
through the line man. Well, I don't know, whatever. I'm
not a football player, dude. I'm trying here
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I feel you reaching OK I feel you there you go.
There you go.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
But, but I don't know that you have, you have
that opportunity, I guess is what I'm saying to have
that influence in these guys' lives.
I mean, I don't know, tell a little bit about that. I, this,
I didn't plan on that question, but just that that
interaction.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So I'll tell you a quick story from one of
from the best defensive player, I think, in the National
Football League, uh, in, in its history, Aaron Donald, uh,
and he doesn't mind me sharing this story because I've
asked him if I could share it before and um.
He sent me a text the night before the uh
(17:35):
the Super Bowl, and it was, it was one of
those texts where it was like, hey.
I know we're gonna win and, and I just want
to share this with you. Essentially like, hey man.
It
I want it so bad that there's not, there's gonna
be no one or nothing that's gonna stop me. And
(17:56):
if you remember the game.
Uh, AD took over the, that, that 4th quarter and,
and he was unstoppable. And, and I'm not saying that
I had anything to do with it.
What I am saying is that he felt like he
wanted to share with me some of his thoughts and
(18:18):
his feelings about, you know, what was happening and what
was gonna take place. So that was really cool. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (18:25):
well, maybe and go with the David story, you being David.
Come on, David and his mighty men.
There was relationship. They weren't just like, oh let's get
a guy or a few guys. No, they, they went
through it together running from Saul, they were outcasts and
then God just orchestrated that whole thing.
I don't know. I, I feel that maybe that could
(18:47):
there be a correlation to you guys walking together in
relationship and the key of a godly relationship kind of
having that influence in, in that realm of activity and
athletics and, and your
role.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yes, I think, uh, the power of relationship is, is
very important, um, especially for a, a role and position
like the chaplain, you don't, people don't.
Harald you. They don't talk about you. They don't do that.
And so it's important for you to be in the
background doing your job and again lifting people up, pushing
(19:22):
people to be, um, to their greatness awesome and and
being able to know when you get there to reflect
God and to give God glory and things like that.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
That's so good
and I, I guess it doesn't hurt that you know
the game.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, I do, I do.
I, I know it and I love it. I don't
Speaker 1 (19:40):
know the game. I'd be like, yeah, go get that
touchdown home run. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I know the
difference between touchdown home run. Now that's good. Um, let
me see, uh, so what would you say to, in
light of that, and I hope our listeners are listening
are are they're watching, I hope they're catching what you're,
what you're throwing out there, um.
What would you say to high school and college students
right now who are trying to live their Christian life
(20:03):
or maybe, maybe they were like you, they know about
Jesus and maybe they're, they're rubbing the Bible like God,
come out of here. Come on. Like you know you
gotta actually open it and
read it and scholarship
Speaker 2 (20:14):
you know like all
Speaker 1 (20:15):
thank you Christ gives me straight on.
Um, so, uh, what would you say to them in their,
their public or private schools because, you know, even though like, uh,
Calvary Chapel right here next to us, they're private school,
but they got guys that are, they're, they're on that
cusp of still trying to learn who they are in
Christ and this whole Jesus thing. How, what would you
say to them and and and our uh.
(20:37):
Ladies who are in athletics, volleyball or a basketball or wherever, um,
how they can be godly examples on their team, uh,
on and off the field or on and off the court.
Now what would you say to, to our, our, uh,
students that are athletes?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So there's a, there's a few things that I would
probably say to them, but, uh, I, I'll just, I'll
just start here. Number one, that they have power.
They have the power to choose. God has given them
the power to choose who they will serve, right? They
can't serve two masters. They can't serve the sport, and,
(21:11):
and they can't serve Christ. They have to choose, uh,
but then there's, there's also this power of their unique gift.
God has given them a, a unique skill set that,
that they could, uh.
Specialize, they can hone and they can, and they can
use the gift that God has given them to uh
(21:32):
to shine light on their, on their father who's in heaven.
And so I think understanding that they have this unique power,
and then I would tell them also.
The people that you hang around determines what you look
like in the future, right? I asked my son, the
question that you just asked me and I was surprised
by his, by his, uh, his comments. He said, he said, Dad,
(21:56):
the first thing I would tell him is to read
the Bible. Come on. He said, I would tell him
to read the Bible. I would tell us to read
the Bible so you can know what God says.
So you just don't have, you're not going off of
your own moral compass, you know what God, what God's
word is saying. And, uh, and then the second thing
which I love which speaks to the people, the people
(22:17):
that you surround yourself with, he said, find somebody that
is older than you or the same or the same age.
That wants wants the best for you and it's like-minded
because that'll help you as you traverse uh the high school,
the high school college life. He's in high school now
but but it it's the people that we're around, right?
(22:39):
You talked about David and his mighty men.
Uh, it, it matters when, when the Hebrew boys was
in the fire, they weren't in the fire by themselves.
It was them three boys and then there was the,
the spirit of God that showed up in there with them.
And so if you wanna get through the fire, the
ups and the downs, you gotta have good people.
With you, then I would talk to them about their vision.
(23:01):
I would talk to them about their perspective. How do
you see yourself? Where do you see yourself? And then
that would determine your, your, your action because if you
don't have a vision, it says without vision, people perish
and cast off restraint. And so I would say, how
do you see where, where do you see yourself? How
do you see yourself? Where do you wanna go? And
then let your actions determine that.
(23:23):
And then the last thing, uh, because I believe all
of those things impact your performance and so, um, how
do you increase your performance? You, you think about your,
your habits. What habits do you have, um.
Uh, what are you eating? Uh, what?
Are you learning how to, are you learning yourself? Are
(23:44):
you learning how to express yourself? Are you, are you
emotionally smart? Do you have those things? It's not just
about book smart. It's about, it's about how you feeling
in your mind and in your heart that determines how
you perform at home.
In the classroom and on the field and so that's
what I would tell these, these high school and college
(24:05):
people like, man, it, it pays to be around good people.
It pays to know who you are. It pays to
have a vision and write it down and make it
plain so when you run, you won't get weary and
you know that it'll come to pass and it's due
time and then it'll, your performance will go from.
Average to to the next level when I, when I, yeah,
(24:28):
and that's what I would say to you. I love
Speaker 1 (24:30):
it and I don't know 4 P's. I just got
there 4 power that God's giving you power, uh uh
uh a people so both who you hang out with
and who you got mentoring you, uh, perspective, vision, I
love that and then, uh, performance, performance and then all
that comes out with how you live your life, how
you perform on the field, off the field.
That's life giving stuff right there. I hope people are
(24:52):
taking notes or at least remembering. That's good, man. All right,
I got two more questions. The first one is I
just want to know and maybe how can, uh, those
who are on the podcast, how can listeners maybe support
you in ministry because I think there might be a
few out there going, I like this guy.
This guy's got this guy's got, uh, grit. He's got game.
(25:15):
He's got heart. Let's go. um, how can people support
you in ministry? Um, I don't, I didn't even ask
you that myself, so
Speaker 2 (25:22):
I'm good
Speaker 1 (25:23):
for myself
Speaker 2 (25:24):
and everybody. Well, I mean, again, uh, we started our
nonprofit organization, uh, Gang Breakers Academy. You can, you can
go and follow us on Instagram and.
Uh, you can go to our website gangbreakers academy.org and
and see how you can, um, support us as we
support young people, athletics, academics, and, um, and the, and
(25:47):
the character development, the spiritual development stuff, and then also, man, like, uh.
I love to go and speak and share, uh, what,
what God has done in my life.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
It is encouraging to know that there's guys like Kevin
Nickerson on the gridiron leading people to Jesus, not only
current football players, but also future athletes. So keep Kevin
and his family in prayer as he continues to fight
the good fight and impact our culture in such an
amazing way. We'll see you next time on Kingdom and Culture.
In 2 Samuel chapter 23, there's a whole list of
David's mighty men. Two of them are pretty crazy. You
have Shama who battled in a lentil field, and the
Bible says his hands stuck to the sword. You also
have Benaya, who fought a lion or chased a lion
into a pit on a snowy day, fought it and
killed it. These are crazy stories, but they're in the
Bible and they're.
(00:20):
Real. Now, how does that relate to anything I'm about
to say? Kevin Nickerson is our next guest on Kingdom
and Culture. He is the Los Angeles Rams chaplain. He's
got a lot to share on what it means to
live victoriously and namely in Christ. And so I hope
you're inspired by what you're about to listen to with
Kevin Nickerson here on Kingdom and Culture.
(00:53):
Kevin, glad to have you here and as we talked
about just uh before we got uh on the air
here I wanted to uh just let the audience get
to know you a little bit, your background story, what
got you interested in uh athletics, and I mean I
still kind of don't know.
How it is you became the chaplain for the LA Rams.
(01:15):
So yeah, tell us a little bit about yourself, family too.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
OK, well, I don't know if I should start with
my family first, but I guess if, uh, I hear
when you speak or when you're talking, if you talk
about your family, uh, people will listen to you more.
So I'll tell you a little bit about my family.
I've been.
I'm married, uh, to my wife BB for 20 years.
We just, we just celebrated 20 years, uh, two weeks ago. Congratulations.
(01:40):
That's been, that's been a ride, you know, being married is, uh,
ebbs and flows. Oh I know and good. He who
find a wife find a good thing, and I have
4 children. I have, um.
Oh, a 16 year old who, who's a junior now
at uh Jerra, uh, a 14 year old and a
(02:00):
13 year old, she just turned 13 on Friday, and
I have a 10 year old, so I'm right in
the middle of it. I'm in the middle of it.
So yeah, but it's, but it's, it's really good. It's
really cool, um, uh, but the question is, you asked me, uh,
my story, how did I get started here. Well, again,
I was raised going to church.
(02:21):
Uh, you know, the VBS thing and all of that, um,
but
Coming to know, coming to know the Lord, um, I
played sports all my life since I was 7 years old.
I played sports. My mother said when I would, I
would run around the house all crazy all the time,
but she said anytime a football game or basketball game
(02:41):
was on, she said I would just sit in front
of the TV quiet, locked in, locked in, locked in.
And so, um, guy used sports to keep me out
of trouble and then um.
Sports became my idol. I wasn't.
I, I played college sports, high school sports. I didn't
(03:03):
get drafted into the NFL because most people who play sports,
their desires to play at the highest level, um, and
I didn't, I didn't get that opportunity. And so, uh,
when I didn't get that opportunity, uh, it led me
down a life and a path that I wasn't, I
wasn't accustomed to. I was around it a lot, but
I wasn't accustomed to, accustomed to living that life myself
(03:25):
and so.
I began to drink and uh just do different things, uh,
that was out of my character and I, and I just,
I remember like it was yesterday, February 1st, 2003, I
was at my grandmother's funeral and uh um.
And I remember God's saying, because when you look at
over your life and you think about uh how did
(03:48):
you get to a certain place, you start thinking about
all the times where God was protecting you and keeping
you and, and I was thinking about some of the
things that I've done over my life and just how
God protected me for that moment to be able to
encounter him, to have a supernatural encounter with God. And
I just remember sitting at the head of my grandmother's
casket crying.
(04:10):
And the pastor was preaching. I didn't hear anything the
pastor was saying. I heard the music playing, uh, but
the only thing I heard was, do you surrender, son?
And I felt like it was a choke hold, and
I remember saying, yes, and my life was different from
that point. And
Speaker 1 (04:27):
how
old were you when that
happened?
Speaker 2 (04:28):
I was 22 years old. OK. I was 22 years
old when that happened. And
Speaker 1 (04:31):
how
many years would you say you were in that struggle
from
OK, I didn't get to go do what I wanted
to do and now I'm here in this place and.
God wants me to
surrender.
Speaker 2 (04:42):
Well, fortunate for me it wasn't that long. It was
about a, a 6-7 month, uh,
Speaker 1 (04:47):
that's
long enough. Yes, it's
long,
Speaker 2 (04:49):
right? But I mean, and there's different things, but it
was a, it was a, it was a critical and
pivotal time for, you know, yeah, so
Speaker 1 (04:58):
powerful. Now did you grow up in Southern California? Where,
where did you grow up? Where's home for you? I
got to
Speaker 2 (05:02):
tell you that, but I'm, I'm
Speaker 1 (05:03):
born. That's OK. That's why I'm
Speaker 2 (05:05):
here. I'm born in. I gotta
Speaker 1 (05:06):
do
Speaker 2 (05:06):
something. I'm born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, OK,
born and raised.
Speaker 1 (05:10):
OK, let's put a pin in that Kansas City. We're
just gonna put a pin in that,
Speaker 2 (05:14):
not Kansas, but Kansas City, Missouri,
Speaker 1 (05:17):
and if some of them say, uh, uh, a guy
I work
Speaker 2 (05:20):
for Missouri, yeah, Missouri or misery, uh, depends on how,
how you locate.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
So that happened in the Midwest. You grew up there and,
and then here you are. Maybe I don't know how'd
you get out to
SoCal?
Speaker 2 (05:32):
Well, again.
I met my wife when we were in college, so we,
she went to school in Minnesota. I went to school
in Missouri. Um, my best, one of my best friends,
he went to school, uh, with my wife. We, we
went there, we, we met each other. We were friends
for a long time and, and I moved out here and.
(05:52):
Uh, Christmas of 2003, that was a big year for me.
So
Speaker 1 (05:57):
you surrender your life to Jesus.
Friendship with your wife. Then you move out to SoCal
and here you are.
Speaker 2 (06:04):
I moved out here to train. OK,
Speaker 1 (06:07):
trained specifically to football or just physical training in general.
Speaker 2 (06:10):
OK, OK, I can tell you a little bit about
that too. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (06:12):
I mean, you, you get to, man. Tell me what
you wanna do because I got another question, but, uh,
Speaker 2 (06:17):
I can maybe the question, OK,
Speaker 1 (06:19):
cool. So in light of that, um, I, I, I
think I wanna pathway into um.
Yeah, when you were in high school and into college, uh, what, uh,
What kept you grounded and it sounded like football was
part of that journey. Did you go to youth group? Uh, if,
(06:41):
if there's 16 year olds listening right now, I hope,
or maybe 20, I don't know who's somebody's listening, but
your young person's self, how was that journey and transitioning
and then obviously we already got, we already got the
payoff pitch, uh, not to confuse sports here, but, uh,
with uh God giving you that point of surrender. But yeah,
just tell us a little bit that journey.
Speaker 2 (07:00):
The truth is, when I was 1516.
Going through college when I was at my high school
and college years were not years of of of faith
for me um.
I use God as a genie in a bottle type
of thing and so my, my focus was not oh
how can I serve God, how can I please God?
(07:22):
My focus was, uh, how can I play sports, how
many girls can I have and things like that. So
that was really focus at that time, which
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I mean that's probably a normal teenager, right, American teenager
uh concept in in many respects, and, and, uh, and
then obviously God got a hold of you.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
That's it, so.
Speaker 1 (07:40):
OK, so in light of that, um, yeah, what led
you to continue that journey in athletics and, uh, to
now reach your platform and feel free to fill in
the blanks because I'm skipping all the way to here, uh,
that led you to the platform now that you're, you're the,
let me just say it for humor and for clarity's sake,
the Los Angeles Rams chaplain, that's cool. Let let's not,
(08:03):
let's not mince words here. It is. That's awesome. It
is so.
Come on, tell us about how that came. Well, all
that journey and everything.
Speaker 2 (08:12):
So the journey sports. So again, I told you how, um,
I've been playing sports since I was 7, but there
was a, there was also a pivotal moment because again
I grew up without my father in my home, and
then there was a that is a, a key component
right there. There was a so that brought a lot
of anger, bitterness, sadness, all of these emotions that I
didn't really know how to I can relate.
(08:34):
You know, communicate, but it just came out in the
way that I play sports. I just the way that
I communicated and actually kind of live my life, uh,
but there was a, a coach, his name, there was actually, um,
there was a community of people, but coach Tim, uh,
was the, was the point person that kind of took
(08:55):
me in and showed me the value of sport.
In education and so he didn't necessarily have the, the
spiritual component quite at that at that time, but he,
he showed me, uh, that if I didn't cheat the game,
the game would take me far. And so I put
a lot into, to sports and then I took my
(09:17):
grades serious, serious enough to be able to get a
full ride scholarship to play uh collegiate sports and come
on and do and do things like that. But, uh,
but it was Coach Tim that kind of helped me
along my way.
Um, athletically, right, and then, as I mentioned earlier, when
I gave my heart to heart to the Lord, God
(09:37):
just started opening up all kinds of doors, and I,
you know, when we, when we commit our ways to
the Lord, God will give us the desires of our heart.
And so I didn't understand that idea until I committed my, my, my,
my ways to the Lord, um.
So I got my contract to play in the CFL,
the Canadian Football League. I played there for 2 seasons, uh,
(09:58):
played arena football for 5 seasons. And in the middle
of all of that, God had called me into ministry.
God did some crazy things, spoke to me. I, I
feel like God has a way of speaking to me.
God speaks to me supernaturally most of the time, um, and, and,
and God said to me, he said, you're a nobody,
(10:18):
and you're gonna reach somebody. I'm what?
Like, thanks, you know, thanks for the encouragement. Thanks, you know, but,
but that's what the, the pastor said. He said, You're
a nobody. You're gonna reach somebody. You have a unique
and special call to young people, specifically young men. And
so I'm leading to how I believe God.
Has orchestrated all of this, me being the chaplain of
(10:41):
the Rams, starting, uh, our nonprofit organization Gang Breakers Academy,
all of this all plays a part. And so when, um,
because I've been in, I've been in ministry since '05, since,
since 2005, I've been in ministry, uh started uh as
a youth pastor.
Speaker 1 (11:01):
Uh, shout out to
youth pastors. Those guys are in the
grind all the time
Speaker 2 (11:05):
and all of the youth leaders that work alongside that
come alongside youth pastors that help them, uh, see these
young people through, uh, and then I work with this
with the with the sports ministry for 9 years serving
as the director of all of LA County. So again,
I'm bouncing around a little bit, but I'm trying, I'm
trying to get you to how I got to the
(11:26):
to the chaplain role and and all of that because
is good. How did you, how did sports.
You know, connect
To ministry and things like that and so.
Um, so I'm, I'm.
Doing my sports, God has a call. I'm still playing
professional ball, um, and then the opportunity came for me
(11:47):
to combine the two, working with the sports ministry, the
Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and so I was able to,
I've heard about those guys. I was able to combine
my love for, for Jesus and then my passion for sport,
and then I got to just share the gospel all
around LA County. And so it was, it was amazing
and then um.
(12:10):
The coolest thing was I remember laying on my couch
because sometimes when you just sometimes you just fall asleep
on your couch and I, I, I've done that but
I don't do that anymore.
Speaker 1 (12:20):
Uh, it's
OK if you do. We're
Speaker 2 (12:22):
OK with back. It's off my back. So, uh, so
and I remember when they said it was on NFL
Network they said the Saint Louis Rams are coming back
to LA, and I remember a lot of people don't
know this story, Mike. You're getting a lot of this
good stuff right now.
And that's what we're here for. I, uh, I remember
turning over and I was like, oh, it would be
cool to serve the rims. I just, that's all I did,
(12:45):
just turned and I turned back over.
Couple of weeks later, uh, the president, the, the VP
at the time called and said, hey man.
There's this opportunity, would you wanna come and, and serve
and
And see what it looks like to to serve the
rounds because they already have a chaplain. They have a
guy that they that they have in place and things
(13:05):
like that. Would you want to come and support him?
I was like, Sure, what does that
Speaker 1 (13:09):
look like? So hold on, you had that thought just
rolling over on your couch and then you get a
phone call. I
Speaker 2 (13:14):
get like two weeks
later.
Speaker 1 (13:15):
So it's like the Lord just like
Speaker 2 (13:17):
beep bing, but here's the deal. Here's the deal, Mike.
I didn't, it wasn't my desire to like be the chaplain. My,
my plan was to go and serve.
And helped the, the, the guy that was supposed to
be the chaplain. We go there. Some things happen. They're like,
hey Kevin, we need you to help us find a chaplain.
(13:38):
So I was like, All right, cool. So I'm, I'm,
I'm showing up to training camp every day. We got
different guys coming in and we, and, and I think
we have our guy. I'm like, oh, this is the
one right here. This is the guy.
And I remember it was the first game in the coliseum.
The Rams playing the Cowboys. It's actually the first time
I saw Dak Prescott, and I was like, oh this
(13:59):
guy's gonna be really good. So, he pulls me out,
the guy's in the middle of preaching.
And our director of player engagement at the time, his
name was Leroy Glover, was Leroy Glover. He pulls me
and he says, Kevin, come here. What's up, man? I'm
listening to the word, bro. I'm trying to get excited. I'm,
you know,
Speaker 1 (14:15):
supporting
Speaker 2 (14:15):
the
guy, he said.
Man, the fellas and the coaches want you to be
the chaplain. Would you do that?
I said what about he's like
Speaker 1 (14:26):
while the guy's preaching,
Speaker 2 (14:28):
he pulls me out, he said, and I'm like.
Yeah, I'll do it, you know, and so literally that's
how I became the chaplain I was, and I, I
didn't apply for it. I didn't do any of that.
It was what guy had.
Speaker 1 (14:43):
You were on the field serving literally, literally while it's
happening and like David in the shepherd field, if I
could correlate and somebody says, hey, we need, we need
a guy and you're the guy.
Speaker 2 (14:56):
Nobody reaching somebody come on.
Speaker 1 (14:59):
Kevin, that's powerful and I hope, I hope those who
are listening and and are watching.
Get a little encouragement from that that as you serve
the Lord faithfully, you surrender because let's go back to
that at your grandma's casket, you surrender.
I hear my Lord send me type thing and then
God's like lips and you, you are nobody and and
(15:21):
let's be honest, I mean the doctrine of human depravity,
we're all messed up, broken people in need of a savior,
and if we weren't, we wouldn't need Jesus, but sorry,
I don't wanna preach here but we're here for, yeah,
come on, but you, uh.
But you were there. You made yourself available and God said,
All right, I got a thing for you. I got
an assignment. And here you are. So what year was
(15:43):
that when that was happening and when the Rams came
that that started,
Speaker 2 (15:46):
uh, I think that was 16.
Speaker 1 (15:48):
OK, so you it
Speaker 2 (15:49):
was 1617,
Speaker 1 (15:50):
you're going on almost 10 years, 1,
Speaker 2 (15:53):
10th year this year.
Speaker 1 (15:54):
That's
Speaker 2 (15:55):
awesome. Two
Speaker 1 (15:56):
Super
Speaker 2 (15:56):
Bowls, one Super Bowl ring.
Speaker 1 (15:58):
And I think I kind of said this.
It was after you guys won the Super Bowl the
first time I was it was the win and I
was like.
I, I'm a little biased here. I have no doubt
you had some.
Maybe I'll put the question. I wonder.
I don't know if it's a question for you or
(16:18):
just a question to the ethereal internet if you will,
wherever wherever these waves are going, uh, yeah, K waves
very well played, well played.
Um, that, uh, your spiritual influence.
I could maybe propped up some of the guys in
ways that maybe those X factors where maybe a guy
(16:40):
was discouraged but had that little extra.
I can do this all day type thing like I'm
gonna go for it and make that long catch or
that that bee and uh bob and weave through the
through the line man. Well, I don't know, whatever. I'm
not a football player, dude. I'm trying here
Speaker 2 (16:58):
I feel you reaching OK I feel you there you go.
There you go.
Speaker 1 (17:01):
But, but I don't know that you have, you have
that opportunity, I guess is what I'm saying to have
that influence in these guys' lives.
I mean, I don't know, tell a little bit about that. I, this,
I didn't plan on that question, but just that that
interaction.
Speaker 2 (17:13):
So I'll tell you a quick story from one of
from the best defensive player, I think, in the National
Football League, uh, in, in its history, Aaron Donald, uh,
and he doesn't mind me sharing this story because I've
asked him if I could share it before and um.
He sent me a text the night before the uh
(17:35):
the Super Bowl, and it was, it was one of
those texts where it was like, hey.
I know we're gonna win and, and I just want
to share this with you. Essentially like, hey man.
It
I want it so bad that there's not, there's gonna
be no one or nothing that's gonna stop me. And
(17:56):
if you remember the game.
Uh, AD took over the, that, that 4th quarter and,
and he was unstoppable. And, and I'm not saying that
I had anything to do with it.
What I am saying is that he felt like he
wanted to share with me some of his thoughts and
(18:18):
his feelings about, you know, what was happening and what
was gonna take place. So that was really cool. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (18:25):
well, maybe and go with the David story, you being David.
Come on, David and his mighty men.
There was relationship. They weren't just like, oh let's get
a guy or a few guys. No, they, they went
through it together running from Saul, they were outcasts and
then God just orchestrated that whole thing.
I don't know. I, I feel that maybe that could
(18:47):
there be a correlation to you guys walking together in
relationship and the key of a godly relationship kind of
having that influence in, in that realm of activity and
athletics and, and your
role.
Speaker 2 (19:01):
Yes, I think, uh, the power of relationship is, is
very important, um, especially for a, a role and position
like the chaplain, you don't, people don't.
Harald you. They don't talk about you. They don't do that.
And so it's important for you to be in the
background doing your job and again lifting people up, pushing
(19:22):
people to be, um, to their greatness awesome and and
being able to know when you get there to reflect
God and to give God glory and things like that.
Speaker 1 (19:33):
That's so good
and I, I guess it doesn't hurt that you know
the game.
Speaker 2 (19:36):
Yeah, I do, I do.
I, I know it and I love it. I don't
Speaker 1 (19:40):
know the game. I'd be like, yeah, go get that
touchdown home run. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. I know the
difference between touchdown home run. Now that's good. Um, let
me see, uh, so what would you say to, in
light of that, and I hope our listeners are listening
are are they're watching, I hope they're catching what you're,
what you're throwing out there, um.
What would you say to high school and college students
right now who are trying to live their Christian life
(20:03):
or maybe, maybe they were like you, they know about
Jesus and maybe they're, they're rubbing the Bible like God,
come out of here. Come on. Like you know you
gotta actually open it and
read it and scholarship
Speaker 2 (20:14):
you know like all
Speaker 1 (20:15):
thank you Christ gives me straight on.
Um, so, uh, what would you say to them in their,
their public or private schools because, you know, even though like, uh,
Calvary Chapel right here next to us, they're private school,
but they got guys that are, they're, they're on that
cusp of still trying to learn who they are in
Christ and this whole Jesus thing. How, what would you
say to them and and and our uh.
(20:37):
Ladies who are in athletics, volleyball or a basketball or wherever, um,
how they can be godly examples on their team, uh,
on and off the field or on and off the court.
Now what would you say to, to our, our, uh,
students that are athletes?
Speaker 2 (20:50):
So there's a, there's a few things that I would
probably say to them, but, uh, I, I'll just, I'll
just start here. Number one, that they have power.
They have the power to choose. God has given them
the power to choose who they will serve, right? They
can't serve two masters. They can't serve the sport, and,
(21:11):
and they can't serve Christ. They have to choose, uh,
but then there's, there's also this power of their unique gift.
God has given them a, a unique skill set that,
that they could, uh.
Specialize, they can hone and they can, and they can
use the gift that God has given them to uh
(21:32):
to shine light on their, on their father who's in heaven.
And so I think understanding that they have this unique power,
and then I would tell them also.
The people that you hang around determines what you look
like in the future, right? I asked my son, the
question that you just asked me and I was surprised
by his, by his, uh, his comments. He said, he said, Dad,
(21:56):
the first thing I would tell him is to read
the Bible. Come on. He said, I would tell him
to read the Bible. I would tell us to read
the Bible so you can know what God says.
So you just don't have, you're not going off of
your own moral compass, you know what God, what God's
word is saying. And, uh, and then the second thing
which I love which speaks to the people, the people
(22:17):
that you surround yourself with, he said, find somebody that
is older than you or the same or the same age.
That wants wants the best for you and it's like-minded
because that'll help you as you traverse uh the high school,
the high school college life. He's in high school now
but but it it's the people that we're around, right?
(22:39):
You talked about David and his mighty men.
Uh, it, it matters when, when the Hebrew boys was
in the fire, they weren't in the fire by themselves.
It was them three boys and then there was the,
the spirit of God that showed up in there with them.
And so if you wanna get through the fire, the
ups and the downs, you gotta have good people.
With you, then I would talk to them about their vision.
(23:01):
I would talk to them about their perspective. How do
you see yourself? Where do you see yourself? And then
that would determine your, your, your action because if you
don't have a vision, it says without vision, people perish
and cast off restraint. And so I would say, how
do you see where, where do you see yourself? How
do you see yourself? Where do you wanna go? And
then let your actions determine that.
(23:23):
And then the last thing, uh, because I believe all
of those things impact your performance and so, um, how
do you increase your performance? You, you think about your,
your habits. What habits do you have, um.
Uh, what are you eating? Uh, what?
Are you learning how to, are you learning yourself? Are
(23:44):
you learning how to express yourself? Are you, are you
emotionally smart? Do you have those things? It's not just
about book smart. It's about, it's about how you feeling
in your mind and in your heart that determines how
you perform at home.
In the classroom and on the field and so that's
what I would tell these, these high school and college
(24:05):
people like, man, it, it pays to be around good people.
It pays to know who you are. It pays to
have a vision and write it down and make it
plain so when you run, you won't get weary and
you know that it'll come to pass and it's due
time and then it'll, your performance will go from.
Average to to the next level when I, when I, yeah,
(24:28):
and that's what I would say to you. I love
Speaker 1 (24:30):
it and I don't know 4 P's. I just got
there 4 power that God's giving you power, uh uh
uh a people so both who you hang out with
and who you got mentoring you, uh, perspective, vision, I
love that and then, uh, performance, performance and then all
that comes out with how you live your life, how
you perform on the field, off the field.
That's life giving stuff right there. I hope people are
(24:52):
taking notes or at least remembering. That's good, man. All right,
I got two more questions. The first one is I
just want to know and maybe how can, uh, those
who are on the podcast, how can listeners maybe support
you in ministry because I think there might be a
few out there going, I like this guy.
This guy's got this guy's got, uh, grit. He's got game.
(25:15):
He's got heart. Let's go. um, how can people support
you in ministry? Um, I don't, I didn't even ask
you that myself, so
Speaker 2 (25:22):
I'm good
Speaker 1 (25:23):
for myself
Speaker 2 (25:24):
and everybody. Well, I mean, again, uh, we started our
nonprofit organization, uh, Gang Breakers Academy. You can, you can
go and follow us on Instagram and.
Uh, you can go to our website gangbreakers academy.org and
and see how you can, um, support us as we
support young people, athletics, academics, and, um, and the, and
(25:47):
the character development, the spiritual development stuff, and then also, man, like, uh.
I love to go and speak and share, uh, what,
what God has done in my life.
Speaker 1 (25:58):
It is encouraging to know that there's guys like Kevin
Nickerson on the gridiron leading people to Jesus, not only
current football players, but also future athletes. So keep Kevin
and his family in prayer as he continues to fight
the good fight and impact our culture in such an
amazing way. We'll see you next time on Kingdom and Culture.
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