God used Donald Brown in significant ways on the field, and now He’s using him in great ways off the field.

Donald Brown played seven seasons in the NFL with the Colton chargers from 2009 through 15. In a conversation with Rob Maaddi, Donald told Faith on the Field he now serves with International Justice Mission as director of Teen Freedom Partnerships. He holds an important place in the sports history books of the University of Connecticut, as he was the first UConn player ever selected in the first round of the NFL Draft.

Brown lasted seven-plus seasons in the NFL, which is quite an accomplishment. He had over 18 rushing touchdowns for almost 3000 yards. But his biggest professional accomplishment wasn’t just seen in touchdowns and yards.

“There's not a statistic that I would say I would hang my hat on. I'd say I was a consistent teammate. I was a reliable teammate. I was a dependable teammate. And I think ultimately that's what I kind of hang hung my hat on. I wanted to be a guy that a player could count on me, a coach could count on me. So, I'd say that's kind of what I prided myself on and what I really wanted to make sure I was just to be a great teammate on and off the field to my team members.”

Donald Brown’s faith journey is the real story, as Donald was a guy who knew about religion but not a relationship with Jesus Christ.

“Growing up, I knew of religion, (but) I didn't know a relationship. I grew up in the Presbyterian Church. Maybe (around) third or fourth-grade football came in the way, and we stopped going to church. As I look back on my life, I'm humbled by God's faithfulness because I wasn't chasing after the Lord. I wasn't serving the Lord; I was totally serving myself giving into to all the temptations that this world had to offer.

And then I got drafted by the Indianapolis Colts. And so the culture and the environment that I was brought into by Jim Caldwell started with Tony Dungy, just a strong man of faith. And so, just being around people like that, constantly in my life, (they) continued to nudge me towards the Lord and kind of keep me straight. But I was totally lukewarm, and we know what the Bible says about lukewarm Christians.”

Brown had a turning point in his lukewarmness, a time that was pivotal for him.

“The pivot was in my third year, so Peyton Manning gets hurt. That's the year Peyton Manning's out. Dan Orlovsky comes in. We knew of each other, we had the same agent, we ran in kind of the same circles. So, we were friendly. Dan's wife was pregnant with triplets at the time, and it was a high-risk pregnancy. And so, I said, ‘Hey, Dan, stay with my girlfriend…’ (fiancé at the time), ‘…we've got plenty of space at our house.’ And little did he know he was walking into Sodom and Gomorrah!”

Dan Orlovsky had a big impact on Donald because Dan show loved to Donald despite all the wrong choices he was making.

“And you know, just to see the way he lived his life, the way that he loved us even in with all the things that we were walking in, I said, ‘There's something different about that guy.’ And I could see God's imprint on his life, the impact that God has had on his life. And I said, ‘I want that'”.

Finally, God used the birth of his son to really cement Donald’s commitment to Christ.

“Then, in 2013, our oldest son was born. The unconditional love I felt for my son the second he was born. it's like, man, that's how God felt about his son. He put (Jesus) on the cross for our sins. And so, from that point on, I was like, ‘Alright, I'm all in. I surrender. Use me to advance your kingdom. And I want to obey.’ And so that's kind of my faith journey.”