Exclusive with Steelers Chaplain Kent Chevalier

First, can you explain how you started off as a pastor in Pittsburgh and how you got into this role?

I have been a pastor for 22 years now in the Pittsburgh area. I was a pastor for 10 years in Pittsburgh then moved to Detroit for four years, then I came back to plant a church here in Pittsburgh. That failed wonderfully! It was the hardest year of my life. But I landed after that at a great church and have been there ever since – for 12 years – Northway Christian Community now has seven churches across the Pittsburgh region – I was the campus pastor for the original location.

This past July, I stepped out of that role to become a local missionary for Athletes in Action – hired by them to be the Steelers chaplain.

Athletes in Action has about nine-to-ten chaplains across the NFL. Different NFL teams work with chaplains in different ways, Working with Athletes in Action, I work with the Steelers in a full-time role. Some are part-time.

What exactly is the role of  team chaplain, besides the obvious?

The way I and my wife Erica look at it, we’re the pastors of the Pittsburgh Steelers – not just the players and coaches. If you look at the team’s facility, we think of that as our church, and anyone on the staff and their families are our congregation. We are a ministry of availability – we’re here to walk alongside of everyone here. That’s our overarching approach.

Programatically, if you will, my wife and I handle things together. My wife is the chaplain to the ladies – she holds separate Bible studies for the wives and girlfriends. During the season we do couples groups where we study the scriptures but do so by combining it as well with marriage study – looking at how we do marriage. We study the Bible but focus on the topic of marriage.

Every night before games – whether on the road or at home – I’ll travel with the team for road games – I hold a chapel service for the players at whatever hotel we’re staying at. Sometimes I’ll have guest speakers, but I talk about how they are playing for an audience of one. They are playing for God’s glory, not for the name on the back of their jerseys.

How about one-on-one moments – how much of that do you get with players?

In the scripture, there is a person – Nicodamus – who was a guy that only would visit Jesus late at night. He didn’t want anyone to know he was talking to Jesus. Well, I love my Nicodamus moments with players. Some guys don’t want to be seen with me – I’ll get late night texts or calls asking to meet me at night to talk about things by the pool at the hotel. That’s where most of my ministry is done – those Nicodamus moments.

How has faith in sports changed from years ago, do you think?

Now, you see pastors across every team in the sports world. That wasn’t the case years ago. It’s also different with each team. Certain pastors have restrictions – some aren’t allowed in the facility – maybe they are part-time pastors. For me, I’ve been given full access – I’m hearing that more and more now.

On the player and coach side, the restrictions on what players can and can’t do from the top of the organization and in their contracts is growing. Some players aren’t allowed to play pickup basketball. And the Steelers require players to do a lot of community events – they were all required to do them in the NFL 100 program to earn community-service credits. They have to earn so many hours of service.

Every team has a community relations department – that didn’t exist a while ago. I can participate with the team at those events, but those events do limit the time players can have for ministry. They are pulled in so many different directions now, and they are doing great things in the name of the Steelers’ organization. But they do have less time for ministry. For me, the difficulty is getting them to have time to do ministry work in God’s name, not just in the Steelers’ name.

The game has become more diverse over the years – meaning more faiths at a higher percent than in years’ past. How does that influence how you handle your work?

Anybody and everybody is welcome to participate in what I do. For me, dude, I’m not one of those guys that’s a Bible thumper. That’s not my style. The God of the Bible was open and loving to all people. “For God so loved the word…” That passage meant that God loved those that opposed him too – so much he gave his only son.

I’m here to love and serve you. My job is not to push my faith on you, but to be open and communicate with you. I’m here if you are having a hard time no matter your faith. I’m not here to be a Bible thumper. I’m here to be loving to you.

Any fun stories you can share of your time with the Steelers so far?

Oh yeah. My first year it was all a first for me. Going to the stadium for the first time, not knowing the rhythm of the team prayers – when they happen.

Well, the players decide when to initiate the team prayer. All of the sudden that first game they announce the prayer is starting, and they all start stepping into the shower and holding hands, I was like, “What?” This bunch of humungous NFL dudes all bunching up and holding hands in the shower praying…that was a first for me!

Also – my first year in the NFL, I was on the sidelines talking with the Steelers trainer Gie {Garrett Giemont} – just getting to know him while we watched practice. Up came Coach Tomlin behind us, just standing there for a while.

Then he interrupted – and I knew it was a joke – it was funny. He said “Know what Gie? I want the most chiseled chaplain in the NFL. PK needs some help!” He called me PK – Pastor Kent. I didn’t know whether to be honored or not! I think that was his way of telling Gie that it was ok for me to work out with the players and for him to show me how to navigate the facility!

You have fun working out with the players?

Dude – it is a lot of fun, But I try no to be there when they are fully in there. I get out of their way! But I do get some great conversations in between reps with some of  the guys.

Any other thoughts on your time with the Steelers?

For me, the way this all happened – I still love being a part of the Northway church. I met Vance McDonald there – he attended the church when I was the pastor and he and I struck a friendship that led to a discipleship. I learned then from him that the Steelers didn’t have chaplain. He told me that he really wanted the team to have one – he had one in San Francisco before he was traded to the Steelers and the Steelers had one for a short time when he got there. But the team didn’t have one in 2017 or 2018.

Vance introduced me to Coach Tomlin – that’s how I got connected to the Steelers.  I wasn’t looking for this. I was a Steelers fan my entire life – I could tell you where I was when the Steelers won the Super Bowl in Detroit. As a huge fan of the Steelers growing up in Pittsburgh, this had been incredible. I am truly blessed. I am so happy to be able to do this for the Steelers family, and for Steelers nation. And to be able to help players use their platform to share their faith – I am truly blessed.

Read more by former Steelers via the book Steelers Takeaways: Player Memories Through the Decades.  To order, just click on the book: