The spiritual pioneer in professional sports "chapel services" was Ira "Doc" Eshleman. What Doc began in pro football slowly spread to golf, baseball, basketball, motor racing, and then to top-level sports teams and individual sports across the entire world.
Doc's son Paul along with a good friend, who both worked with Campus Crusade on the University of Miami campus, convinced Doc that an off-season training conference for NFL players was a must since many were coming to faith thru the NFL chapel program but were not getting any discipleship training.
Forty years ago there were only a few known believers out of 1,000 or so NFL players. There were small Bible studies on four teams. Many of the early believers were ridiculed for their faith in the rough and tumble sport of football. In 1969 Doc volunteered to help Norm Evans expand his early chapel efforts with Miami Dolphins. The Chapel idea originated in part from Johnny Baker of the Houston Oilers who started his post-game hospital visitation to injured ballplayers. Doc recruited business executives, pastors and athletes from other sports to be "chapel" speakers. Today in pro football 500 or more players attend weekly chapel services on all 32 teams. The wives and girlfriends on many teams also have a service.
In 1971, a group of ministry leaders including Dave Hannah, Paul Eshleman, and Phoenix businessman Arlis Priest convened a Campus Crusade based discipleship conference to train athletes and chapel leaders in helping professional athletes and their spouses become Christian leaders. Thirty-four pro football players attended that meeting in Dallas. The following year, a steering committee made up of active NFL pros met in Atlanta where the PAO name and initial plan were developed to serve pro football. The players chose to provide the leadership of the program and to include their spouses. They agreed on the need for teaching to build them in relationship skills, parenting, marriage, and financial stewardship as well as training on how to share their Christian faith. In 1974 PAO was officially incorporated and held its first pro baseball conference led by Waddy Spoelstra. Arlis Priest was also appointed the first president of PAO that year. In 1984, Norm (President) and Bobbe Evans (Exec. Director) replaced Arlis following his retirement, and moved the PAO office to the Seattle area.
Our dominant objective is to help pros, coaches and their families to maximize their platforms of influence, effectively communicate their faith in God through Jesus Christ, and strengthen their personal relationships, marriages, parenting, finances and faith.
Having equipped pro athletes for more than four decades, we saw a great unmet need to equip coaches at the junior and senior high school level. As pro athletes shared their life experiences at these conferences, it became apparent that nearly all were dynamically impacted by athletic coaches prior to their pro careers. They credited much of their personal, professional and spiritual formation to coaches who got it right and were intentional with their influence.
Here's an example from John Kasay, NFL kicker for the Carolina Panthers:
"Billy Henderson was my high school head coach. He was a steady example for me as I matured and dealt with some difficult issues in my personal life. I remember Coach Henderson's philosophies concerning hard work, preparation, excellence and teamwork. The impact he had on me as a 15-year-old has carried over into my life, my family and my career two decades later."
"Because of our experiences with coaches, Laura and I have joined with and whole-heartedly support Coaches Time Out. We believe it is the single greatest tool for us to impact the lives of our country's next generation of leaders."
In 1998 Pro Athletes Outreach responded to the need to equip school athletic coaches by launching our Coaches Time Out (CTO) unit; it is a natural outreach connection with our pro athletes, and is one of the most fruitful investments we can make in the spiritual and character development of our next generation's leaders. Few leadership development models have the exponential replicating power of Coaches Time Out, where every coach we reach influences hundreds of student athletes each year and often thousands over a career.
We employ the same relational, conference approach that we've used in our pro sports ministry to engage, equip and encourage coaching couples so that they have a more intentional approach as positive role models and influential mentors in the lives of young athletes. We believe coaches can prepare young athletes for success on and off the field, cultivate the next generation of leaders, strengthen families and help transform communities across the nation.
PAO has also seen the transformation of the lives of coaches and their spouses through our annual CTO conferences which began in 1998. CTO has expanded from the Pacific Northwest to Florida, St. Louis, the Great Lakes and the Carolinas.
As a result of the steady growth in attendance and the positive impact on youth, the Board of Directors approved an exciting and ambitious strategy to expand CTO conferences to serve coaches in all 50 states within the next ten years. Our ultimate objective is to grow a nationwide community of Christ-centered coaches who develop the moral and spiritual foundations of our student/athletes and equip them to lead with excellence and integrity.
The interest and involvement in CTO continue to grow nationally.
In 2010:
- 5 CTO conferences hosted throughout the United States
- Attendees represented 13 different states
- Nearly 700 coaches, athletic directors, and spouses attended a CTO conference
In 2011:
- Planned expansion is for 9 CTO conferences
- Upwards of 1,300 coaches, athletic directors, and spouses attending a CTO conference
- 25,000 high school athletes impacted by the gospel through Coaches Time Out
- Target Expansion Areas: Northern California, Arizona, Tennessee, Louisiana