NFL athletes-turned-nurses share how caregiving, faith reshaped their definition of strength

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Assistant Editor Monday, May 11, 2026

For former and current NFL players Patrick Hill and Chandler Brayboy, their latest collaboration with Mercy Ships and Glorify challenged them to rethink what true strength looks like, not on the football field, but through service, caregiving and faith.

The two athletes, both of whom also trained in nursing, are the voices behind “Strength in Service,” a 10-day audio devotional series that launched May 4 during National Nurses Week on the Glorify app. The series draws on their experiences in professional sports and healthcare alongside stories from Mercy Ships volunteers and patients.

Hill, a former Tennessee Titans fullback who now works as an inpatient psychiatric nurse and orthopedic nurse practitioner, told The Christian Post that the project resonated with him because of Mercy Ships’ volunteer-driven mission.

“We live in a time where everything’s money, money, money,” Hill said. “To see these people that have such profound careers, profound backgrounds, to put that aside to volunteer for a greater cause, Mercy Ships was very appealing in that aspect.”

Hill added that the partnership allowed him to unite his profession and faith in a meaningful way.

“Mercy Ships being faith-based, Glorify being faith-based, and Mercy Ships being able to bridge my profession, nursing, and still put my faith in the forefront … the project’s amazing,” Hill said.

Brayboy, a wide receiver for the Jacksonville Jaguars and a trained nurse and EMT, said Mercy Ships stood out because of the sacrificial nature of its volunteers.

“It’s just a blessing to see how people see a passion or have a call to serve others,” the 23-year-old athlete told CP. “Just seeing how far these volunteers step out on faith to go serve others and get away from their own life, that was very heartwarming.”

The athletes said their understanding of strength evolved during their transitions from football into healthcare. For Hill, volunteering in hospitals and witnessing real-life struggles while pursuing football helped reshape his perspective.

“For me, it was seeking a greater purpose, kind of trusting God to move in a way that I didn’t understand He was moving,” Hill said. “Realizing that my strength goes far beyond the physical and even the mental strength that I’m used to.”

“There can be a very powerful movement and message in serving others,” he said. “Just listening, smiling or just being there for someone showed me a way that I can have strength.”

As his NFL career began winding down, Hill said he also had to embrace uncertainty about the future.

“When that time was starting to close, I thought my own silent strength was being OK with taking the next chapter of my life,” he said.

Brayboy, who created his own dedicated prayer space after watching the Kendrick Brothers film “War Room,” traced his passion for nursing back to his grandfather’s Parkinson’s diagnosis.

“I found my strength when I could help others who were older than me,” he said. “I felt that was a great calling for me.”

“On the field, you’re trying to dominate your strength or impose your strength on somebody,” he added. “You actually can turn it and use your strength in taking care of somebody. So that was a great transition for me.”

The devotional series features real stories from Mercy Ships patients, including one that particularly resonated with both men: the story of a young boy whose severe burns left him unable to play soccer or fish with his father until receiving surgery through Mercy Ships.

Hill said the boy’s willingness to trust strangers with his care reflected a remarkable kind of courage, one that reflected 2 Corinthians 5:7. After surgery, the child eventually became one of the best soccer goalies in his town, Hill said.

“His strength was really walking by faith, not by sight,” Hill said. “Trusting people that he’d never met, volunteers, he doesn’t know their language, doesn’t know their educational background, and really stepping out on faith.” 

“He found acceptance,” Hill added. “I feel like my journey was similar to his; finding acceptance in the nursing world and in service.”

Brayboy pointed to another story involving a father who traveled long distances seeking surgery for his child.

“Just seeing how privileged and how grateful we should be to live in the States and just go right down the road if we needed reconstruction surgery,” Brayboy said. “How far his father really stepped out and went to find surgery for his kid really showed me how grateful we should be.”

Both athletes said they hope listeners walk away understanding that purpose is not tied to worldly success, but to what they do for The Kingdom. 

“We’re human as well,” Hill said. “No matter their status, no matter their profession, no matter big goals or small goals, we all have to find strength at some time.”

“The world will constantly define us as whatever they want to define us as,” he continued. “But if you are rooted and solidified as a child of God first, then you can seek your purpose because He’s guiding your steps.”

Brayboy said even achieving his dream of playing professional football and gaining earthly wealth left him feeling unfulfilled without a deeper spiritual purpose.

“Me being in the professional league of my sport at the top of the top and still not feeling satisfied, it was because I wasn’t doing my purpose for the Lord,” he said.

He encouraged listeners struggling with direction or self-worth to lean into prayer rather than striving endlessly for achievement.

“If you’re always striving for a goal, you’ll never feel satisfied,” Brayboy said. “Get in the prayer room. Fight it out with God and put it on His shoulders instead of yours. Let Him show you what your next step and your purpose would be in life.”

Additional resources, including accessing the series, Mercy Ships volunteer and patient stories and ways to get involved, are available at glorify-app.com/mercyships.