From Super Bowl Champ to Advocate: One Family’s Mission to Remember the Persecuted Church

Join Shannon Bream as she welcomes Benjamin Watson, Super Bowl champion, 16-year NFL veteran, college football analyst, and father of seven, for a wide-ranging conversation covering everything from family mission trips to the persecuted church to college football’s NIL era. Benjamin shares about taking his entire family to Guatemala with Compassion International, where they witnessed child poverty firsthand and sponsored a child who will now be part of their extended family for years to come. He raises urgent awareness about the crisis in Nigeria, where between 100,000 and 150,000 people (largely Christians) have been killed and 18 million children displaced, reminding us of Hebrews 13:3 to remember those imprisoned or persecuted for their faith. Benjamin offers profound wisdom on juggling career and family, recalling advice from former teammate Tedy Bruschi: when you walk through your front door, you’re not a football player, you’re a husband and father. He emphasizes being fully present (emotionally, spiritually, physically) because there’s more than one way to be absent, learning to say no to good things so you can say yes to the best things, and remembering that no one ever wishes they’d spent less time with their family. Through his podcast The Just Life, based on Micah 6:8, Benjamin explores biblical justice in everyday life, offering hope and practical wisdom for anyone seeking to live more justly in an increasingly complex world.