Getty Patrick Mahomes has leaned on his faith throughout his football career.
In his first year as the Chiefs starting quarterback, Patrick Mahomes has accomplished a lot, but it is his Christian faith that makes his family proud. Mahomes mother, Randi Martin, spoke with IN Magazine about Mahomes’ faith back in 2016 when Mahomes was playing at Texas Tech.
“In middle school, he got real involved with his youth group,” Randi told IN Magazine. “He got saved. There was a night at church, he had his hands raised to the Lord and he was singing. I just felt overcome with this most awesome moment, more than any football game, because I knew where his heart truly is.
At times, Mahomes uses social media to express his faith.
“God is good! #blessed,” Mahomes tweeted on July 11, 2018.
After former Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith sustained a season-ending injury, Mahomes took to Twitter to offer encouragement.
“Prayers for my guy man! You will bounce back!” Mahomes noted on Twitter.
Mahomes’ Mother Reminds Him to “Thank God For His Blessings”
God is good! #blessed
Mahomes has gone from being a backup quarterback to one of the most recognizable players in the NFL. Martin encourages her son to continue to rely on his faith.
“I want him to stay humble; That means a lot to me,” Martin noted to KSHB. “I always encourage him to pray and to thank God for his blessings that he has and his abilities.”
After losing a quarterback battle in high school, Mahomes nearly quit football. Martin encouraged her son to pray about the decision per Sports Illustrated.
Mahomes, in fact, nearly quit football the summer before his junior year of high school, according to his mother, Randi. He’d played safety as a sophomore and felt he didn’t get a fair shot at the position he wanted, quarterback. Rather than enter a QB competition as a junior, he figured he’d concentrate on basketball and baseball. (Mahomes would be drafted by the Detroit Tigers at the conclusion of his senior year in 2014, in the 37th round.) His mother encouraged him to pray on it.
Mahomes Decided to Get Baptized When He Was in 7th Grade
Despite the difficulty of the season, the divorce of his parents proved to be a tipping point in his personal growth. Mahomes made a few decisions including getting baptized when he was in seventh grade, signifying how important he wanted his faith to be going forward. The Ringer detailed the changes Mahomes made.
He faced another “grown-man decision,” as Hawkins called it. After his parents divorced when he was young, he’d made a lot of them. Living with his mom, he took on more chores. Sometimes he declined friends’ invitations to hang out because he needed to watch his two younger siblings. In the seventh grade, he chose to get himself baptized; he wanted, his mom said, “to become a man in church.”
Mahomes Is Using His Status as an NFL Quarterback to Give Back
Mahomes recently went with kids on a shopping spree to a local sporting goods store. Mahomes spent time helping kids pick out shoes and apparel. It is just one of several ways Mahomes is using his status as a pro athlete for good.
“I was that little kid,” Mahomes explained to KSHB. “I was the one looking up to athletes. And, getting to see them and getting to be a part of them. I remember those experiences; I know how much it means for every single kid. And, just to be around and just to see that I’m just a normal dude too.”