5 Questions with Heath Evans

Welcome to 5 Questions With.....

Today's guest is Heath Evans. Heath is the starting fullback for the New Orleans Saints of the NFL. Heath has also played for the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots. He has played in 121 regular season games and has 157 carries for 561 yards and three touchdowns. As a receiver out of the backfield, he has 40 receptions for 328 yards with one score. Heath has only missed 3 games in his career in the NFL.

And now without further delay, on to the questions:

Hi Heath,

Question 1: What one word would describe your current relationship with God?

Active.

Question 2: Your ministry, the Heath Evans Foundation, seeks to help victims of sexual abuse. What was the catalyst for this type of ministry?

My lovely wife of 9 years was sexually abused as a child by a schoolmate for an entire year of her life. The shame and guilt and pain she experienced had an impact on our lives as a young married couple, because no one had ever helped her address the issue. When we finally found a Christian counselor with experience in sexual abuse counseling, her life was turned around by the love of Christ – the Great Physician who heals all wounds. That pain is now the impetus for our desire to help others who have walked through this specific type of abuse. We now provide counseling for victims of childhood sexual abuse, fostering hope and healing in their lives through Christ. In addition, we host activities and media spots that raise awareness for the epidemic of childhood sexual abuse.

Question 3: How prevalent is childhood sexual abuse?

What is so amazing is that national statistics make clear that one in four young girls and one in six young boys will be sexually abused before the age of 18! In our home of Palm Beach County, Florida, the statistics are even more shocking: one in three girls and one in five boys. Those are statistics that can be Googled and backed up – not just something we inflate to make it seem like an epidemic. It is such a problem. If those numbers of kids got cancer or some other disease that ate away at the body the way sexual abuse eats away at the soul, there would be public outcry like you would not believe. But this is a quiet epidemic – one that we want to bring out in the open and combat!

Question 4: What can Christians do to help in this area?

First of all: Pray! There is only one true cure for this problem – both the abusing and the effects of the abuse. Christ is the only answer to sin, and abuse is rooted in sin. In addition, Christians can bring attention to the Heath Evans Foundation. There are so few organizations focused on this problem that we need exposure and financial gifts. My wife and I give as much as needed, but we are still limited by financial needs. If we can get an army of believers praying and supporting financially, we can grow this ministry on a national level. Even in a tough economy, 1,000 people giving $10 or $20 each month can make a huge impact. The counseling we provide costs appx $500 each month per victim, and there is an almost endless need at this point.

Question 5: How hard is it to be a Christian witness in competitive sports?

It is no harder than men or women who work a normal 9:00 - 5:00. Children of God will act like children of God!! Those who are just playing church will just keep playing church and have no impact where they are. I'm not saying that real men of God will not have bad days or momentary struggles, but at the end of the day, men of God are going to act like Christ consistently. I think the problem with most people who claim to be Christians is that they don't know enough about Christ to even begin acting like Him. Hosea 4:6 says, "My people are destroyed because of their lack of knowledge." What does this mean? It literally means that every day people are losing their lives for all eternity because they do not know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. I believe it also means Christians are daily losing battles here on earth that have no eternal consequences to them but do drastically affect the lives of themselves and others around them. The Bible says that the children of God are to be a peculiar people. That doesn't mean that we are supposed to be weird, but it does mean that people should see a difference in our daily lives......and it should be a good different!! They need to want what we have!!

Thanks you very much Heath.

So there you have it. I would encourage you to check out Heath's website and if you would like to help contribute financially to the work among the sexually abused click here.

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