PHOENIX — Selling out more than 120 consecutive games! That's how the Phoenix Suns do NBA basketball. But as fans find their seats at home games inside Footprint Center, Pastor Travis Hearn works behind the scenes, helping players and coaches embrace their faith before tipoff.
"So, I'm their team chaplain and team pastor. If you think of the Suns, they have, you know, 82 games or whatever it is a year. They're on the road all the time. You really can't go to church consistently. So, for the guys that want to go, we take church to them," Pastor Hearn explained.
Pastor Travis has spent the past 20 years as an NBA team chaplain for the Phoenix Suns.
"One hour before tipoff, and it's 15 minutes long. It's just a little bit of, you know, prayer, a prayer request Bible talk. It's relevant stuff, you know, and so that's kind of the idea of chapel," Pastor Hearn said.
Pastor Travis, who leads Impact Church in north Scottsdale tells ABC15 that faith in professional sports isn't limited to the NBA.
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"Every pro sports team, every one of them has a chapel service. They have a chaplain, which is their pastor for that team. Football is different because there's eight home games and so they do chapel the night before, at the team hotel, because the team has to stay at the team hotel, even at home games. Baseball is a little bit different too. So, they do them on Sundays. So, for Major League Baseball, it's always a Sunday morning, pretty early, and even in spring training," said Pastor Hearn.
In addition to prayer, Pastor Travis says chapel is about encouragement and offering moral support.
"Chapel, like scratches the surface. I am their pastor. I am their shepherd. My wife and I, Natalie, we are their pastors. So, Natalie leads these women through Bible studies. I'm leading the men but even as much as that's so important, so is, 'Hey, man, I'm going through something and can you help me or my family members going through something?' or I get a lot of pros' mamas who hit me all the time, and the kids are in the league and it's 'Will you pray for so and so because things aren't going so great right now'. You're their pastor. It's not about doing a service. It is about doing life together," Pastor Hearn said.
