Have you ever seen the movie Hardball, a sports drama featuring Keanu Reeves? That movie is a reflection of Darius’s upbringing—a young man raised in the inner-city projects, embracing sports as an outlet. As a teenager, Darius rededicated his life to Jesus after blindly battling idolatry through sports. His view of God was that of someone who only turned to God when he needed something. As Darius states, “I used to seek God’s hand, not His face.” By the grace of God, Darius’s eyes were opened. He developed a hunger for God and His word and hasn’t looked back since.
He is a youth speaker and the author of Sports Was A God: The Search Beyond the Game. He played college football at Bethel University, where he also served as president of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. During college, he became more aware of his gift for speaking and his ability to lead others.
After graduating from Bethel, he served on Young Life staff for three years in Memphis, TN. From there, the Lord led Darius and his wife, Lauren, to Dallas, TX. He served as the junior high and high school program coordinator at Forerunner Mentoring and the director of youth at Dallas Leadership Foundation. Darius enjoys inspiring youth through his testimony and the word of God. He has spoken to over 100 youth audiences and has more than 10 years of youth ministry experience. He is happily married to his beautiful wife, Lauren. They have a son named Solomon.
