Nathan Brazil plays with a purpose. The quietly confident soccer player has a straightforward heart and knows where his love of the game stems from. He points to a line in the movie Chariots of Fire, when missionary and Olympic runner Eric Liddell, one of his heroes, is asked about his love of running. Liddell answers:

“I believe God made me for a purpose, but he also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.”

Brazil echoes similar sentiment. “When I play soccer, I feel God’s pleasure. I believe with my whole heart that God gave me passion for this sport. That’s why I love it.”

Nathan Brazil plays with a purpose.

Brazil was born into the game, watching his two older brothers play in the backyard until he was able to join in. He continued through high school at Grace Academy in Hagerstown, Md., and more recently, in Australia.

South Central Pennsylvania Area Representative Stan Hott first met Brazil at an FCA Power Camp, where he coached soccer. Brazil was one of his Huddle leaders, his character and poise quickly captivating camp participants.

“The very first time I met him, he had his arm in a brace and he’s out playing soccer with little kids. He just has that likeable personality, and the youth and the athletes were just drawn to him. He has great leadership instincts and everyone wanted to be around him.”

Turns out the night before camp started a window shattered and sliced Brazil’s left wrist. He spent most of the evening in the emergency room while doctors dealt with severed tendons and a lacerated nerve. He received five stitches and was advised to take the week off until they could schedule proper surgery.

Brazil led at camp all week.

That fall, Brazil and a few classmates formed a Huddle at Grace Academy. “Leading the first Bible study session with the group was such a rewarding experience. It meant a lot to me to be able to help,” he said.

Along with FCA, he kicked off a senior soccer season that brought his team to the National Association of College Athletes Tournament in Tennessee, where Brazil was honored for his skills as part of the all-tournament team.

Brazil’s instincts and ethics resonated across the pitch, across teams and flaring tempers that inevitably appear in the heat of competition. “I watched him control his team,” Hott, who also coached at a rival school, said. “He showed the others what it is to live Christ-like and to turn the other cheek and play to the best of your abilities to glorify God.

“His influence he had on the field was enough that my players saw it, and they said, ‘Hey, that’s what FCA’s about and we want to be part of it, too,’” he continued. “My son attended the FCA Power Camp, and he wasn’t in his Huddle, but every day he had to come home and tell me about what Nathan was doing. The influence Nathan had was huge.”

For years, Brazil knew he wanted to attend an Australian university, and in January 2013 he visited colleges to “get a taste of what it would be like to live away from everyone back in the States.” After graduating early in December, he boarded a plane and God met him on the runway, ushering him into his new life.

Brazil at Power Camp with campers and a cast on his arm from an injury the night before.

“God really opened doors for me educationally. The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology accepted my late application two weeks before classes commenced,” Brazil asserted. “That same week, I trained for the first time with my new club, the Beaumaris Sharks. Two training sessions and a friendly match later, I was asked to stay with the club long term.”

The South Melbourne team is a community club, three leagues away from the Hyundai A League (Australia’s professional league). But the right winger faces greater challenges than simply finding his groove at the next level. Though he prepared himself for the move, homesickness hit a month into Australia, and the world around him lacked the Christian environment that once surrounded him back home.

“I realized that my group of friends from school and FCA were more than friends. They were family. I would certainly say that leaving all my friends, family and support has been a challenging for my faith,” he admitted. “At the same time, it has made me more and more dependent on God.

“This country desperately needs a stronger Christian influence. One of my personal goals is to find some way to bring FCA to my university and I would love to be involved in any way possible.”

Sounds like a purpose played well.

Nathan Brazil: In My Own Words

I first heard about FCA from my friends in school who would ask me at least a few times each month if I wanted to work the Power Camp in summer. My soccer coach, Shane Weagly, would constantly encourage me to give back to my community and sign up for the summer Power Camp. I personally made the decision around April 2013.

My experience at camp was phenomenal. My week at Power Camp was also a bit challenging. The night before the first day of Camp, my bedroom window shattered as I was opening it and a piece of glass sliced my left wrist open. I spent part of the night in the emergency room, was given five stiches and told to take the week off until I could receive proper surgery. I ended up ignoring the doctor and helped out at the Power Camp with my arm in a brace. I spent the week with two severed tendons and a lacerated nerve. It was definitely a challenge coaching my group of 8-year-olds with one hand. I was so blessed to have the entire camp praying for me and to have a loyal friend who helped me with my Huddle. The entire experience left me humbled and grateful.

The lessons I brought to my fall season were simple but life changing.

1. Lead by example. Always. Never ask someone to do something you would not do.

2. Encourage, never discourage.

3. Always remember that you represent Christ with everything you say and do, on and off the field.

What does it mean to you to compete for Christ?

Everything. I would not have the strength, endurance or passion to compete if it wasn’t for Jesus Christ. I place my identity in Him and when I’m on the pitch, I always make sure it’s clear who I represent, first and foremost. I believe there has to be a greater and more meaningful reason to compete than merely the desire to win.

Why is it important to show Christ through your actions?

My personal goal as a Christian athlete is this: when I play, I want people to see me and think, “Wow that kid plays with passion and joy. He doesn’t use foul language. He doesn’t disrespect his coach or the officials. It’s great to see an athlete with that type of attitude. I wonder what makes him different.” That is my goal as an athlete. I want people to see my actions on the pitch and then ask me later on why I play the way I do.

You have a lot of younger kids looking up to you as an athlete, and now as an athlete at the semi-professional level. How does that affect your actions and how you live your life?

Last year, when I realized for the first time how young children looked up to me, it changed the way I saw myself as an athlete and as an individual. I realized that for some kids, I had become a role model. This was so humbling and also slightly terrifying. I was no longer the boy looking up to older athletes at my school. Suddenly I had become that athlete that kids wanted to be like. Every time I was at school, I constantly reminded myself that my actions were being seen by younger kids. Now that I’m also coaching an Under-15’s team for my new soccer club, the realization that there are younger boys looking up to me serves as a check to all of my words and actions.

Can you tell me what God has been teaching you throughout your athletic journey?

1. Complete dependence on Christ. I’ve experienced several injuries over the years, and although they were rather dark times for me personally, they served as an opportunity for God to reinforce my dependency on Him.

2. My abilities and talents are not to be used for my own glorification. My gifts are God given and should be used as a way to bring others to Christ, not merely for my own benefit.

3. Humility. When I win, when I lose, when I receive some type of achievement or acknowledgement, I need to be humble and remember that He is in control no matter what.

What’s the most important part of your faith?

I think the most important part of my faith would be love. Loving others as Christ loved me. As the apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13:1-4, I could do countless goods works in the name of my Savior, but if I don’t love others, I’ve done nothing.

After your playing days are over, what is the legacy you hope to leave behind?

I want to be a good example of a Christian athlete. I want young children, teenagers and even adults to look at me and be encouraged to be open about their faith. If I could influence even just a few Christian athletes to “go all in” for Christ, completely give the athletic side of their lives over to Christ, I would be happy.

I would also like to be an example of how someone can come from a not-so-great situation growing up and make something out of their lives. I want to be an encouragement to kids who come from broken homes or difficult situations. I’d like to show them that it IS possible to “break the cycle” so to speak, and do something different with their lives. You don’t have to let your unfortunate circumstances dictate your life.

Photos courtesy of Nathan Brazil