Dr. Derwin L. Gray (born April 9, 1971) is a former NFL football player and the founding and lead pastor of Transformation Church in

Indian Land, South Carolina Indian Land is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community in the northernmost part (the "Panhandle") of Lancaster County, South Carolina, Lancaster County, South Carolina, United States. It lies east of Fort Mill, South Carolina, Fort Mill, ...

College and NFL

After graduating from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

, Derwin was the 92nd pick in the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He played for five years with the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) South division. Since the 2008 ...

(1993-1997) and one year with the

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. T ...

(1998).

Church work

Derwin and his wife Vicki began an itinerant speaking ministry, One Heart At A Time Ministries, in 1999. Derwin went on to graduate magna cum laude from

Southern Evangelical Seminary Southern Evangelical Seminary is a Christian college in Matthews, North Carolina, United States. History The seminary was established in 1992 by Norman Geisler and Ross Rhoads. The college, Southern Evangelical Bible College (SEBC), was esta ...

with a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree, with a focus in apologetics. Derwin and Vicki founded Transformation Church in January 2010. In 2018, Derwin received his Doctor of Ministry in the New Testament in Context at Northern Seminary under Dr. Scot McKnight. Along with pastoring Transformation Church, Derwin speaks at conferences across the country and is referred to as the “Evangelism Linebacker." He has written 6 books: ''Hero: Unleashing God’s Power in a Man’s Heart'', published 2010; ''Limitless Life: You Are More Than Your Past When God Holds Your Future'', published 2013; ''Crazy Grace for Crazy Times Bible Study,'' published 2015; ''The High Definition Leader: Building Multiethnic Churches in a Multiethnic World'', published 2015; ''The Good Life: What Jesus Teaches About Happiness,'' published 2020, and ''How to Heal Our Racial Divide: What the Bible Says, and the First Christians Knew, about Racial Reconciliation'' in 2022.

Personal life

Derwin married Vicki Ensign in 1992, whom he met his freshman year at BYU. They have two children: a daughter, Presley, and a son, Jeremiah.

NFL stats

References

External links

Football Database
1971 births Living people American Protestants Players of American football from San Antonio American football defensive backs Judson High School alumni Southern Evangelical Seminary alumni BYU Cougars football players Indianapolis Colts players Carolina Panthers players {{defensiveback-1970s-stub