In his Bible studies with Denver Broncos players and coaches, chaplain Reza Zadeh doesn’t use sports analogies or Bible verses designed to inspire.

“They don’t need me to pump them up,” says Zadeh, who was born in Iran, moved to California with his parents after the country’s 1979 Islamic revolution and played football for Colorado State University.

Zadeh teaches them the same things that he’s taught nonathletes as a young adult pastor at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, lead pastor at Timberline in Windsor and his current position as part-time teaching pastor at Mission Hills Church in Littleton.

“With the Broncos, I teach about life issues — the kinds of things young men in their 20s have to navigate, and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus and a man of God,” he says.

Zadeh is not employed by the Broncos but works with Athletes In Action, the sports ministry of Cru, the $600 million evangelical ministry formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ.

While some NFL teams employ chaplains, most outsource the work to ministries such as Athletes In Action, which was founded in 1966 and whose workers serve as volunteer chaplains for numerous professional and college teams. Zadeh, who began serving the Broncos in 2017, raises financial support from donors.

He says his mission is simple: “I help remove the scales from the eyes of athletes and leaders,” he says.

That means helping players and coaches realize that their true, eternal identity is found in Christ, not in wealth, celebrity or the weekly thrill of victory or agony of defeat.

During the season, Zadeh leads voluntary Friday morning Bible studies, one with coaches and one with players. He also leads a chapel service the night before home games. He’s on call when needed but doesn’t travel to road games.

During the offseason, everyone has more time for barbecue dinners and longer conversations about the meaning of life outside of football. He has officiated at players’ private weddings and baptisms.

Zadeh hopes that deeper relationships with players and coaches will help encourage deeper relationships with God.

His relationship with God came alive during the summer of 1997 while in Fort Collins. He had planned to spend the summer partying but wound up committing himself to Christ after meeting Athletes In Action workers who came to town for a Cru convention and reading Bill Bright’s “The Four Spiritual Laws,” which has 3 million copies in print. The book begins “God loves you and offers a wonderful plan for your life.”

Zadeh says his work is made easier when key players such as quarterback Russell Wilson and safety Justin Simmons, both team captains, publicly proclaim their faith while putting it into action through their philanthropy.

A recent Instagram post from Simmons featured a “God First” T-shirt and message. A Sept. 6 tweet from Wilson said: “Your Season of Isolation, Struggle and Pain… Brought you closer to God. Allowed you to realize whose (sic) for you & whose (sic) against you. The Good News… HE is for you! They are going to see a better version of you. HIS VERSION. I’ll bet on God every time.”

Zadeh hopes the Broncos win more games this season than in 2022 but says losses can bring greater awareness of people’s spiritual needs.

“Even though we had a really rough year, our spiritual participation was through the roof,” he said.