Accessibility Statement Skip Navigation
  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing
  • Login
  • GDPR
  • Create a Free Account
Return to PRWeb homepage
  • News
  • Resources
  • Contact
When typing in this field, a list of search results will appear and be automatically updated as you type.

Searching for your content...

No results found. Please change your search terms and try again.
  • News in Focus
      • Browse News Releases

      • All News Releases
      • Multimedia Gallery

      • All Multimedia
      • All Photos
      • All Videos
  • Business & Money
      • Auto & Transportation

      • Aerospace, Defense
      • Air Freight
      • Airlines & Aviation
      • Automotive
      • Maritime & Shipbuilding
      • Railroads and Intermodal Transportation
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Transportation, Trucking & Railroad
      • Travel
      • Trucking and Road Transportation
      • View All Auto & Transportation

      • Business Technology

      • Blockchain
      • Broadcast Tech
      • Computer & Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Components
      • Electronic Design Automation
      • Financial Technology
      • High Tech Security
      • Internet Technology
      • Nanotechnology
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Semiconductors
      • View All Business Technology

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Financial Services & Investing

      • Accounting News & Issues
      • Acquisitions, Mergers and Takeovers
      • Banking & Financial Services
      • Bankruptcy
      • Bond & Stock Ratings
      • Conference Call Announcements
      • Contracts
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Dividends
      • Earnings
      • Earnings Forecasts & Projections
      • Financing Agreements
      • Insurance
      • Investments Opinions
      • Joint Ventures
      • Mutual Funds
      • Private Placement
      • Real Estate
      • Restructuring & Recapitalization
      • Sales Reports
      • Shareholder Activism
      • Shareholder Meetings
      • Stock Offering
      • Stock Split
      • Venture Capital
      • View All Financial Services & Investing

      • General Business

      • Awards
      • Commercial Real Estate
      • Corporate Expansion
      • Earnings
      • Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
      • Human Resource & Workforce Management
      • Licensing
      • New Products & Services
      • Obituaries
      • Outsourcing Businesses
      • Overseas Real Estate (non-US)
      • Personnel Announcements
      • Real Estate Transactions
      • Residential Real Estate
      • Small Business Services
      • Socially Responsible Investing
      • Surveys, Polls and Research
      • Trade Show News
      • View All General Business

  • Science & Tech
      • Consumer Technology

      • Artificial Intelligence
      • Blockchain
      • Cloud Computing/Internet of Things
      • Computer Electronics
      • Computer Hardware
      • Computer Software
      • Consumer Electronics
      • Cryptocurrency
      • Data Analytics
      • Electronic Commerce
      • Electronic Gaming
      • Financial Technology
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Multimedia & Internet
      • Peripherals
      • Social Media
      • STEM (Science, Tech, Engineering, Math)
      • Supply Chain/Logistics
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Consumer Technology

      • Energy & Natural Resources

      • Alternative Energies
      • Chemical
      • Electrical Utilities
      • Gas
      • General Manufacturing
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Oil & Energy
      • Oil and Gas Discoveries
      • Utilities
      • Water Utilities
      • View All Energy & Natural Resources

      • Environ­ment

      • Conservation & Recycling
      • Environmental Issues
      • Environmental Policy
      • Environmental Products & Services
      • Green Technology
      • Natural Disasters
      • View All Environ­ment

      • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Aerospace & Defense
      • Agriculture
      • Chemical
      • Construction & Building
      • General Manufacturing
      • HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning)
      • Machinery
      • Machine Tools, Metalworking and Metallurgy
      • Mining
      • Mining & Metals
      • Paper, Forest Products & Containers
      • Precious Metals
      • Textiles
      • Tobacco
      • View All Heavy Industry & Manufacturing

      • Telecomm­unications

      • Carriers and Services
      • Mobile Entertainment
      • Networks
      • Peripherals
      • Telecommunications Equipment
      • Telecommunications Industry
      • VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol)
      • Wireless Communications
      • View All Telecomm­unications

  • Lifestyle & Health
      • Consumer Products & Retail

      • Animals & Pets
      • Beers, Wines and Spirits
      • Beverages
      • Bridal Services
      • Cannabis
      • Cosmetics and Personal Care
      • Fashion
      • Food & Beverages
      • Furniture and Furnishings
      • Home Improvement
      • Household, Consumer & Cosmetics
      • Household Products
      • Jewelry
      • Non-Alcoholic Beverages
      • Office Products
      • Organic Food
      • Product Recalls
      • Restaurants
      • Retail
      • Supermarkets
      • Toys
      • View All Consumer Products & Retail

      • Entertain­ment & Media

      • Advertising
      • Art
      • Books
      • Entertainment
      • Film and Motion Picture
      • Magazines
      • Music
      • Publishing & Information Services
      • Radio & Podcast
      • Television
      • View All Entertain­ment & Media

      • Health

      • Biometrics
      • Biotechnology
      • Clinical Trials & Medical Discoveries
      • Dentistry
      • FDA Approval
      • Fitness/Wellness
      • Health Care & Hospitals
      • Health Insurance
      • Infection Control
      • International Medical Approval
      • Medical Equipment
      • Medical Pharmaceuticals
      • Mental Health
      • Pharmaceuticals
      • Supplementary Medicine
      • View All Health

      • Sports

      • General Sports
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Sporting Events
      • Sports Equipment & Accessories
      • View All Sports

      • Travel

      • Amusement Parks and Tourist Attractions
      • Gambling & Casinos
      • Hotels and Resorts
      • Leisure & Tourism
      • Outdoors, Camping & Hiking
      • Passenger Aviation
      • Travel Industry
      • View All Travel

  • Policy & Public Interest
      • Policy & Public Interest

      • Advocacy Group Opinion
      • Animal Welfare
      • Congressional & Presidential Campaigns
      • Corporate Social Responsibility
      • Domestic Policy
      • Economic News, Trends, Analysis
      • Education
      • Environmental
      • European Government
      • FDA Approval
      • Federal and State Legislation
      • Federal Executive Branch & Agency
      • Foreign Policy & International Affairs
      • Homeland Security
      • Labor & Union
      • Legal Issues
      • Natural Disasters
      • Not For Profit
      • Patent Law
      • Public Safety
      • Trade Policy
      • U.S. State Policy
      • View All Policy & Public Interest

  • People & Culture
      • People & Culture

      • Aboriginal, First Nations & Native American
      • African American
      • Asian American
      • Children
      • Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
      • Hispanic
      • Lesbian, Gay & Bisexual
      • Men's Interest
      • People with Disabilities
      • Religion
      • Senior Citizens
      • Veterans
      • Women
      • View All People & Culture

  • Hamburger menu
  • Cision PRWeb provides efficient communication tools to continuously engage with target audiences across multiple online channels
  • Create a Free Account
    • ALL CONTACT INFO
    • Contact Us


      11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday

  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • News in Focus
    • Browse All News
    • Multimedia Gallery
  • Business & Money
    • Auto & Transportation
    • Business Technology
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Financial Services & Investing
    • General Business
  • Science & Tech
    • Consumer Technology
    • Energy & Natural Resources
    • Environ­ment
    • Heavy Industry & Manufacturing
    • Telecomm­unications
  • Lifestyle & Health
    • Consumer Products & Retail
    • Entertain­ment & Media
    • Health
    • Sports
    • Travel
  • Policy & Public Interest
  • People & Culture
    • People & Culture
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR
  • Send a Release
  • Sign up
  • Log in
  • Resources
  • RSS
  • GDPR

Hall of Fame Quarterback Jim Kelly and Family Share Faith Journey at Liberty University
  • USA - English


News provided by

Liberty University

Oct 24, 2014, 21:20 ET

Share this article

Share toX

Share this article

Share toX

Lynchburg, Va. (PRWEB) October 24, 2014 -- When Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly took the stage at Liberty University Convocation on Friday, he did so as more than a legendary football player, businessman, philanthropist, and cancer survivor. He joined Liberty as one of its own — as a parent. The university’s Vines Center was packed with students, many of whom were joined by family members to kick off the annual Fall Family Weekend.

As Convocation began with a time of worship and prayer, Kelly clasped hands tightly with his wife Jill, and daughter, Erin (a junior at Liberty) — a reminder of how close the family has clung to God and each other through the difficult seasons of their lives.

Before the Kellys shared their story in a panel moderated by David Nasser, senior vice president for Spiritual Development, the crowd was met with some surprises.

Jim Kelly’s longtime friend and teammate, fellow Hall of Famer Bruce Smith, introduced his “brother.”

Smith said he knows Jim Kelly as more than a Buffalo Bills legend who led his team to four-straight Super Bowl appearances, but as a “living testament of what God can do for you in your life.”

“He is an incredible source of strength (and) encouragement… and even through these trials and tribulations, his faith has not wavered. And that is what is the most impressive thing to me,” Smith said.

Jim Kelly showcased some of his old form by tossing footballs — autographed by both Kelly and Smith — to the crowd.

Only months ago, Jim Kelly was battling cancer, but was declared cancer-free by doctors in September.

“Don’t stop fighting,” Kelly told the students. “I live every day like it’s my last, but I enjoy every day. So enjoy every day that you can and be blessed with what you have.”

Before Jim’s battle with cancer, the Kellys’ son, Hunter, was diagnosed with Krabbe Disease shortly after his birth and was only expected to live a couple years. He died at 8-and-a-half years old in 2005.

The family shared how their faith in God was developed, and ultimately strengthened, through the seasons of hardships, beginning with Hunter’s diagnosis in 1997.

“Every day that we woke we did not know if our son was going to be there or not,” Jim Kelly said. “It was driving us crazy. … Then we decided, we were going to treat him like he was living.”

That decision helped them to make Hunter’s eight years meaningful and full of fond memories.

The family explained that before they were met with hardship, they were not a family of faith. When Hunter was diagnosed, Jill Kelly said she immediately thought that Jim’s status, talent, fame, and money could somehow fix their situation.

“The worldly foundation that I have stood on my entire life came crumbling down in an instant, and I praise God for that,” she explained. “Because if there was a worldly answer, if there was a cure or a treatment or something like that, in that moment that is what I would have continued to put my hope in.”

She said that while she selfishly came to God in that difficult time because she only wanted assurance that she would someday be with her son in Heaven, He accepted her with open arms.

“He allowed me to chase after the things of this world that are absolutely empty, because at the end of all the emptiness that’s there, He is still there,” she said. “It took the suffering of our only son to bring us to the only suffering that matters and that is the suffering of God’s one and only son.”

Jim Kelly said it was his wife’s transformation by God’s grace that led him to find peace in Christ and is what gave him a foundation he would later need to endure treatments for cancer in his upper jaw.

He was so confident in God’s love that he told NBC last year that he was not afraid to die. That was something that resonated with Erin.

“I remember growing up, my dad always said to me, ‘You have to be Kelly Tough,’” Erin said, citing the family motto and the title of her upcoming book. “I didn’t understand the fullness of what that meant until I actually saw my earthly father be weak. It just drew me to seek the strength of my Heavenly Father.

“It allowed us (as a family) to look to God’s strength and say, ‘Lord, you are good even in the midst of this, you are good and you are taking care of every detail and we have nothing to fear because we know that in death we can have life.’”

Jim Kelly said that the opportunities God has given him to impact others through this journey have been just as much of a blessing to him.

The Kelly family wanted to encourage anyone in the crowd who is going through hardship or uncertainty. As Convocation ended, Jill Kelly asked anyone who wanted that support to stand and she prayed for them.

After Convocation, the Kellys interacted with students and signed copies of their books.

Later in the day, they visited the Liberty Flames Sports Network studio and filmed segments for upcoming episodes of Game On, LFSN’s daily sports talk show. Jim Kelly then spent time interacting with the Flames Football team and its head coach, Turner Gill, a friend of Kelly’s.

The Kellys plan to enjoy Fall Family Weekend events together at Liberty this weekend.

About Liberty University
Liberty University, founded in 1971, is the largest private, nonprofit university in the nation, the largest university in Virginia, and the largest Christian university in the world. Located near the Blue Ridge Mountains on more than 7,000 acres in Lynchburg, Va., Liberty offers more than 450 unique programs of study from the associate to the doctoral level. More than 200 programs are offered online. Liberty’s mission is to train Champions for Christ with the values, knowledge, and skills essential for impacting tomorrow’s world.

Liberty University News Office, Liberty University, +1 (434) 592-4955, [email protected]

Modal title

Contact PRWeb

  • 11AM ET Sunday – 8PM ET Friday
  • Contact Us

About PRWeb

  • About PRWeb
  • Partners
  • Partnership Programs
  • Editorial Guidelines
  • Resources

Why PRWeb

  • Why PRWeb
  • How It Works
  • Who Uses It
  • Pricing

Accounts

  • Create a Free Account
  • Log in
  • Contact Us

Do not sell or share my personal information:

  • Submit via [email protected] 
  • Call Privacy toll-free: 877-297-8921

Contact Cision

Products

About

My Services
  • All News Releases
  • Online Member Center
  • ProfNet
Cision Distribution Helpline
888-776-0942
  • Legal
  • Site Map
  • RSS
  • Cookie Settings
Copyright © 2025 Cision US Inc.