Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, knows a few things about success. Dungy shared his secrets for success the morning of April 8 at the Wasatch Hills church in Salt Lake City during a faith and family worship event, which drew an overflow crowd to the church.

The theme for the weekend was “Faith and Family” — youth needs in particular. A special Sabbath school session was planned for all the local Adventist church youth, and Dungy spent this time exclusively with the young people.

Late last year, Dungy and his family suffered a severe blow when they lost their 18-year-old son, James. “After hearing about his loss and how faith played a big part in how he dealt with the situation, the church elders and I felt it was important to have Coach Dungy come and share with us,” explained Pastor Bernie Anderson.

“I had the opportunity to hear Dungy speak at my mother’s church in Texas, and I requested any opportunity that Dungy would have to encourage and motivate members at Wasatch Hills who are faced with similar challenges,” explained Anderson. The weekend events also gave members an opportunity to invite family members, friends and co-workers to church who might otherwise refuse an invitation.

Reaching out to missing members and past contacts was also a motivator for the weekend. The sanctuary was filled to capacity with an overflow crowd. “We’re planning to make further contacts and cultivate the relationship with the non-Adventists who attended,” explained Anderson.

Since seating was limited at the church, the church planned an evening program on the University of Utah campus to accommodate the needs of the local community and larger public. Anderson relished the opportunity to get exposure for the Adventist church in a city so linked with the Mormon church.

Dungy has tasted success throughout his life. He was a standout collegiate football player at the University of Minnesota. He learned what it takes to succeed at the professional level as a defensive player during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ championship dynasty years in the 1970s. He did not let a relative lack of size get in the way of a brief pro career with Pittsburgh, the San Francisco 49ers, and the New York Giants.

Once his career as a player was over, Dungy quickly became known as one of the most innovative and respected defensive coaches in the National Football League. That’s due in large part to his integrity, his open display of high moral character, the manner in which he instills those values in the young men he leads, and his involvement in the welfare of his community.

He places a much higher priority on his success off the field as a role model, a husband, a father and a Christian. The coach referred back to a “definition for success” laid out by the morning speaker, Rev. Richard Allen Farmer, consisting of three D’s — "Dedication to a declaration without deviation." He also referred to Proverbs 16:3, saying “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.”

“That has become one of my favorite verses,” Dungy said, “because I really believe if you keep that in context, it really promises you a way to succeed." That means committing your life to the Lord, using the things He has given to you to further His kingdom, committing a career to God, asking Him to guide you, help in making good plans and help in making good decisions, he added.

Dungy said there are two parts to Biblical success: doing all you can do with the resources God gives you, and glorifying God with the results and not yourself. “If you do those two things, you can look at yourself as a success, but it takes both,” he noted. “You can’t just say that whatever I do, God’s going to be glorified as a result and therefore it’s going to be a success. That encourages people to do some things that God wouldn’t want us to do.”

It’s not just the end result, but it’s how we do it that matters if we’re doing things God’s way, he said. We also can’t look for honor for ourselves. “That’s really not success,” Dungy said. “That’s more pride. And pride, as we know, goes before destruction.”

The most important point about success, he noted, is that you can’t have true and lasting success without a relationship with Christ. “You can have a lot of the indicators — you can have fame, you can have notoriety, you can have material things, you can have a powerful position, you can have the adulation of a lot of people,” Dungy said. “But if you don’t have a relationship with Christ, it won’t be meaningful and, above all, it won’t be lasting.”