FAITH. PASSION. PURPOSE.
Meet Pastor Smith
Bay Area Community & Spiritual Leader
Pastor Earl Smith became the youngest chaplain ever hired by the California Department of Corrections when he was asked to become the chaplain at San Quentin in 1983.
​
In 2000, Earl was named National Correctional Chaplain of the Year. He currently serves as chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors.
​
He has appeared on HBO, CNN, The 700 Club, Trinity Broadcasting and the Discovery Channel, and has been featured in Newsweek and Time.
Earl was born and raised in Stockton, California, where he lives today with his wife, Angel, and their children Ebony, Earl Jr., Tamara, and Franklin.
What We Specialize In
"Basketball is pretty much every day for us, and Earl helps us stay centered, talking to us about faith and how we should be as men, whether we’re winning games or not."
- Stephen Curry,
Golden State Warriors
“Chaplain Earl Smith is a man of real integrity and unusually effective in dealing with inmates in prison. He also has enjoyed great ability in communicating as a chaplain for the San Francisco 49ers and the Golden State Warriors. He is highly socially mobile being able to deal with the elite athletes in the world and the most notorious criminals. There are very few ministers that have this range of communication abilities, but Earl certainly does.”
- Bill Glass,
Founder of prison ministry, Beyond the Walls
“By virtue of who these guys are, they are the best of the best. They’re famous, yet if you allow yourself to be locked in on the fame, you might negate the opportunity to present Christ in a proper way.”
- Pastor Earl Smith,
Warriors & 49ers Team Chaplain
