Retired Pittsburgh Steelers nose tackle Chris Hoke’s devotion to the Mormon faith was important enough for him to put his college football career at Brigham Young University on hold for two years so he could serve as a foreign missionary.

That lifelong devotion, which began in earnest with a covenant with God made during his baptism into the faith when he was 8, has led the 43-year-old Hoke this month to become president of the Pittsburgh North Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is seated in Cranberry Township.

Hoke said his primary focus as stake president will be to serve the spiritual needs of church members and to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

“First of all, I want everyone to know that they are children of God and that they are loved by our father in heaven more than they can imagine,” Hoke said. “I want everyone to understand that God has a plan for each of us.”

Hoke will lead a congregation of about 3,000 church members from an area that covers Butler and Beaver counties and stretches from Grove City to Allegheny County. He will serve alongside 1st Counselor David Glover, a physician at UPMC, and 2nd Counselor Bernd Scanlan, a systems engineer for Hitachi Rails STS.

One of the greatest spiritual challenges Hoke faced came during his senior year of high school in California. As he prepared to serve as a church missionary, he grappled with where he would attend college to play football.

Hoke said he did not heed the advice of his high school coach who told him that leaving football for two years would ruin his playing career. He also passed on a Fulbright scholarship to attend UCLA in favor of accepting a scholarship from Brigham Young University in Utah because the Mormon-owned school would accommodate his mission plans.

“I kept my personal life aligned with God because I knew that’s what God wanted me to do,” he said.

Hoke served as a missionary in Belgium and France in 1995 and 1996 before returning to BYU, where he played football for four years.

In 2001, Hoke was signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent. He played his entire 11-year career with the team before retiring in 2012.

Several weeks after retiring from professional football, Hoke was called to serve as a second counselor for the area overseen by the bishop of his church. That was followed by a five-year term as a bishop.

Hoke was serving as a second counselor for his stake when he was called to be its president.

Hoke said his decision to settle in the Pittsburgh area with his family after his playing days were over also is a result of his desire to serve God.

“Pittsburgh is a great place to raise a family and for kids to be. North Allegheny is a very good school district, and we have a good friends out here,” Hoke said. “But the reason we are here is much deeper and spiritual for me.”

Hoke said he would “absolutely love” living closer to his parents and other relatives in California, Utah and Arizona, “but the reality is, I believe that God wants me to be in Pittsburgh.

“He has work for me to do here. I believe that I was put here to spread his gospel and help others understand that gospel and how they can apply it in their lives to help make them a better person.”

Franklin Park Mayor Dennis O’Keefe, who was among the local elected officials invited to the ceremony where Hoke was named stake president, said he came away from the event with a “personal connection” to Hoke.

O’Keefe said he was surprised by Hoke’s humility.

“I think it’s easy to expect to see somebody who is filled with their career in football,” O’Keefe said. “But that was not the case at all. He is a genuine person who loves God and loves people.”

The mayor said the immediate bond he felt with Hoke prompted him to seek spiritual counseling from him.

“I felt comfortable with him and shared some things going on in my life,” O’Keefe said. “He is helping me with prayer.”

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