Reverend Billy Zeoli

With this year being our 30th anniversary, we are paying tribute to folks who made a significant impact on Breakaway Outreach over the years. One of the people who contributed early to the Breakaway mission was Reverend Billy Zeoli (pictured with Jimmy Larche, 1991).

Zeoli was an American evangelical leader, speaker and media executive from Grand Rapids, Michigan. He served as the White House chaplain to U.S. President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford during the mid-1970s offering counsel on national spiritual matters, and acting as spiritual counselor to President Ford. Zeoli was the director for Indianapolis Youth For Christ before taking over at the helm for Gospel Films Inc in 1962, where he served as president until retiring from the organization in 2006.

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Zeoli was also a pioneer in sports ministry, well-known as a preacher and chaplain to professional sports teams and celebrities. Working with Baseball Chapel founder Watson Spoelstra, and New York Yankee great Bobby Richardson, Zeoli helped to increase the frequency of ministries in baseball, football and other sports. Zeoli was the minister for several Super Bowls, World Series, and All-Star Games services.

Zeoli helped Breakaway get started with our very first juvenile justice chaplaincy program, equipping us with a film projector for showing Gospel Films in youth facilities, and resourcing us with other tools to run sports ministries in jails and facilitate aftercare programs for youths released back into their communities. He also invited us to Grand Rapids to cast the Breakaway vision to thousands of executives from across the country.

Billy Zeoli was a catalyst for Breakaway Outreach in our early years and we will always remember his legacy, his contributions in reaching youth for Christ, and his bold advocacy for the kids we serve.