Tim Tebow Wants to Adopt Kids 'From Every Continent'

Mar 09, 2017 06:48 PM EST

Christian athlete Tim Tebow revealed starting a family is already on his mind, and that family would include an adopted child "from every continent" on earth, if the 29-year-old bachelor had his druthers.

In an interview with People magazine, Tebow said one day he wants "to sit around the dinner table every night and see kids from Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, right here in the States."

"How cool would that be? It's one of my favorite things to dream about," he said.

The former NFL star, who now is a minor league baseball player and New York Mets outfielder, also said his future wife would have to share the same desire of adopting children and having a family of many races.

"I'm looking for someone who loves Jesus and loves people. Someone who makes me want to be a better person for her. And she has to want kids, and has to want to adopt. That's a requirement," he said.

"Of course I want a woman who I'm attracted to."

Tebow was born in the Philippines to Baptist missionary parents. He's had a heart for kids, particularly those who are ill or have developmental disabilities. In 2010, he launched the Tim Tebow Foundation which was "primarily created to show God's love to children around the world," according to its website.

In February, his foundation sponsored its third "Night to Shine," a prom for people with Down Syndrome and other special needs disabilities at 375 locations around the world, in all 50 states and in 11 other nations.

Read The Gospel Herald coverage of the event:  Tim Tebow Foundation Hosts for Special Needs' Teens Annual 'Night to Shine' Proms

"I think when you look at God's family, it's not about color," Tebow told People.

"Love knows no color. I want my kids to grow up with an appreciation for every single person, no matter what they look like. That's what unity looks like to me:  knowing that you can love people who aren't the same as you are. I want to teach that message to my kids; I want them to live it."

Tebow further noted that adopting kids is "in God's timing."

"All I can do is be ready for it to happen," he said.

A large, multicultural family with religious beliefs means the world to him, he told People magazine.

Tebow authored the New York Times bestseller Shaken:  Discovering Your True Identity in the Midst of Life's Storms, his second book in which he describes how he found himself unexpectedly unemployed after getting cut from the New England Patriots. He was without a home or car but held onto his faith in Christ.