ESPN.com will catch up with a notable sports figure from yesteryear every week in its "Where Are They Now?" series.

Claim to fame: Speedy and elusive, Napoleon Kaufman played six seasons for the Oakland Raiders after the team selected him in the first round of the 1995 NFL draft. He was one of the Raiders' primary weapons for several years, leading the team in rushing yards in 1996, 1997 and 1998. Kaufman led the NFL by averaging 5.8 yards per carry in 1996, and his career average of 4.9 yards per carry ranks among the league's all-time leaders.

Prior to turning pro, Kaufman won a national championship as a freshman at the University of Washington in 1991. He was named to the All-America second team as a senior in 1994, one of three seasons in which he was honored as an All-Pac-10 performer. Kaufman remains the Huskies' career leader with 4,106 rushing yards.

With all that in mind, it's understandable that Kaufman would struggle to identify a single favorite moment among his many athletic accomplishments. After pondering the question for a moment, though, Kaufman decides the 1990 section football championship he won as a senior at Lompoc High on California's central coast is his fondest memory.

"I grew up playing with those kids since I was 8 years old, and we all stuck together," Kaufman said. "And at the end, we finally won the CIF championship. I think that's the one that probably sticks out more than anything."

Kaufman, an ordained minister, served as the Raiders' team chaplain while he was an active player, even baptizing two teammates in the whirlpool at the team's facility. Still, peers and observers alike were surprised when he abruptly retired at age 27 in devotion to ministry in 2001.

Catching up: Kaufman, 42, lives in the Bay Area with wife Nicole, daughter Natalia and sons Napoleon, Nathaniel and Nehemiah. He founded The Well Christian Community church in 2003, starting with a modest congregation of about 15 families. Twelve years later, Kaufman ministers to a diverse group of more than 1,000 people at an 83,000-square-foot facility in Livermore, California. Nicole is also a pastor at The Well, and former Raiders players Kenyan Branscomb and Robert Jenkins also hold leadership roles in the church. Pro Football Hall of Famer Rod Woodson and his family are parishioners.

Kaufman coached his sons for many years in youth football and has served as head coach at Bishop O'Dowd High in Oakland for the past two seasons. The younger Napoleon wore his father's No. 26 jersey as a Bishop O'Dowd junior this past season, while Nathaniel played for the school's freshman team.

Kaufman returned for a second tenure as the Raiders' chaplain in 2012. He remains in that role today and often sees former teammates such as Hall of Famer Tim Brown, Lincoln Kennedy and Charles Woodson.

Pastor Kaufman ministers to a congregation of more than 1,000 members in Livermore, California. Courtesy of The Well Christian Community

Quotable: "It was pretty simple. While I was playing, I was having a great career. I was having a good time, and I just started feeling that for me there was more to life than just what I was doing. I just felt like God was calling me to something different than football and that I should devote more of my time to serving people."

What's next? Kaufman is fully committed to his church, but his focus isn't on growing the congregation. Instead, he said his goal is to keep serving his parishioners and community to the best of his ability. Kaufman also plans to keep coaching. "To me, it's just watching kids mature and grow. We're big on helping kids develop from a character standpoint, and watching these kids develop has just been great."

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