As a former Division I scholarship athlete, NFL prospect and U.S. Olympian, Brock Kreitzburg has had a lot of life-changing experiences. But if you ask him, he’ll tell you the thing that changed his life the most was a simple conversation with a guy named Gus.
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Growing up, Brock’s goal was always to play in the NFL. He was blessed with a Division I football scholarship from the University of Toledo and felt like he was on the road to achieving his dream. Although his hard work was bringing success, he still felt like something was missing.
“I was 13 years old when my father passed away from cancer,” Brock said. “Moving into high school, I had an emptiness inside that I tried to fill with external things like sports and friends. The more I tried to fill it, the emptier I became.”
One day during football practice in college, Brock saw his roommate talking with the team chaplain, Gus.
“I remember looking at them talking and I saw a peace about them,” Brock said. “I thought, ‘That’s what I’m looking for.’”
Later that week, Brock asked Gus if they could get together and talk. Having been to church a handful of times, Brock knew a little bit about God, but he was curious to learn more and find the peace his roommate had.
Gus explained how Christ died so that he could be forgiven of his sins and live for eternity with God in Heaven. It was during this simple conversation that Brock’s life was changed forever.
“I prayed to receive Jesus as Lord of my life,” Brock recalls. “The emptiness inside me went away and I was overflowing with a joy and peace inside that hasn’t been felt through any accomplishment I’ve had.”
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From that point on, Brock’s desires began to change. He was now faced with a big and unexpected decision. Although his lifelong NFL dream was becoming a reality, God was drawing Brock’s heart to attend seminary.
“I was in minicamp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,” Brock recalls. “I’m sitting on the practice field and I can see the airport. I thought, ‘I cannot wait to leave.’ I was more excited about going to seminary than about getting into the NFL.”
While in seminary, Brock had a desire to compete again. As he began training to return to football, he noticed the U.S. Olympic bobsled team tryouts were happening at the same facility. After a three-month training program, he was chosen to be one of seven athletes on the 2006 U.S. Olympic bobsled team.
“To train and compete at a high level is something I look back on fondly,” Brock said. “But none of my past accomplishments compare to my relationship with Jesus.
“Jesus is the lens I see life through now. As an athlete for many years, my focus was on myself. Then, there came a time in my life when I decided to stop investing in myself and start investing in others. I wanted to have a lasting impact, not just physically, but spiritually.”
To fulfill this calling, Brock now serves as director of disaster response for Water Mission, a Christian engineering organization that provides safe water, sanitation and hygiene solutions to people in need.
For people affected by disaster, like those impacted by the recent earthquakes in Turkey, Water Mission provides hope.
Safe water is flowing in #Turkey following catastrophic #earthquakes.
Brock Kreitzburg, our Director of Disaster Response, reports live from Nurdağı, Turkey where our team has installed a #safewater system.To learn more or support our response, visit https://t.co/QczAVW1aFI pic.twitter.com/bY2Fd3Nkmm
— Water Mission (@water_mission) February 21, 2023
“The amount of devastation is hard to process,” Brock shared, referring to what he saw while deployed to Turkey after the disaster. “We are there to provide safe water, so people know they won’t get sick from washing their hands, cooking or drinking the water available.”
Water Mission not only seeks to provide safe water to those in need, but also desires to share the Living Water message of Jesus Christ.
“We try to work alongside churches in each area to strengthen them so the community goes back to them and says, ‘It was the church that helped me in my time of need,’” Brock said. “Water Mission is full of passionate people who work hard to provide safe and Living Water to those who have been affected by their circumstances in life.”
To learn more about Water Mission and how you can get involved in providing access to safe water for those in need, visit watermission.org.
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