Men’s soccer team’s ministry in Medellin, Colombia

The mountains of Medellín, Colombia are a place that few choose to venture to. Largely overrun by gang members and virtually absent of police presence, choosing to reside in or even visit the area comes with great risk.

The Liberty men’s soccer team did more than just visit the city of Medellín, Colombia, this summer. They connected with locals, aided in the construction of a soccer field and saw lives transformed by the Word of God — including their own. 

Every four years, NCAA teams are given the opportunity to travel internationally to compete in their respective sport. 

“A lot of other schools, they go to Europe, because that’s where most of the really quality teams are,” Luke Eberle, the Liberty men’s soccer captain, said. “A lot of teams go to Italy, Portugal or Spain to play … but Liberty is a different place.”

Rather than choosing to take on teams across the pond, the team desired to use its trip to make a greater impact, partnering with an organization called Cosdecol. 

Cosdecol, founded in 1986, is a group with the primary focus of reaching Colombian youth through the sport of soccer. What began as a method of keeping young Colombian men off the streets, however, has now grown into a program that brings thousands of people together throughout the city of Medellín. 

The Flames’ trip to the city, of course, centered on the game of soccer. The team had the opportunity to meet local Colombian soccer clubs on the pitch, seeing firsthand how universal the beautiful game is. 

“Soccer is such an amazing game because it unites; but, every country also has its own soccer culture and way they play the game,” Eberle said. “So, American soccer is way different than Colombian soccer.” 

When the team wasn’t training on the pitch, however, they were doing everything from hosting clinics through Cosdecol, to visiting local churches, and even helping the organization build a pitch of its own. 

The team played a large role in the construction of a soccer field in the mountains of Medellín, where many families had been displaced due to gang activity. 

“We took a trolley all the way up where the police are not willing to go, and (the area is) really run by the gangs,” Eberle said. “We carried sandbags through this really poor area, (where) basically people (are) living in shacks, to build a soccer field on top of a mountain. And we had gang members watching us the whole time, which is crazy. But it was a really amazing experience.”

Through their time of service with Cosdecol, the Flames found time to build connections with members of the organization. They came across multiple people who were held captive by the drug industry before finding the Lord through Cosdecol’s ministry. 

Eberle looks back on the testimonies shared by those in Cosdecol as the most moving moments of the trip.  

“These guys were either in the gangs and then they chose a way out, or they chose to be on the Cosdecol soccer team. But basically, Cosdecol became a way to get out of the gangs,” Eberle said. “So, I think a lot of guys would just say some of the testimonies we heard, you can’t even really explain them again because it’s just so amazing. It’s so mind-blowing.”

The testimonies and ministry revealed God’s presence in ways that numerous Flames had never felt before. In a touching moment, some even chose to be baptized in a nearby river. 

With a Colombian pastor performing the baptisms and Flames forward Kyle Garnett translating the words from Spanish to English, multiple team members made public professions of faith. 

“Some of it was people who have really been wanting to give their life to Christ for a while and had just never been baptized, or people within the moment that wanted to do it, or people who were Christians for a long time that just never had that happen,” Eberle said. “It was really all over the place, but it was a crazy moment … And the locals are all watching; it’s a witness to them.”

Now, over a month removed from the trip, the influence remains in the hearts of the Flames. When Eberle glances back at his time with the program, he wouldn’t have wanted that experience to come at any other point in his career. 

“As a senior, I’ve been able to see kind of the fruits of (Head) Coach Kelly (Findley’s) labor to get the right guys here. It takes a long time to really build a culture that everyone wants to be a part of. And I think this was really a great combination to see three areas of work culminate into a trip,” Eberle said.

The Flames are now fully in the flow of the 2023 season, vying to make a statement as newcomers in the Ohio Valley Conference. But as the season progresses and the team presses toward its goals, the reminder remains of the life-changing experiences they encountered in the mountains of Medellín. 

“It’s just so easy to recall how grateful we need to be and what we need to always be thinking about as a group and what’s important,” Eberle said. “Our sports become our life, our emotions, and everything can be wrapped up in that. So, for us to just recall the stories we heard and the people we’ve met and shared experiences we had together … I mean, you just don’t get that every day.”

Cory is the sports editor for the Liberty Champion. Follow her on X