Athletes give testimony at annual Bethany Alliance potluck

By Kelly Terpstra, kterpstra@charlescitypress.com

Athletes learning and growing in Christ — that’s the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Three such athletes gave their personal testimony on Sunday at Charles City High School during the annual Bethany Alliance Church potluck dinner.

Bethany Alliance Pastor Coulter Page said he wanted to remind folks in attendance at the large gathering of one small change this year.

“I told Jamie (Sindlinger) we’re not calling it a potluck this year. We’re calling it a Christmas feast,” joked Page.

The Bethany Alliance Church teamed up with Ken Trautmann, who is an area representative for the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) in northeast Iowa and works with many students at the University of Northern Iowa.

Trautmann is also a mentor to Ezra Szczyrbak, a recent UNI graduate and former member of the Panther football team.

Szczyrbak was a starting offensive lineman from Moose Lake High School in extreme north eastern Minnesota. He went on to become a big contributor to UNI coach Mark Farley’s perennial-power squad during his tenure with the Panthers.

He’s also a born-again Christian.

“I ended up at UNI for a reason and I don’t think it was necessarily football,” said Szczyrbak.

Szczyrbak said when he first arrived on the campus at Cedar Falls he was different than he is now.

“I had a depraved mind,” said Szczyrbak. “I was a wretched sinner and I was in complete rebellion against my parents — but most importantly, against God.”

Szczyrbak said almost every day and weekend he delved into drunkenness, sexual immorality and drug abuse.

“That really summed up my first year of college, were those three sins,” he said.

Szczyrbak said a friendship with a teammate opened his eyes. He started attending Bible study with that teammate on Wednesday nights. There he met Trautmann and his wife, Lynn, who would also hold meals for the players at the Bible study groups.

At first it was hard, he said.

“I knew where I was with the Lord and I didn’t want to be reminded of that every Wednesday night,” said Szczyrbak.

But he attended the Bible studies for six months and soon realized he was close to a breakthrough with his personal relationship with Christ.

“That convicted me of a my sin and I knew I needed to be saved,” Szczyrbak said.

That was three years ago. He now considers himself a changed person.

“I repented and put my faith in Jesus. And since then I’ve been living for the Lord,” said Szczyrbak.

He was married a year and half ago to one of the other guest speakers, his wife, Chelsea Szczyrbak. Szczyrbak, formerly Chelsea Hartman, was a record-breaking swimmer for the Panthers.

“I thought I was doing a good job with my life. I thought I needed to be different than I was in high school,” said Chelsea. “I, much like Ezra, just jumped into partying.”

Chelsea moved to Chicago after graduating from UNI. After living there for a couple of months, she was sexually assaulted. After that traumatic incident she moved back to Cedar Falls to obtain her master’s degree.

It wasn’t long thereafter as an UNI assistant coach for the swim team that she reverted  to the partying lifestyle she was so accustomed to prior to her graduation.

“I dove even further into the sin that I was partaking in at college. I was trying to deal with the hurt and pain of that situation,” she said.

Chelsea said she had several girls on the UNI swim team who would invite her to FCA gatherings.

“I denied it for about a year and a half,” Chelsea said. “Finally I came to a breaking point where I just knew I couldn’t save myself. I remember saying that out loud. I was on the floor crying.”

After accepting an invite to attend FCA from another UNI standout swimmer, Kayla McCormick, Chelsea’s life began to take shape, she said. Three months later, she said, she found salvation.

“I knew at that point what my sin was. At that point I was seeking for the answer. Praise the Lord that he had that for me and he called me. Three months after that he saved me,” said Chelsea.

Jamie Sindlinger, a 2016 Charles City High School graduate, was the third speaker. Her testimony focused on being on her own in college and owning her faith.

Sindlinger, an all-conference multi-sport star for the Comets, continued her impressive athletics career in college. She enrolled at Luther College in Decorah to play volleyball, where she was first-team all conference. Sindlinger transferred to UNI, where she’s currently a junior outside hitter for the Panther volleyball team.

“The biggest turning point in my faith was going to college. I grew up in a Christian home,” said Sindlinger. “Going to college was a big turning point for me because I was on my own. I can make all my own decisions and I can do whatever I wanted and not tell my parents.”

Sindlinger said she got involved with FCA very quickly in Cedar Falls and it has helped her overcome obstacles in her life.

“When I got to college, I made my faith my own and I made it a priority in my life,” she said. “I’ve come to know putting my faith in Christ and repenting is the only way.”

Jack Mackay, Bethany Alliance’s youth pastor, talked about allowing those in attendance on Sunday a chance to hear different voices in their quest for spiritual guidance.

“We wanted a way for the community as well to hear from different student athletes and different people than you wouldn’t normally hear on a Sunday morning from either Coulter or myself,” said Mackay. “It’s really cool to be able to do that and to be able to give back and give these students a chance to share with the community as well.”

Trautmann said Sunday was the first time he’s visited Charles City. He was happy to make the trip, get his message across, and provide three inspiring success stories.

“These are three kids that lives have been changed,” said Trautmann. “I brought three athletes that lives have been transformed by the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s why we’re here.”