From ice to impact: How Adam Bricker '25 followed his calling into athletic ministry

After his junior year of high school, Adam Bricker ’25—affectionately called “Bricks” by his friends and peers—left Arizona to play junior hockey for four years. Little did Adam know that God would use hockey to bring him to Bethel.

Before Bethel

Not in Adam’s wildest dreams did he picture himself at a Christian university in Minnesota. Adam had his sights—and identity—wrapped up in playing Division I hockey someday. As a junior hockey player in New York, Adam’s entire world revolved around hockey practice and games, competing between 50 and 60 games in a season. 

“I idolized playing D1 hockey,” Adam says. “All I wanted to do was announce my commitment to a Division I school.” Slowly, he saw how his identity and fulfillment were tied to something that couldn’t satisfy his heart. Early interest from schools faded, and Adam recognized that he wouldn’t be selected to play at the next level.

At the same time, Adam shares that his brother, Ryan, had experienced a radical transformation in his own life, and God had given him a peace and joy that Adam just couldn’t find in the junior hockey scene. Ryan diligently shared his faith with Adam and his friends, often speaking about the community he had found at his Christian university in California. Something began to stir in Adam.

While he had been living his life for hockey, Adam began to see that he was meant to live a life for Jesus. He also knew he wanted to be surrounded by people that would help him grow in his faith and that were going to push him toward Christ. After three years in junior hockey—where his performance was treated like a business—Adam was ready to be surrounded by people who would love and care for him.

Finding Bethel

Rather than attending the same school as Ryan, Adam’s parents encouraged him to find a Christian school with a hockey program. Initially unconvinced, Adam’s mom took to Google, searching “Christian Division III hockey schools.” Bethel University appeared.

Hesitantly, Adam reached out to Chris McKelvie, Bethel’s head men’s hockey coach, only to discover that Bethel’s assistant coach had watched him play just weeks earlier in Tampa, Florida. They’d been trying to contact Adam, but their efforts hadn’t reached him.

The realization was remarkable. “They were trying to get ahold of me without me even knowing, and I ended up reaching out,” Adam says.

After a virtual tour with Coach McKelvie and Bethel Admissions, Adam knew he wanted to go to Bethel.

On the ice

The shift in his perspective lit a fire in Adam’s faith. Before starting at Bethel, he was baptized by his brother, a pastor in Arizona. A passion for hockey was also reignited while on the Bethel team. Adam says, “It felt good to be somewhere that was committed to me, and I was committed to them.”

Bethel’s hockey team had experienced immense success under the direction of Coach McKelvie. But for Adam, it wasn’t all about hockey. “Coach McKelvie was really impactful. He preached how important it was for Bethel’s hockey team to be shaped into amazing young men,” Adam says, “He wanted us to be amazing husbands and fathers someday, stewards of the gifts we have when we are older.”

During his second year, Adam joined a Bible study with his newfound community, a gathering that has carried into his senior year. It became a staple for his spiritual growth, a place of accountability, and a channel to process his hockey struggles and identity in the sport. Not only did Adam find a community on the ice, but he also experienced a deeply spiritual community off the ice.

In addition to the spiritual mentorship under the coaching team at Bethel, Adam took one summer to attend Ultimate Training Camp, which is put on by Athletes in Action, an organization that focuses on the physical, mental, and spiritual development of athletes. A vision for implementing his faith into his sport began to take shape. The camp was truly impactful for Adam because he continued to battle with his identity in hockey and desired so deeply to experience joy and peace whether he was in the lineup or not. Upon returning from the camp, Adam identified a heart change—a mind shift—that would begin to redirect his passion for hockey into a passion for athletic ministry.

By his third year on the Bethel hockey team, Adam began to experience what he called ‘bumps in the road.’ As the team raced toward a MIAC Championship in 2024 for the first time since 2007, Adam found himself struggling both on and off the ice. Adam says he didn’t play the last twelve games of the season. 

Despite this, he remembers driving to the rink every day and sincerely praying, “Lord, give me the joy and the capacity to choose love.” And as the challenge on the ice continued, Adam heard God speak. “I just felt like I was hearing God say, ‘No matter if you’re in the lineup or not, I’m going to work through you in this,’ and to just choose joy every day on the ice.” 

Adam committed to a whole season, showing up, loving his teammates, and showcasing a radical joy and peace despite his performance—even when he was scratched for the entire MIAC Championship.

As Adam’s third season came to a close, he was aware of a shift in his heart. He reached out to Coach McKelvie, a man he respected deeply, to discuss the end of his hockey career at Bethel.  

“Hockey was a blessing in my life.” Adam says, “It is a gift that the Lord gave me and used to change my life in so many ways. Ultimately, God used it to bring me to Bethel.”

And what God had in store for Adam at Bethel was so much bigger than hockey.

Stepping out in faith

Throughout that challenging year in hockey, it was on Adam’s heart to start a podcast where he’d bring hockey players on as guests to share their testimonies. He purchased the podcast equipment before his junior year, but in tandem with his struggles on the ice, he pushed back on the direction he felt God was calling him. “I was worried it wasn’t going to work out, and that I wasn’t qualified enough to start a podcast.” And so, the mic sat out in his bedroom through his entire third, and final, hockey season at Bethel.

After his exit interview with Coach McKelvie, Adam immediately dove into prayer, believing God had closed the door on hockey because He had something different in mind for the rest of Adam’s time at Bethel. One week later, he picked up the mic and podcast equipment and recorded the first episode of House of Bricks.

Today, House of Bricks has released the 19th and final episode of season one, and for Adam, the response from listeners is astounding. Each episode features an athlete and their journey of faith: a Bethel women’s soccer goalie, a collegiate swimmer, an athletic trainer at Bethel, a Pittsburgh Steelers player, a local pastor, an Athlete’s in Action staff member, and more. Adam focused on a wide range of athletes and didn’t shy away from challenging topics.

People have been deeply moved by the podcast, and Adam shares stories of listeners reaching out to his guests and even to him with their own personal struggles. For Adam, the goal is to be real and get vulnerable on the podcast, and he’s calling others to do the same. 

“It’s as if God said, ‘You have this gift to be bold and vulnerable, and I want you to bring people on to this podcast to share their stories and how I have worked in their life. I am going to use their stories to impact others,’” Adam says.

Adam has no intention of stopping. He’s already excited for season two.

Representing what you believe

On campus these days you can also spot Adam wearing sleek golf apparel with the image of a lamb front and center—it’s yet another area where Adam has stepped out in faith. “I love golf. I love style. I love to look good on the course,” Adam says, “I wanted to share the gospel and create gospel-centered conversations on the golf course.”

With a declared major in business and an emphasis in entrepreneurship and finance, Adam has always had an entrepreneurial mindset. As his love for the Lord grew, he continued to envision owning a golf brand focused entirely on Christ. Adam hopes to launch Divine Golf Co. with his friend later this year and, similar to the podcast, is excited to see how God uses him to impact others.

Nick Cocalis, Bethel’s lead campus pastor, golf coach, and one of Adam’s close mentors, reflects on Adam’s transformation. “Adam has been surrounded by coaches, professors, and mentors who want the best for him and have helped him find his sweet spot on campus.” And when thinking about key shifts in Adam’s story, Cocalis says, “I give a ton of credit to Coach McKelvie for caring more about Adam as a child of God than as a hockey player. Adam has truly found his place here, where he can be fully who God designed him to be.”

Stepping up as a leader

Although Adam stepped away from Bethel’s hockey team, he continues to play club hockey and remains rooted in Bethel’s athletic scene. Since his summer at Ultimate Training Camp, Adam became increasingly aware of a need for Bethel athletes to experience fellowship among Christian athletes on campus, and so Adam and his friend stepped up as leaders.

They got together and prayed about what it would look like, and they came up with Sync, inspired by the desire to live in synchronization in faith as athletes for an audience of one. 

“We do worship. We have someone share their testimony every week. We have a little message, and then we have small groups. And then we worship at the end again,” Adam says, “It’s been incredible.” Athletes across campus and anyone else interested meet every Tuesday to grow in their faith and community.

Cocalis believes that Adam’s path illustrates “what God can do in you and through you when you fully surrender to His plan.” He says, “I don’t think the past two years look like what Adam thought they would when he first arrived at Bethel. And so, praise God for Adam’s willingness to surrender his own plans to the Lord and follow where God leads.”

Even on a small scale, Adam is stepping up to lead. He is also a Shift Leader, supporting the spiritual formation of a group of first-year Bethel students. “Our group of guys is awesome. They show up. They want to be there. They are hungry to know the Lord,” Adam says.

In the final podcast episode of season one of House of Bricks, Adam joins as guest, interviewed by Travis Jensen ’24, owner of TRAVCO Christian Streetwear and fellow Bethel alumnus. Adam shares his journey of faith, but the thread is clear for his friend Travis: “The Lord brought you to Bethel through hockey. He put hockey in your life to draw you near to Him and to bring you to where you are today.”

The difference between Adam during his junior hockey days and today is striking. Reflecting on his transformation, Adam can’t help but quote something his friends in football at Bethel and their coaches say: “This place will change you if you let it. And that’s what I did. I let it change me.”

Grow your faith at Bethel.

As a Bethel student, you’ll experience a genuine community that’s striving to discover what it means to live out Christ’s love in a complex world. You’ll engage your heart, mind, body, and spirit as you challenge your assumptions and wrestle with complicated issues in a community that supports and encourages each other along the way.

Apply now