Olympian to Community Servant: Erick’s Story
Posted on May 08, 2025
| One of 11 children, raised in a home that was Christian in name only, and slated for the Guatemalan Olympic Team, Erick Coc (pictured above: top row, second from left) had a bright life ahead of him–until illness cut short his athletic career. During his year of intense illness and hospitalization, a local church group met him with the hope of the gospel and an invitation to study the Bible. Christ radically intervened in his life, and Erick and half of his siblings received the Lord! After the crucible of suffering, Erick passionately devoted himself to the work of the Lord. In his remote village of Tanchi, which is in a green and mountainous rainforest region covered with coffee and cardamom plantations, he began in his local church in youth ministry. After a time he was asked to shepherd as the lead pastor, but he was still missing theological education. Denis and Eileen Nogue live in the nearby area of Coban, Alta Verapaz, Guatemala, coordinating and hosting the Foundations course for remote mountain church leaders. They invited Erick to join the group of ten pastors meeting in their home, and he jumped in with quick enthusiasm. In addition to being a student in the class, he also translated for the teacher into the local indigenous language Q’eqchi’, joyfully helping his classmates understand the content in their heart language. He graduated at the top of his class in 2023. Today, Erick applies the sound knowledge and practical expertise he gained through his studies with Global Action in his pastoral ministry to 23 families in his flock. He has also taken up the banner of equipping more leaders like himself, teaching the next group of Global Action students. |
“We see [Erick] as a humble young man fully committed to the Lord. He is also committed to equipping his brothers in the Lord as they take the word of God back to their own communities. We are blessed to have him as a part of our ministry and Global Action is blessed to have him as one of their teachers.”
—Denis and Eileen Nogue