For Christians, the Olympics are a great chance to share the Gospel
People look at the Eiffel Tower in Paris on July 29, 2024, during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Photo AFP, Mauro Pimentel
Christian Life
Many have been watching the Olympics that started in Paris last Friday. From all corners of the world, people travelled to the French capital to join the grand sports event. Christians grab the chance to reach them with the Gospel.
Christians are found on the streets of Paris these days to share the Gospel with the people there. One of them is Marjo Rodenburg from the Netherlands, who is part of Youth with a Mission (YWAM) Paris je t'aime. Together with about 500 other participants, she ventures into the city for evangelising activities, she tells the Dutch daily Reformatorisch Dagblad. "In the morning, we often have a training and in the afternoon, we go out into the streets", Rodenburg says. In the city, they sing together, read from the Bible, talk to people about the Gospel and distribute Bibles. The organisation not only focuses on tourists but also helps people in need, for example, by providing food to refugees.
Involuntary attention
No one would probably think that the Olympics are a Christian invention. Yet, this year, Christians were involuntarily placed in the spotlights during the opening scene, which caused great upheaval. Drag actors imitated the Lord's Supper as illustrated by Leonardo Da Vinci. This led to consternation among Christians, but also among non-believers. According to many, this was a severe case of blasphemy. French bishops, for example, said that the Christian faith is ridiculed. The American billionaire Elon Musk called the action "extremely disrespectful to Christians".
Other churches and organisations have united themselves in a coalition named "Ensemble 2024", Evangelical Focus reports. They organise activities to reach people in ten different cities, among which Paris. For instance, they set up a volleyball tournament, organised concerts and prayer meetings and distributed flyers with evangelising texts.
Powerful reminder
The French Bible Society printed about 200,000 copies of a special edition of the New Testament, focused around sports, Evangelical Focus writes. The edition is called "More Precious than Gold" and contains about 15 testimonies from sportsmen and women "who have a similar history with the Games and whose faith is nourished by the Bible", Evangelical Focus states. The testimonies serve as "a powerful reminder of the enduring impact the Bible continues to have in our contemporary world", Jonathan Boulet told the news website. Boulet is the General Secretary of the French Bible Society. There are 140,000 exemplars in French and 60,000 in English. About 200 churches and Christian organisations distributed the Bibles prior to the Olympic Games.
Various churches will hand out 200,000 key chains with a QR code that gives access to the Bible in different languages, City Bible Foundation stated in its newsletter.
Scare
Sharing the Gospel with others is not the only thing Christians do with regards to the Olympic Games in Paris. They also pray. Youth with a Mission organises prayer sessions that continue 24/7. "We do intercession for the city", Marjo Rodenburg says to the Reformatorisch Dagblad. "There is a threat of potential terrorist attacks. We can let that scare us, but we want to pray for Paris 24/7."
The Conseil d’Églises chrétiennes en France (Council of Christian Churches in France) has called Christians to pray for the Olympics and the athletes who have to perform during the sports event.
“God, source of true joy, in your Son Jesus Christ you have called all nations to form a people of praise to celebrate you. Let us lead the race to the end.
God who is God, look now on France, which will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Grant that they may organize this event in joy, peace and fraternity.
Pour out your Holy Spirit on all those who are working for the realization of the games, on all the people who will come from the four corners of the Earth and on the athletes.
Grant them the virtue necessary to give the best of themselves. May athletes get the support – in times of joy and trial, of successes and failures – from their loved ones, their coaches and our prayers.
Help the French people, Lord, as they welcome all those who have come from all over the world.
Brought together in the common passion for sport with the motto of the Olympic Games “faster, higher, stronger – together”, let them together convey your love for every human being.
In Jesus name we pray,
Amen”
Ana Aurouze, project manager and Biblical scholar at the Alliance Biblique Française, calls the Olympic Games a unique chance for Christians in an interview. "As Christians, we thought, how can we support both the State in the organisation, the people in charge and the athletes? That is how we came to this desire to pray and place them under God's blessing", she explains.
As people from all over the world come together in France, the Council of Christian Churches in France liked to assert the idea of unity, she continues. According to Aurouze, the concept of unity is something that the Olympic games and Christianity share.
"Every sportsman and sportswoman prepares for months and months to be present and successful at their meetings. We all want to run to do our best. There's also this wonderful motto: faster, higher, stronger, together. Here, too, we are not alone; we are part of a human community, a fraternity. This is also the message we wanted to bring to the world and show that we were in tune."
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