From Marty Woods in paris
Hundreds of people in Paris for the Olympics came away with something much better than a gold medal. They came away with a saviour.
Missionary organisations and Churches trained and practised for the game, just like the athletes. At least 2,500 people from France and overseas were mobilised for mission. They fanned out across the city and across France. As a result, a very conservative estimate is that over a thousand people have come to faith.
Youth with a Mission (YWAM) saw 250 people over three weeks make commitments. They kept statistics of their outreach and report sharing the Good News with over 3,500 people. 2,800 people were prayed for, 100 people were healed and over 170 people were connected to a local church communities in Paris. The Bible Society gave away 200,000 Bibles in French and English.
“Unite Paris24”, led by the evangelistic group Awakening Europe, Drews saw 200 people to Paris. They saw152 people come into the Kingdom of over 1,600 who heard the Gospel. Like YWAM they experienced miraculous healings. A Parisian man was planning to go and steal some money when he encountered one of the team. After a long discussion, he responded to the invitation to accept Jesus. He had a bullet wound that had handicapped him for a number of years. They prayed over him, and he was healed. A few days later, he attended his first church service.
‘Next Move’ – a sports movement from the Netherlands chose to concentrate their campaign outside of Paris. They sent two teams to the south – St Etienne and Grenoble, where they worked alongside local Christians using sport and festivals to reach the communities. They helped strengthen and grow local christian sports movemnets .
Each outreach across France used tens of thousands of Sports Bibles and tracts. Thousands were ministered to through acts of kindness particularly to those homeless.
The Arts
There have been a number of creative mission initiatives including a week long Paris Praise Festival and two Christian Art Galleries. One was just two streets from the Louvre and a two-minute walk from the Olympic flame in the Tuileries Gardens.
It was a solace for both Parisians and tourists. Many returned over the 17 days, some bringing friends and enjoying daily performances, concerts and artistic moments. The organising team report, “We have welcomed more than 900 people for an art exhibition based on the theme “Humanity Gathered.” It has been amazing experiencing the number and range of spiritual conversations as they visited and enjoyed the works of art.”
Chaplaincy
At the Olympic village organizing the chaplaincy service was challenging. Many times the organisation committee didn’t understand the purpose of the service to the athletes and it created many difficulties for the Chaplains of the seven religions represented. However, because of the unity and mutual respect of the religious representatives, the French administration agreed to let it happen. Christians (Catholics, Orthodox and Protestants) worked together in their common space to welcome the athletes and the delegations from all over the world. 30 Protestant chaplains welcomed several delegation members and athletes each day and offered three Services a day (with prayers, worship and devotions). The athletes were grateful to have the opportunity to share their challenges, hopes and joy. When their competitions were completed, many Christian athletes came to celebrate God and share their faith with the chaplains. A highlight was when several Olympic medallists came to share at the Service and invited their friends.
In this period of social and community tensions in France, the Olympics demonstrated the power of unity and love between nations and people, like the celebrations experienced in the streets of Paris during this Olympic period. Now, Chaplains are preparing for the Paralympics to serve God in the village again
Prayer
24/7 prayer took place across the city. Just before the Closing ceremony 300 young French Christians from Paris gathered to worship and pray for their city.
International Prayer Connect – a network of 5,000+ prayer networks, has been mobilising prayer through the www.lovefrance.world website, with an online prayer guide and an invitation for people to be part of a worldwide gift of 1 million prayers for France! This project, which runs through to the end of the Para-Games has raised 833,000 prayers from 110 nations to date.
Main Image: Olympic rings at the Hôtel de VilleDisco. Image Credit: A340 / Wikimedia