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987 medals awarded at the Paris Olympics
Another 1,647 medals this week at the Paralympic games
10.500 athletes last month, and another 4,400 this week from 169 nations
700,000 New Testaments and Scripture books distributed!
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Yes, all of these statistics as the sports world has been focusing on Paris. Yes, 700,000 Bible books have been given out, in connection with the Paris Games over the past 6 weeks.
Once every 4 years, the 2 versions of the Summer Games bring about a gathering of athletes, officials, families, dignitaries and fans from nearly every nation on the planet.
A network of evangelical Christian groups has been working for the past 18 months to coordinate a massive outreach to share Jesus with the people in the region which hosts the Games, and with all those people who come from all over to attend. Some of these people have never had an encounter with Christianity, even though they are citizens of some nations that the friendly to this faith. Some of the volunteer evangelists are sharing Good News with people from places and cultures where, back home, Christianity is banned.
Tom Hawkins is with Greater Europe Mission who is among the coordinating team for Ensemble 2024, a massive faith-sharing effort by a combined group of European and global Christians from a wide and diverse swath of the theological spectrum.It ranges from local congregations to large denominations to members of little house churches.
This Family Life exclusive takes you to Paris. Hawkins talks about some of the life-changing stories from these efforts and connections. As otherwise-disabled athletes are thriving in their athletic events this week, they see many Paralympic competitors (and fans with handicaps) who have dealt with physical setbacks are ripe to hear the Gospel.
He also provides hopeful insight about a potential transformation in Europe, where across the past 30 years, cultures have diminished their faith practices. He says though, that he sees signs that a continent which has increasing become defined as “post-Christian”, the culture appears to be, in any places, entering a “pre-Rivival” mode.
Bonus factoid: The group of groups chose the name “Ensemble” to show how they are united across cultural and historical and theological distinctives — and because the same spelling of the same word has the same meaning, across multiple languages.
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Tom Hawkins spoke to Family Life News Producer Greg Gillispie this week, via Zoom, from Paris. The Paralympics Games continue there through Sunday, September 8.
For further information:
The Ensemble 2024 website
The Ensemble 2024 blog
Tom Hawkins works with Greater Europe Mission (GEM), which carries out extensive envangelization outreaches, during and beyond the Olympics.
Tom and his wife Bev met at Nyack College in New York. They have been mission workers in France since 1994.
Their story — in their personal lives and the ways they have served people in international mission — are fascinating and heartwarming.
