PODCASTS

Tag: sports

Missions Pulse – Let’s go to Paris – 9/04/24

Missions Pulse – Let’s go to Paris – 9/04/24

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 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.

 

 

Hometown Heroes – Tim Kolpien – Elmira Impact – 8/27/24

Hometown Heroes – Tim Kolpien – Elmira Impact – 8/27/24

Hometown Heroes” on Family Life

A hockey team which is making an impact in Elmira is seeking host families for its players.

Hear about the mission of the Elmira Impact teams from Tim Kolpien.

Family Life’s Bob Price asks him about the types of players who use the Impact as a path toward higher callings and future advancement in their sport.

 

 

For more information:

  • The Elmira Impact website
  • The program’s mission
  • The search for “Billet Families” who welcome a player into their homes
  • For churches and mission agencies who could use a little help on a special project, these players also carry out community service. You can contact the team with suggestions and requests to have these young men help.

 

“Hometown Heroes” on Family Life profiles individuals and programs in New York and Pennsylvania actively making a difference in their communities. Listen each Tuesday during the Noon Report and the 5 O’Clock Report, then find the current and previous podcast versions at www.FamilyLife.org/newspodcasts.

Riley Gaines, Title IX, and the Politics of Protecting Female Athletes – 5/31/24 – Capital Connection

Riley Gaines, Title IX, and the Politics of Protecting Female Athletes – 5/31/24 – Capital Connection

Riley Gaines, Title IX, and the Politics of Protecting Female Athletes

A special edition of Capital Connection- 5/31/24

 

 

Women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines says even though majorities of Americans want to protect girls’ locker rooms, female sports records, and women’s teams — regardless of politic party affiliation.

In this conversation, Gaines talks about the ways that Democratic politicians have “failed in their most basic duties”. She faults the Biden administration for unilaterally rewriting the Title IX civil rights legislation which had opened opportunities for girls and women in education and athletics for more than half a century.

Greg Gillispie also asked her about the disparities which start this fall, between how the NCAA and NAIA will deal with participation by athletes who were born male.

 

You can listen to Part One of our exclusive interview with Riley Gaines on the May 29 Family Life News Podcast.

 

More information about the Riley Gaines presentation in Cranberry Township (Friday, May 31) is available from the Pennsylvania Family Institute.

After her successful career as an SEC swimmer at the University of Kentucky, Gaines was brought on as a columnist and commentator for the news site Outkick.com.

 

- - - - Family Life News has reached out to the White House Communications Office and to New Jersey Senator Cory Booker, seeking any response they may have to what Riley Gaines told us in this interview. If/when we hear back, you will hear from them.
A Special Family Life Interview – Riley Gaines & Protection of Women’s Sports – 10/31/23

A Special Family Life Interview – Riley Gaines & Protection of Women’s Sports – 10/31/23

Riley Gaines has been one of the prominent speakers on issues of trans-gender inclusion in women’s sports. The University of Kentucky graduate put her grad school and future dental career on hold, and now travels the country to advocate for women’s sports. She tells Family Life’s Greg Gillispie that her message is not about personal attacks on people who transition to the opposite gender. Rather, she is standing up for safety, dignity and fairness among women and girls — be that in single-sex locker rooms, athletic competition, and dangers when stronger trans athletes share the arena with women. Her advocacy extended beyond sports. She is concerned about men who swap genders going into women’s prisons, safety and decorum in public restrooms, and the lack of truth expressed as this debate roars along.

In this Family Life interview, she also previews her upcoming presentation at Hershey, Pennsylvania, on November 6 (well over 1,000 people are expected to attend). She talks about how her Christian faith has strengthened her calling. She tells how her identity from the Lord helped her face the opposition, cancellations and even a few confrontations she has experienced from those who hold other views.

 

Riley Gaines Barker won five SEC swimming titles and has been named an All-American 12 times. At a 2022 NCAA Championship, she tied (down to the exact 1/100th of a second) with swimmer Lia Thomas who was born male, and who shared a locker room with born-female athletes.  Thomas was awarded that trophy, despite the tie, because a meet official saw the occasion as an opportunity to support trans athletes succeeding in women’s competitions.

She has testified at the U.S. House and Senate, speaks to college audiences and state legislatures, and is a frequent guest on national and local media outlets. She also started a podcast on women’s rights, sports, and faith. Riley Gaines commends to her supporters this report on Single-Sex Competition in American Sports in our time.

For information (and tickets availability) for her keynote speech at the Pennsylvania Family Institute’s Annual Banquet on Monday, November 6, go to PAFamily.org

Special Feature – Jordan Carson – “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ads – 02/09/23

Special Feature – Jordan Carson – “He Gets Us” Super Bowl ads – 02/09/23

 

Our Super Bowl week focus continues as we preview the campaign behind two Super Bowl TV ads which will invite nearly hundred million viewers to consider who Jesus is. 

“He Gets Us” offers subtle messages about how Jesus connects with people in their everyday lives. With these TV spots, social media presence, and big-city billboards, “He Gets Us” is especially aimed toward the one-quarter of Americas who are not involved in faith or have chosen to drop away because of poor treatment by churches.

Spokesperson Jordan Carson talks about how “He Gets Us” got started in early 2022, why sports sponsorship helps them reach out to their target audience, and how local congregations and Christian groups can be available to follow up with seekers who respond.

Special Feature – Damar Hamlin, America, the Power of Public Prayer – 02/07/23

Special Feature – Damar Hamlin, America, the Power of Public Prayer – 02/07/23

Summit MinistriesFootball kicks off renewed public prayer

Dr. Jeff Myers, founder of Summit Ministries returns to Family Life to discuss Summit’s recent public poll that proved two out of three Americans believe public prayer has value and is effective. The poll was triggered by the outpouring of prayer and faith conversations when Buffalo Bills defender Damar Hamlin had a nationally-broadcast cardiac arrest in early January.

Now this week, Myers tells us how an awareness that people of faith are in a large majority should given Christians the confidence and boldness to speak about and live out their faith, unintimidated by the 5-8% of people who want to shut down truth.

More about Summit Ministries’ outreach to the younger generation — and details about this helpful survey — can be found here.

 

 

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