WASHINGTON – Experts predict an estimated 15 million people will travel to attend the summer games in Paris – nicknamed the “City of Light.”
With more than 3 billion people tuning in to watch 10,500 of the world’s premier athletes compete for gold, Christian ministries and some athletic competitors see a golden opportunity to fulfill Jesus’s call to be the “light of the world.”
Daniel Roberts, 26, of Georgia, qualified for a spot running the 110-meter hurdles for Team USA in late June. He told CBN News his identity as a Christian outshines any acclaim or attention he receives as an elite athlete.
“We’re all here to worship God in our own special way,” Roberts said. “This is just a different way that I use my abilities and my gifts to bring glory to Him.”
Beyond the support of his family, friends, coaches, and teammates, he’s also getting spiritual reinforcement from sports ministries like Athletes in Action, which is devoted to developing the mind, body, and soul.
The ministry believes the transcending power of sport can be used to reach the ends of the earth with the message of the gospel.
Click here to learn about AIA’s “Pray for Five“ – an invitation to pray for athletes in the 2024 games
When Frank Shelton lands in Paris, he and his team of volunteers will be praying for “divine appointments” to guide their time in the French capital, where they will serve as chaplains to the athletes.
Shelton told CBN News that Christians do a good job helping the poor but fail to minister effectively to what he describes as “the powerful, prominent, and popular.”
“They’re bold in what they do,” he explained, referring to athletes who share their faith publicly. “And we need to be bold in sharing the gospel. I just don’t believe that we should be saints sitting on the sideline. We got to get in the game.”
“Christianity isn’t a spectator sport,” he added.
Paris marks Shelton’s fourth summer games. He recounted his team’s success at the 2016 competition in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
“In Rio, we saw 1,054 people give their life to Christ: gold medalists, three Uber drivers, fans, spectators,” he recalled. “I’ve just learned that when we show up God shows off, and things happen. And people get saved.”
He’s praying for even bigger numbers in Paris, which saw its streets flooded with roughly 25,000 people in May for a “March for Jesus.”
MORE: 25,000 Flood Streets of Paris to March for Jesus, Many ‘Saved, Healed, Baptized in the Holy Spirit’
Youth With A Mission built a schedule of events, including street worship and prayer, that spans three weeks and coincides with the international competition. The effort kicked off with 100 days of prayer starting in mid-April in conjunction with French churches and both local and international ministries.
“[It’s] so cool to see people coming from literally the ends of the world to Paris to proclaim Jesus,” said Sky Grimes with YWAM Paris Connect. “We’re working with local churches – churches with other countries. We’re trying to activate Paris with us.”
With so much attention on the games, some current and retired Christian athletes are seizing the opportunity to point others to the one thing they prize above sport and athleticism: sharing the love of Christ with others.
While Marilyn Okoro cherishes earning bronze for Team Great Britain in 2008, she could barely contain her joy when asked about recording a devotional for the YouVersion Bible App during her interview with CBN News.
“It does incredible things that unite so many Christians across the globe,” Okoro explained. “I use it as an evangelism tool as well.”
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Describing herself as a “spiritual athlete,” she draws comparisons between her faith and her former career in track and field.
“There are a lot of synergies between being an athlete on whatever sport, discipline you choose,” she said. “I didn’t win every race, but [God] allowed that because it was going to teach me something. And my job was to not give up.”
“Faith is like a muscle and sometimes it’s super strong and sometimes it’s weak and needs sharpening,” she added.
Okoro, who struggled with her retirement after the Tokyo games, plans to attend the competition in Paris as a spectator and to pray with athletes. She wants to share what she’s learned about the challenges that exist for elite athletes when they leave the sport to which they have dedicated years of their lives.
“It was my faith that pulled me out of that season,” she told CBN News. “God has really shown me that there is life after sport. There’s life in him.”
Reflecting on his own injuries and setbacks, Roberts agrees.
“Maybe it’s something that was meant for me to grow and change so that I can be the man of God I’m meant to be,” he said.
Christian athletes have a long history of proclaiming their faith on and off the field.
At the 1924 games, also in Paris, Eric Liddell – known as the “Flying Scotsman” – made headlines for his refusal to run his favored event on a Sunday so he could attend church. Days later, he won gold and set a new world record.
His story was immortalized in the movie “Chariots of Fire” and serves as an inspiration to athletes and non-athletes a century later.
Click here to learn how churches, clubs, and individuals can get involved in evangelistic outreaches connected to the Paris summer games.
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