The 20th Winter Olympics is now under way in Turin,
Italy, after an opening ceremony that urged competing athletes to "inspire and motivate the future generations.”
"Athletes, you are role models. Please compete in a spirit of fair play, mutual understanding and respect, and above all please refuse doping," said International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge on Friday before a capacity crowd of 35,000 and a television audience of up to two billion worldwide.
"Our world today is in need of peace, tolerance and brotherhood and the values of the Olympic Games can deliver these to us,” he added, possibly alluding to the current protests taking place across the world over published depictions of the Muslim Prophet Muhammad in European media.
"May the Games be held in peace and in the true spirit of the Olympic truce. Show us how sport unites by overcoming political, religious and language barriers and you will show us the world we all long for."
As Friday’s ceremony heralds the start of 16 days of competition, four years after the last Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Christians in Italy are gearing up for the opportunity to share their faith and the Gospel of Peace.
"We have about 50 churches within the country, mainly from Turin and other areas,” said Luka Brignolo, who is part of the evangelical "More Than Gold" Olympic outreach event. “And then we also have quite a lot of mission teams and groups coming from abroad, mainly from the [United] States."
Because cooperation between the evangelical denominations there is “not always easy,” Brignolo told Mission Network News (MNN) that “they are so happy about the fact that in reality all of the evangelical denominations present in Turin are working together under the umbrella of 'More Than Gold.'"
Operation Mobilization in Italy has played a leading role in bringing churches together to share the love of Christ at the Winter Olympics.
“We’re linking together with churches and other Christian organizations and the main emphasis of the outreaches are serving the people of sport and reaching out through literature and video materials to the visitors and the athletes that are going to be there at the games,” said Martin Bateman who heads OM’s Sportslink ministry.
“When we go to an event like this we can bring in volunteer workers coming from all sorts of nations,” he told MNN.
Bateman is praying for the Italian evangelical church which is reportedly small and largely ineffective in evangelism. According to reports, the evangelical church is less that one-percent in Italy.
“Having something like a big event where the Christians can be motivated and come together [like the Olympics] can be a springboard for more ministry and more opportunities,” Bateman said.
As part of the outreach, chaplains will serve athletes at every venue and in the Olympic village while teams of volunteers reach out to visitors and local residents of Turin and the surrounding area. Volunteers will be distributing food and drink, running sports clinics, handing out literature and taking part in “creative evangelism” – which includes performing arts, face painting, balloon modeling.
The big event, planned for Feb. 18, will involve all of the evangelical denominations. According to OM, "More than Gold" is hiring a 4,000-seater arena for the occasion.
Bateman’s hope is that the interest generated by this event will get more Italians involved in sports ministry.
"There are great opportunities to reach out through sport and OM wants to help Italian Christians to do this,” he said, according to OM. “Together with SportsLink, they hope to have a Global Action Sports training program running in Italy in the near future.”
Brignolo, who is a volunteer serving the American Delegation as an interpreter and country host, is asking people to pray for the outreach.
"My prayer would be just to have many opportunities to talk to people, to share the Gospel and to talk about their faith, [and] that no one will feel offended or attacked by our attempt to simply share our faith," he said, according to MNN.
Meanwhile, the Catholic Church is also getting into the mix, “adding its own sacred riches and traditions to an event that's brimming with Olympic spirit.”
According to the Catholic News Service, parish churches all over Turin and the surrounding mountain villages will have their doors wide open to the public. Three dioceses are hosting concerts, special exhibits and additional Masses in several languages.
“The Olympics draw some of the world's finest athletes who come together in an atmosphere of peace and brotherhood – ideals that mesh perfectly with the Christian moral values of love and charity,” CNS reported.
While Olympic sponsors will be handing out freebies to spectators and visitors, local Catholic, Waldensian and Orthodox churches will be distributing 50,000 free copies of a special Olympic edition of Mark's Gospel.
Joseph Alvarez
Christian Today Correspondent