Harpenden Matters
Olympic Outreach 2012

Reaching the millions of visitors to the UK during the Olympics

Outreach during the Olympics was the subject of our prayers at the Harpenden Matters prayer breakfast held at Christchurch Vaughan Road on Saturday 28 January, Hayley Bullen and Kyle Henderson-Begg from YWAM came to tell us about the events that will be happening at the Oval in the summer and initiatives that are already happening as part of the Olympic outreach. You may have heard of More Than Gold, which is an ecumenical organisation looking to support and encourage all churches and Christian groups in their own initiatives to spread the gospel to the millions of visitors we will see in London and the other Olympic venues this summer. There is a joint statement about More Than Gold from the Presidents of Churches Together in England, here. The various initiatives which YWAM are involved in , named Forever 2012, come under the umbrella of More than Gold. The aim is to send international teams to all the Olympic venues to share the gospel in different ways. One of the initiatives is to precede the Olympic torch in its passage round the UK with a bus full of people praising God and publicising events which churches along the torch route will be hosting.

About 5-6000 people will be camping at the Oval from July - September, to be part of the teams. In the week running up to the start of the Games, an International Arts and Sports Festival called Go 4 Glory will be held at the Oval, giving Christian artists and athletes an opportunity to celebrate, train, network and promote their ministry. Those attending Go 4 Glory can then go on to be involved in the Olympic outreach. More information about Go 4 Glory can be found here. Young people in local churches are invited to be part of events which are happening at the Oval, and older ones may wish to join an outreach team, for which there will be training provided on the base. Details will be posted on the Forever 2012 website. Prayer is an important part of the success of any Christian venture. YWAM have set up an online prayer calendar called 'Brick by Brick' where you can sign up for one or more hour slots (bricks) of prayer on a 'prayer wall', running 24/7. Information about this and how to sign up can be found on the forever 2012 website Local churches are running their own events as part of the outreach. Some will be showing parts of the Games (eg the Opening Ceremony or key events) on a wide screen on their premises and inviting the local community to share watching the event together. St Mary's Kinsbourne Green is considering riunning an Its a Knockout competition. Christchurch Harpenden is hosting a Sports Quiz in May, in collaboration with Christians in Sport. The Methodist church is involved in hosting visitors (eg families of athletes) in local homes. More ideas for ways in which your church can be involved can be found on the More than Gold website. Don't forget to give details of your church's events to this website for publicity on the What's On page!