Hundreds of Southern Baptist volunteers head to Paris as Olympics approach | Baptist life

The countdown to the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris is on!

The city is teeming with shops and merchants preparing for an influx of 15 million visitors – athletes, spectators, media workers and volunteers – strolling along the Seine, claiming sites of legendary art and architecture from Paris and tasting local dishes (pain au chocolat, anyone?).

As nations descend on the French capital in July, the International Mission Board's Paris team expects a whirlwind summer of opportunities to share Christ.

Although millions of arrivals will come from other countries, most visitors to Paris this summer will come from other parts of France. Jason Harris, who leads the IMB's Olympic outreach, expressed his team's enthusiasm for this unique moment of sharing Christ with so many French people – who remain one of the largest unreached people groups in the world – in one place at a time.

“There are pockets of 200 to 300,000 people in France where there are no evangelical churches,” Harris said. “So to have people from all over France come to Paris and have this opportunity to share the Gospel with them is huge.”

For six weeks, their team hosts more than 300 Southern Baptist volunteers from across North America, from Canada to Florida to Nevada. Fourteen summer interns will join Harris' team for six weeks of intensive evangelism around the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Volunteers will begin and end their day by meeting at one of three churches located in key locations across Paris to pray, pray and debrief. Harris' team hopes to deepen partnerships with local French and international churches, share the Gospel in their neighborhoods, and establish a solid foundation for future work together.

“Our desire is to see evangelism during the Olympics launch us into a fruitful season of church planting in Paris, alongside the French Church,” Harris said.

A group will be in the oldest Baptist church in Paris.

“I would have to say the oldest Baptist church building, because the body is completely dead,” Harris said. “It’s a truly unique and beautiful church. It's a place we're excited about because there's potential for church planting work to grow subsequently and it's a target hub.

The church, owned by the Federation of Evangelical Baptist Churches of France and adjacent to the Louvre and Musée d'Orsay in the heart of Paris' arts district, now houses a bookstore and a permanent art space that can be rented. Harris said his team is partnering with a local French artist and believer who is passionate about the gospel to curate an immersive art experience in the church based on the principles of salvation.

“He’s an artist, so I think he’s used to thinking outside the box,” Harris said. “He is willing to try new things and experiment to get to know people and build a real relational connection with people.”

Other planned outreach events are fun Olympic-themed festivals, international mic nights, ultimate frisbee games at local parks and visitor rest areas.

“If you've been to Paris, it's virtually impossible to find a place to sit without having to pay 25 or 30 euros for a sip of tea,” Harris said, explaining why rest areas could be a draw. lot for tourists.

Volunteers will also use digital engagement strategies, as well as traditional ways to share the Gospel, such as distributing water bottles and leaflets, conducting spiritual surveys – with which they have had surprising success – and the age-old Olympic pastime of pin trading with specially designed pins.

“We're thinking about every way we can to connect with people,” Harris said. “There are so many opportunities to interact and share the gospel with people where they are. »

Harris asked for prayer this summer as the Paris team partners with Southern Baptist volunteers to proclaim Christ to visitors from around the world and other parts of France, to facilitate outreach events, to serve and equip the French church and finally to implement wise and effective monitoring. after the games.

“My prayer is that awareness of the Olympics will be a starting point, a springboard for church planting in Paris. »