The world came to Paris

The world came to Paris this summer. Major sporting events present a unique opportunity to both serve communities and to make the Gospel known.

In order to understand the many initiatives that happened this summer, it is useful to understand what was done to prepare for the Paris games.

The summer of 2024 has been a unique time, and we thank God for all that he did through this period and also for the fruit he will produce.

In March of 2023, I became aware of the plans that were being made to encourage and support the many initiatives that would take place during the Paris games.

These would come from the many associations, churches, clubs, and individuals from both France as well as the world. I also learned that the international Christian sports movement (Ready Set Go) would support these initiatives with the knowledge and experience gained from previous games.

In May of 2023, I joined a group of dedicated people already working to put in place a framework that would support the many initiatives that were being prepared.

We knew there would be no shortage of projects. We also believed that in working together the projects would have a greater impact. ENSEMBLE 2024 is the name we chose for this movement.

As we pursued our efforts, we were encouraged by the truth that God is always at work and that our job is to discover what he’s doing and to join in with that. Throughout this experience we’ve seen this truth confirmed again and again.

[destacate] We knew there would be no shortage of projects. We also believed that in working together the projects would have a greater impact. ENSEMBLE 2024 is the name we chose for this movement[/destacate]  As summer turned to fall, our activity accelerated as working groups were formed. We focused both on creating spaces where individuals and groups with the same passion could share what they were doing, encouraging each other and sharing resources.

These included sports, arts and mercy ministries. We also sought to develop collaboration within the cities of France. Weekly video calls allowed us to quickly put these groups in place and develop our collaboration.

At the same time communication tools were put into place; a website , a regular newsletter and a WhatsApp community.

To illustrate what ENSEMBLE 2024 represented, we spoke of going to see Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and that once we had seen it that it would be strange to speak of the frame and not the painting.

No, it is the Mona Lisa that matters and not the frame. It exists to give greater value to the painting. ENSEMBLE 2024 exists to encourage and support the hundreds of initiatives that occurred during this summer of sport.

At the beginning of 2024, we realized that while the many meetings online were useful, we needed to see each other in person, face to face. So, we put in place a monthly in-person meeting that was held in the 12th arrondissement at Paris Epicentre, (a building that houses a church as well as many other activities).

These allowed many partners in the movement to meet each other, to learn of the many projects that were being planned and to encourage each other. We also had times of training and prayer.

One of our goals in creating the working groups and getting the different participants talking to each other was to create an environment for spontaneous collaboration. We knew that centralizing everything would slow things down.

One of the joys we had was to learn of collaborative projects between groups. When this happened, we knew that we were on the right track.

All of this demonstrated a way of working together that could last beyond the summer of 2024. We pray that fruitful and lasting Gospel collaboration would be one of the legacies of these games.

[destacate]We pray that fruitful and lasting Gospel collaboration would be one of the legacies of these games[/destacate] Now that we have spoken about the preparation for the games, let’s turn to what happened. Among the first questions that are asked are “How many people were involved?” and “What did they do?”

It must be said that while we tried to be aware of the many initiatives it is impossible to have an accurate number. We are thankful that God knows! We estimate that at least 2.500 disciples of Jesus Christ from France and around the world were involved in ministry this summer.

They were connected to at least 76 different ministries. We also estimate that at least 50 churches from the Paris area were involved in these activities.

When it comes to what was accomplished, there were at least 500 events during the games. In fact, as I write this on September 2nd, we are still in the period of the Paralympics with many events going on.

Here’s a sample of all that happened… Churches opened their doors for concerts and art shows. Gospel pins were passed out. Teams contributed to the Fan Zones organized by town halls. Gospel literature was shared throughout the Paris region as well as all of France. Multiple prayer initiatives were organized. At least 1 million prayers were offered through the International Prayer Connect initiative, france1million.world.

Events weren’t limited to just the time of the games. The cities of Lille, Nantes, Saint-Étienne, and Grenoble all had events celebrating sport and making Christ known, these included in part sports tournaments, literature distribution, concerts and cultural events.

We heard many reports that the teams in the streets had great freedom to proclaim the Gospel and to pass out literature.

Hundreds of thousands of pieces of literature were distributed from New Testaments with athletes’ testimonies to Gospel tracts, to a brochure with Eric Liddell’s testimony and many more. This was a grace from God and the proclamation of his Word bore fruit.

We have reports of hundreds of individuals who put their trust in Jesus Christ and prayed to receive him. To God be the glory, may he preserve that which was received.

[destacate] We have reports of hundreds of individuals who put their trust in Jesus Christ and prayed to receive him. To God be the glory, may he preserve that which was received[/destacate] One of the initiatives that embodied the reality of ENSEMBLE 2024 was the Paris Hub. We rented a floor of Paris Epicentre. This created a dynamic space where teams could hold meetings in preparation of their events.

Also, literature was made available and thousands of New Testaments and Gospels of Mark were taken to be given out in the streets. There was also a prayer room where during the course of three weeks over 400 people came to pray.

We also shared many meals. All this contributed to a sense of working together for the sake of the Gospel in Paris pointing a way forward for future collaboration.

Beyond the events, individuals, associations and churches learned to work together in new ways; relationships were deepened that opened up new possibilities for collaboration.

Jesus Christ tells us that the world will know we are his disciples by our love for one another. During the games many disciples from different church backgrounds worked together for the sake of the Gospel. Their love for each other was evident.

As the games come to a close and I consider all that happened, it is clear that God did abundantly more than all that we ask or think. Let us together thank God for his goodness.

Let us also pray that the Word that has been sown would bear much fruit. Also, may we all have greater assurance to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to the world that needs him.

Matthew Glock is a pastor in Paris and co-leader of the Ensemble 2024 coalition.

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[title]One more year[/title]

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[text]At Evangelical Focus, we have a sustainability challenge ahead. We invite you to join those across Europe and beyond who are committed with our mission. Together, we will ensure the continuity of Evangelical Focus and Protestante Digital (Spanish) in 2024.

Learn all about our #OneMoreYearEF campaign here (English).

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