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.

At the age of 32, Paris will be the sixth edition in which the Christian swimmer participates. In total she has won 29 medals, 16 of them gold.

The joyful and courageous way in which the German Olympic gold medalist in the shot put has publicly expressed her faith is a lesson for all European Christians.

The greatest sporting competition in the world helps us to reflect on success and failure.

The Christian athlete is the first Dominican to win gold at an Olympic Games. “The power of God is great”, she said after the final.

It is the 6th time she broke her own world record of the 400-meter hurdles. “I have a platform and I want to use it to glorify Him”.

The Australian athlete repeats her triumph in Tokyo 2021.  She is very outspoken about her faith:. “My heart for sport is to see revival”.

Trans World Radio features daily one-hour live broadcasts with testimonies of Christian athletes to “convey a message of hope to Arabic-speaking audiences”.

Common decency says we should not liken anything today to 1930’s Germany. In light of what has happened recently and what may lie ahead, maybe it would be wiser if we did.

“Jesus invites all of our contemporaries to his table and offers true reconciliation, identity and belonging”, says Erwan Cloarec, president of the CNEF, while acknowledging the “hurt feelings” of many believers.

Gabriel Medina, with the best Olympic shortboard mark (9.90), described what has become a viral image of Paris 2024 using the words of Philippians 4:13.

The South African swimmer wins the 100m breaststroke gold in Paris and shows gratitude to “God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit”.

The ‘Love France’ initiative provides resources to pray for France; the safety and success of the games; the Church and the different evangelistic events in the Olympics.

In Paris, evangelicals are saddened by a gratuitous derision that does not represent the tolerance and diversity of the Olympic Games. Others in Europe point to the Gospels as a reminder that contempt for Christianity has been going on for 2,000 years.

Throughout the centuries, Christianity and the Olympic Games have had an ambivalent relationship. For good reasons. But today  Christians have come to see major sports gatherings as God-given opportunities for evangelism.

It may be that the turbulent times stir previously comfortable hearts to a new level of openness. When those moments come, we must offer Jesus to a needy world.

“We believe the sports activities will provide unparalleled circumstances for evangelism across many cultures”, said Cécile Chan-Janiaud, TWR Director for Digital Media Ministry in Europe .

The French Bible Society launches “More precious than gold”, a special edition of the New Testament that features fifteen testimonies of Christian athletes.

Today, we live in a world of indolence that strengthens people with sinister agendas, whatever their ideology or religion may be. 

The French prepare with “anticipation and anxiousness” for Paris 2024. An effort uniting churches and Christian ministries connects with society through sport events, social action, and gospel outreach.

The Spain manager has won the Euro 2024 football championship with his team. The day of the victory against England, he spoke of his faith: “I’m not superstitious. If I pray today and tomorrow, it’s because I’ve been doing it for a long time”.

I don’t want to condemn the church in the 1930s without acknowledging how easily cowed the church in the 2020s might prove to be. 

Christians from Germany, Spain and Italy comment on how passionately Euro 2024 is being followed in their respective countries. There are fewer players on the field with a public faith than in the past.

Society may be conditioned to support an approved narrative, but we are called to be men and women of truth. 

Believers in England, Poland and Switzerland describe how churches connect football and the gospel and point to players known for being committed Christians.