Olympic Ministry - What's Next?

It's been a little over a week since I returned to St. Louis after an action packed vision trip to Tokyo.  As I have been praying about taking part in next Summer's Olympic outreach, I have to pause to take into account all that God has done in me and my life because of this unique evangelism opportunity.
I have often said that if you told me when I was 15 years old that I would travel the world to tell people about Jesus I would have said you were crazy.  It is beyond my ability to communicate how blessed I feel that God has allowed me to be used in this way.  Not only have I been able to experience most of God's great world, having traveled to and shared the Gospel on 5 of the inhabited continents, but because of my involvement at the Olympics, God has impacted my family with the adoption of Joylee after my time in China during the 2008 Summer Games.

Tokyo 2020 will mark my 20th year, 11th Olympic ministry outreach, and 6th Summer Games.  20 years ago I was on my way to Sydney, Australia for the Sydney 2000 Summer Games.  It would be my first time leaving North America and my first use of a US passport.  God put David Guinn in my life in the Summer of 2000 and has used him over these 20 years to help me grow as a man of God, as an evangelist, and a pastor.  I am so thankful to know and serve with David Guinn.

We have used The Jesus Pin as our primary Gospel tool.  This attractive pin utilizes the "Wordless Gospel" colors to engage in Gospel conversations.  It is appealing when we meet people, get to know them a bit and then offer to give them an Olympic souvenir, for FREE, if they will just let us tell them the story about the pin.  It is extremely rare that people turn down our offer so as a result we are able to share the love of God with many.
The Winter Games of 2018 in PyeongChang was the first time that there was not a significant International Sports Chaplains team on the ground.  However, Terry Veazey and I were able to be there for 9 days and share the Gospel with many people.  Granted, it wasn't the same as previous Olympic outreaches but it was a tremendous sharing and learning opportunity.

I am excited as I look forward to Tokyo 2020.  I know it will be a little different than my previous Olympic ministry experience but it is still Acts 1:8 all in one place.  God will be at work during the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan and I can't wait to be a part of it.

Let me invite you to join my Olympic Ministry Prayer Team.  You can sign up by visiting my Olympic ministry website, www.beyondtherings.net.  In addition to joining the prayer team, you can read stories and see pictures from previous Olympic outreaches as well as find information about how you can contribute to the financial needs to make this ministry possible  

Thank you to so many individuals and churches for their tremendous encouragement, prayer and financial support over the last 19 years.  I am confident as we move into 2020 God is going to do incredible things during the Olympic Games beyond the rings.

Blessings,
Jeff

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