Ministry in Paris During the 2024 Olympics

The Olympics provides a unique opportunity to reach people with the gospel. Because of the games, people who might not talk to you are much more open to conversation and ready to talk about anything, but especially the Olympic Games. This is my fourth time to do ministry during the Olympics and I found Paris to be just like Beijing, London, and Rio.

We had a small team but we had many opportunities to share the gospel, train other teams, and minister to pastors and Christian leaderswhile we were there. Richard and Jane Sharp, and Richard’s twin sister Jane were part of our team so we did One Wish evangelism training with a college group from Florida and with a church group from Brazil. Everywhere Richard goes he is sharing the gospel. He is inspiring and challenging.

We all used the One Wish bracelet with many people. We shared on the train, while walking to the train, in Ubers, at restaurants, on the streets, in the barber shop, at the Eiffel Tower, on the bridge, and pretty much anywhere we went. We also had tracts in English, French, and Arabic to help supplement what we shared. Not only did we train teams but we also left a lot of material for those still in Paris to use after we went back home. We gave out a lot of bracelets and tracts, but we also had significant conversations with at least 21 different people from at least 11 different countries.

As a former Muslim, James was able to share with the 2 groups how to do ministry to the large Muslim community in Paris. Both groups were curious to know how they could reach this population. He also had several chances to visit with local Afghans. In fact, he stayed in Paris for a few days afterward with an unbelieving Afghan family who forbade him to talk about religion. After one day the father asked James to tell him about Jesus and that father came to faith in Christ!

Our other focus was to minister to the pastors, missionaries, and Christian leaders in France. We met with a young married couple, Lionel and Ashley, who are living in the neighborhood near where our apartment was located. We helped them do an outreach to the neighborhood during the passing of the Olympic torch and later in the week we were able to take them to lunch and encourage them in their ministry. In addition, I met with church planters, Doug and Nathan, one morning to talk about long term partnerships. We also hosted a lunch for pastors and ministry leaders at a local restaurant to share some thoughts on discipleship and hear how God is working through them. It is our hope to build some relationships that will become partnerships in the future.

Paris is a beautiful city that is covered in spiritual darkness. They need 1,000 new churches to reach the 10,000,000 people in the greater Paris area. They need believers to come to Paris with a heart to reach people with the gospel. No one we talked to said they had heard the gospel before we shared it with them. I asked one young woman in her 20’s if she had ever heard this story before and she said she had not. They have not rejected the gospel. They have never heard the gospel!

How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? Romans 10:14 (CSB)

There are several prayer requests to share with you:

– Those we shared the gospel with: Moussa, Frank, Wolfgang, Victoria, Ouisull, Rafael, Eric, Silas, Joshua, Mohammed, Hossain, Fatima, Liu, Miriam, Philip, Mario, Ludiven, Elodie, Amir, Robin, Karin, and many more. At least 11 different countries from the USA to Iran and Afghanistan.
– Those we met who are ministering on the edge: Gilbert, Yaliia, Joy, Mike, Lisa, Philip, Lionel, Ashley, Doug, Nathan, Reubens, Hae Gin, Verouna, Robert, Christine, Kathy, Katelyn, and more. At least 9 different countries, some staying long term, some short term.
– We are especially thankful for Derrick who got me connected with so many opportunities and is pouring out his life to serve the Lord in Paris.
– I had some great conversations about the opportunity to take teams to return to Paris in the future. Please pray for these contacts and those who will follow the Lord to come to Paris.

One More Thing:

On our last day in country we went to the American Cemetery in Normandy. We saw Omaha beach and the thousands of grave markers (there are 9,389, most of whom died on D-Day or in the battles immediately following) This was not our main focus obviously, but it was one of the most impactful days of the trip. If you get a chance, you should go to Normandy.