Future major sports events, like the World Cup and the Olympics, will benefit from the many lessons churches have learned during the 2012 Games.

In London this week is a delegation of more than forty church leaders from twelve of the nations where major sports events take place over the next few years. This includes a dozen from Brazil who are getting ready for the World Cup in two years time and the Olympics two years later.

Playing host to the delegation is More Than Gold, the agency set up by all the denominations to help churches make the most of the 2012 Games. Said its UK Director Jon Burns, ‘We don’t want the valuable lessons learned here over the past three years to go to waste.’

The week-long in-depth briefing includes representatives of churches, mission and Christian sports organisations from Brazil, Scotland, Canada, USA, Korea and Russia. They will be visiting churches in action and being briefed on areas ranging from running community festivals, sports outreach, mission teams, social action and prayer to finance, operations and communications.

The Brazilians have already been in the UK for some months receiving hands-on experience in running community festivals. This is thanks to Fusion Youth and Community who have been at the heart of the festival programme run by churches during the Games that has seen over half a million attend.

Carla Mendes, one of the More Than Gold Brazil team, said, ‘We breathe sport in Brazil. It’s in our DNA. So we are already starting to train people how to use sport to engage with their community and are encouraging more than 10,000 churches to work together for 2014.’

While in the UK, Carla has been struck by the way mission volunteers have come from around the world to work among local churches to support festivals, kids holiday clubs, creative arts programmes and sports clinics.

Carla says, ‘We have seen the impact when people come with skills and ideas from other nations. So we will really be encouraging our churches back home to be ready to receive them.’

Closer to home, a group from Scotland are getting ready for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in two years time. Said Lorimer Gray, Chair of More Than Gold 2014 in Scotland, ‘Being here has given us the assurance that we are on the right track. We are also struck by the spread of denominational involvement and the unity of the More Than Gold 2012 team.’

The briefing will help other nations take up some of the initiatives by churches new to the 2012 Games. This includes More Than Gold’s Games Pastors programme and the many Youth Cafes that have attracted young people.

To contact the More Than Gold Media Centre
Tel: +44 (0)207 316 1333 media@morethangold.org.uk
From Monday 13th August phone 0845 475 2012

Photographs
Delegates at the major event briefing with Jon Burns, UK Director of More Than Gold – link
Carla Mendes, of the More Than Gold Brazil team – link