As the Commonwealth Games begin in Glasgow, the Salvation Army is leading church outreach to demonstrate God’s love in action to the thousands of athletes and supporters in attendance.
More than 200 gold medals are on offer over the next ten days, with athletes from 74 nations and territories taking part.
The church and charity is leading an initiative to create a visible Christian presence throughout the Games, with Glasgow Churches Together and other Christian groups.
Volunteers are opening a hub at its church in the heart of Glasgow, amongst several competition venues. Visitors will be able to rest, have refreshments, and recharge phones and themselves before heading back to the action. Pastoral support will also be on offer.
Good News for Everyone and Street Pastors will also be out in the city, handing out Bibles and magazines. Shieldy, the Salvation Army’s mascot, will also be heading to all the venues with the Games’ mascot, Finnie.
Commissioner Ivor Telfer, who has worked at major sporting events with the Salvation Army for more than 25 years, told Premier Christian News that it is the perfect opportunity to show hospitality to people from different nations and communities.
“It's just a fabulous opportunity to build relationships with people around something that they like, and then have the opportunity to chat to them about the love of Jesus”, he said.
Commissioner Telfer recounted a story from his first event, the Sydney 2000 Olympics, of meeting a man who was initially dismissive of Christians being at the event. But after conversation, he was able to connect through their shared experience of sport and how it is a gift from God.
“That's something God loves to see: people joining together, families joining together, having fun, playing sports together," he said. "The church needs to involve themselves in that because we're all about people having fun. Church is not a boring place to be. Church is a great place to be."
The Salvation Army hopes the initiative will leave a legacy of inspiring churches to consider how sport can be a way to strengthen community relationships, and open new opportunities for mission and service.
The Games, which officially open on Thursday evening, were nearly cancelled after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew from hosting. Glasgow stepped in to put on a scaled-back competition with ten sports. It also features integrated para-sports in the programme.
Christian competitors include Adam Ramsay-Peaty, aiming for breaststroke gold for Team England. The swimmer has spoken about how his perspective on life had been transformed after meeting a chaplain and coming to faith.