You can read the story behind the creation of "Where The Sea Meets The Snow" -- the Engage Sochi theme song. And, in the side features you can find out how you can support the pin evangelism ministry and how to register for Engage Sochi Volunteer Training Events. You can also learn more about how you can begin praying for the people and city of Sochi and the surrounding Olympic area and downlaod Engage Sochi prayer guides in PDF form.

Click here to begin reading the full story package! 

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Due to a variety of reasons, we are now requiring all of our teams to be registered with our logistics partner, Harmony International. This will allow us to more easily manage the ministry schedules of the teams, assist teams as they travel to and from Sochi, broker deals for housing and airfare, and a variety of other items. 

At my request, Harmony International has built a “basic package” that includes Russian visa support, lodging, and a variety of other things that will be essential to your Olympic ministry.  The basic package will be a requirement for all Engage Sochi mission teams.  Harmony International will continue to provide services in addition to the basic package for those who may want to customize their Russian missions experience. Please feel free to discuss these options with them. 

In addition, we have organized our team opportunities into five different weeks of service, three during the Olympic Games and two during the Paralympic Games.  

Week One - Feb 6-13 (Olympic Games)
Week Two - Feb 12-19 (Olympic Games)
Week Three - Feb 18-25 (Olympic Games)
Week Four - March 6-13 (Paralympic Games)
Week Five - March 12-19 (Paralympic Games)

To begin your registration process, CLICK HERE to connect with Harmony International.

We believe this partnership between Engage Sochi and Harmony International to be one that ensures our teams the ability to safely focus on ministry activities while in Sochi for the Games.  Thank you for your cooperation and dedication to using the 2014 Winter Olympics as an opportunity for mass evangelism and church planting in the Sochi area and beyond!

The event is hosted by the Georgia Baptist Convention and will be held at their Duluth, Georgia Missions and Ministry Center.  While admission is free, registration for the event is required.

CLICK HERE to begin the registration process.

During the session participants will get an overview of the Olympic ministry strategy, recieve resources vital to working as a Christian volunteer in Russia, and have an opportunity to meet with members of the Engage Sochi team in person and via Skype.

This is a regional event and should be attended by all groups who are within driving distance of the greater Atlanta area.  It is not exclusively for Georgia Baptists. Two other sessions are currently being planned. They are:

Saturday, May 18 - Oklahoma Baptist University - Shawnee, Oklahoma

Thursday, June 13 - Following the Southern Baptist Convention in Houston, Texas - Location TBD

For more information, send an email to: TellMeMore@EngageSochi.org

OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN CLOCK -- Located in front of Sochi’s most recognizable landmark, the Olympic countdown clock shows there is just one year left to prepare before the world arrives in Russia for the 22nd Winter Olympic Games. PHOTO BY MARC IRA HOOKS

On Thursday night, Russian dignitaries and Olympic officials celebrated the event in the recently completed Bolshoy Ice Dome in nearby Adler. Several thousand Sochi residents gathered to watch the countdown at one of the live Olympic viewing sites in their city’s downtown area along the coast of the Black Sea.

Olympic officials and Sochi residents were not the only ones in the area watching as the clock clicked down to the one-year mark. Southern Baptists from Oklahoma and Georgia joined International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries in the city as preparations for Olympic ministry continue. 

The Engage Sochi project is an IMB initiative that mobilizes Southern Baptists to reach the people of Sochi through broad sharing of the Gospel and planting of churches before, during and after the Games.

Staff members and volunteers from two state Baptist conventions joined Engage Sochi project leaders to plan for more than 400 people to share the Gospel in Sochi during the Olympics in February and the Paralympics in March, 2014.

“I think it is important for Conventions to be leading out in Olympic ministry,” said Georgia Baptist Convention staffer Marty Youngblood, who is a veteran of Olympic ministries.  “It allows us to reach the world in a much more responsible way, as far as our resources go.”

OLYMPIC COUNTDOWN CLOCK -- Located in front of Sochi’s most recognizable landmark, the Olympic countdown clock shows there is just one year left to prepare before the world arrives in Russia for the 22nd Winter Olympic Games. PHOTO BY MARC IRA HOOKS

Unlike other Olympic ministry projects, Engage Sochi focuses on more than broad Gospel-sharing. At its core is a strong church-planting component. While volunteers will have the opportunity to share the Gospel with those people around the world, the primary focus is to reach individuals who live and work in the Olympic city.

Youngblood says the intentional church planting at an Olympic event makes the project unique. “We are going to be focusing on the people of Sochi,” he said. “Mass evangelism is good.  It’s important to focus on the people from around the world. But, when we focus on the city and the people of Sochi we leave more of a lasting influence than we usually would during the Olympics.”

Bob Nigh, Managing Editor of the Oklahoma Baptist Messenger, said he believes the Engage Sochi philosophy is very, very important. “We need to be able to look back on this and ask, ‘What difference did all of that make?’ And hopefully, and prayerfully, this is going to make a huge difference in the lives of many people who live in Sochi.”

SHARING ON THE SLOPES -- Randy Lind, Worship and Music Specialist for the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma, shares the Gospel with a young skier on the slopes where several Olympic events will be held in February, 2014. PHOTO BY MARC IRA HOOKS

Nigh joined Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma Worship and Music Specialist, Randy Lind, and several members of the Singing Churchmen of Oklahoma, who will perform in Sochi during the first full week of the Games.

While the group spent the week seeking venues where they can perform as a hundred-person-strong men’s choir, they will spend much of their time in Sochi during the Games singing in small groups throughout the area as a way to meet people and share the Gospel.

“We looked at Mexico, China and some other places to minister in 2014,” said Lind.  “But, when I heard that we could help local pastors and also do work in church planting, that really touched my heart. The fact that we get to do all of this during the Olympics is just icing on the cake.”

With just under a year remaining before the kick-off of the Olympics in Sochi, much of the city and surrounding area is covered in a cloud of construction dust that can be seen from a nearby mountaintop. Just as Russian officials are preparing the city of Sochi to host the Olympics, the Engage Sochi team and scores of volunteers have much to do as well.

“We are going to be praying a lot,” said Lind. “We will be preparing to do things that we believe will reach out and touch people’s hearts, musically. But, we will also be refreshing that story... that story about how our lives have been changed by God working in us, and how Christ has made a difference in our lives.”

FAITH CHALLENGE -- “Olympic ministry is not an easy ministry,” said Georgia Baptist Convention staffer, Marty Youngblood. “It is not for everyone.  But, it will grow you in your faith in ways you never knew were possible.”  PHOTO BY MARC IRA HOOKS

Youngblood said he believes all Southern Baptists should be praying in earnest for the Engage Sochi ministry team and logistics coordinators. “This may be one of the most difficult Winter Olympics that I have ever come to know and see as far as logistical planning is concerned.

“I think God is going to do something spectacular here... maybe even more than anything we have ever experienced in Olympic ministries,” added Youngblood. “I am convinced that this is going to be a time where we see the Lord move in mighty ways in the community of Sochi, with the churches here, and with people from around the world.”

While Baptists in Oklahoma and Georgia are already deep into the planning of their Olympic ministry trips to Sochi, they and IMB missionaries pray that other Southern Baptists will get just as involved in Engage Sochi. Updates and other information, including video features, can be found at www.EngageSochi.org or by writing to TellMeMore@EngageSochi.org.

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Marc Ira Hooks is an IMB writer based in Europe.  He also serves as Co-Director and Olympic Event Coordinator for Engage Sochi.  He can be reached by email at Marc@EngageSochi.org.

Momentum.  Lives saved.  Excitement about God. Churches and missions volunteers serving during the Vancouver Games witness these changes in the region already.

Against the backdrop of fans engulfed in the Olympic spirit and Canadians’ growing sense of patriotism, mission team members and local churches ministered the love of Jesus. They seized the rare opportunity that Olympic Games afford. “You could randomly walk up to a person and talk to them without having that slightly awkward feeling,” noted Melissa Manire, 18. “Once the Olympics had ended, everyone went back into that phase of not talking to anyone, sticking to themselves.”

Since the final light dimmed on the closing ceremonies, how has Vancouver’s spiritual landscape changed?  International Mission Board missionary Kelly Manire noted a shift in churches’ approach to reaching fellow Canadians. “There’s a move to be more proactive,” he observed.  The spark of reaching other Canadians ignited during the Olympics grew to a flame.  Case in point: After the Olympics a church in British Columbia mounted a 25-member mission trip to Calgary, Canada.  “It was the largest Canadian National Baptist Convention youth mission trip from Canadians to Canadians that we are aware of. They had to rent a big Greyhound-sized bus to make it happen.”

Effects spilled, too, into churches and Christians joining together in unprecedented ways. The Passion Vancouver worship conference of November 2010 witnessed the vast majority of local Southern Baptist churches’ participation. “’This level of participation may not have happened before the Olympics,” said Manire.  The sheer number of new Southern Baptist church starts has jumped to 17, also unprecedented.

Christians noticed a change at the individual level as well.  “I believe that the Olympic ministry team has made a tremendous difference in our community since the Olympics, and that people today are more open towards Christianity,” said Melissa.

Kelly Manire credits the changes to God’s work through the individual acts of outreach that Olympic volunteers lived out.  These acts must continue so that more people give their lives to Jesus. “Billy Graham is reported to have said that lost people often need around 40 encounters with Christians before they are ready to accept Christ,” he shared. “Every smile, every prayer, everything we do makes a difference.  God is using us to soften the soil of people’s souls.”  Manire believes that seed planting such as the Engage Sochi advance teams will initiate are an important part of this process.

British Columbia churches and missionaries waste no time maximizing these positive changes to plan for the future.  Some plans grow from effects the Games themselves had on the region.  “The Olympics raised Vancouver’s profile as a global destination,” said Manire.  “We’re seeing an influx of young adults moving here because of that.  Along with that, we’re seeing a new sense of excitement about God among young adults.”  An increased international population equals more opportunities for churches, especially ethnic congregations, he said.

God’s leading branches out to fresh perspectives too.  For instance, the logistics of mass transit spawned a creative strategy for sharing Christ.  Officials bolstered the sky train network for the Games, clustering new “town centers” around major junctures.  Church planters envision new churches located at these population magnets, thus targeting more people in a concentrated area. Commenting on that, in what could also summarize the entire evangelism opportunity of any Olympics, Manire noted, “What man has made, God is using for His purposes.”  

The Kazan Autumn is one of many events that are happening prior to, during and after the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi that will showcase the people and culture of Russia. The eyes of the world will be on Sochi, and this will present an amazing opportunity for ministry to the people in Sochi and the fans in attendance from all over t he world. And that is exactly why Engage Sochi needs you and your church to get involved today! Sign up below to receive more info on what you can do to be a part of Engage Sochi!

It was all out war! One of us bowed her head in prayer for this poor woman, while I and the other began telling her the gospel message with such wonderful clarity that even the simplest of simpletons could know how to get saved. We shared Scripture with her. We explained the deep theological treatise that had been developed for centuries by the great minds of the centuries. We gave personal testimonies and we completely nailed the particular evangelistic strategy we had studied for the same class in which we were assigned this task. In a word, we were awesome! No one could have done it better. We had run out of great, insightful things to say. Now, it was time to let God take over. Any minute now and this woman would surely be on her knees praying the sinner’s prayer. At any second, the woman would respond…any mili-second now. Nothing. She didn’t say a word. She merely continued gawking at that horrible electrified black hole of a machine we call TV…and worse, the volume had been turned up! She hadn’t heard a word we had uttered. Suddenly, the panic returned…ten fold! We had failed. She hadn’t been the least bit interested and we had completely failed in our noble task. If I couldn’t do this, then how on earth could I ever hope of being a pastor? A minister? A deacon or Sunday school teacher? In one horrible situation, I had proven to myself once and for all that I was the worst evangelist ever to exist. The sweat returned with a fury. It must have been contagious because I noticed the same stuff on the upper lips of my intrepid evangelism partners as well. We all knew it. We were doomed. Then something happened. I’m not sure what it was that sparked the insight, but for the first time since walking into that woman’s house, I noticed what she was watching on the television. I saw the show that had riveted her so much to the menagerie of colors that flitted across the screen. And I was elated. “You’re watching C.S.I.,” I observed. “Yes, I am.” “Do you like that show?” “It’s my favorite,” she said, looking at me for the first time since we sat down on the couch. “That’s great,” I said. “As a matter of fact, I used to do that for a living before going to seminary.” Suddenly, we were in a different ball game. Actually, I think I could safely say we were in a completely new park for that matter. Those mesmerized eyes were immediately turned to me. “Really?” “Oh yeah,” I said. We began chatting about the field of forensics. I proceeded to tell her about my work as a medico-legal death investigator for a Medical Examiner’s Office in Jacksonville, Florida. I told her about cases I had worked and how different real life is from the television show. She began asking question after question and I answered every one of them excitedly. I wasn’t just excited. I was ecstatic. In reality, I had lost interest in forensics years ago. It had just lost its appeal to me…but then, going against God’s will when he calls you into ministry and deciding to do something foolish like become a forensic investigator will do that to a person. I was excited, but not about C.S.I. The excitement came from realizing that this woman and I now had common ground. I knew something intimately that she only dreamed of knowing in the same way. I realized that she would listen to me from this point on with rapt attention.  And I was right. We talked about forensic science for the better part of an hour. I shared with her techniques in determining time of death and how autopsies were really conducted. I told her about fingerprinting techniques, as well as some gruesome ways of pulling prints from a decomposed body. She was eating it all up! It was then that I decided to go for it. I knew what I had to do. I knew that I had to begin weaving the gospel message into our conversation on forensics somehow. Suddenly, the idea struck me like a brick that fell straight from the sky right onto my oversized, ego-inflated head. I began talking about the forensic science of blood spatter interpretation. I shared with her that when a killer murdered their victim, blood would often spatter upon a surface, staining it. The killer, knowing the spatter could be used against them as evidence, unsuccessfully attempts cleaning the blood off with soap and water. The blood simply won’t come off.  Even when the killer uses bleach, the stains remain—a crimson beacon to the trained investigator. Then, the murderer forms a brilliant idea (in his own mind). He purchases a can of paint and attempts to cover up the stains with a fresh coat.  What he doesn’t realize is that the proteins in the blood are still present in the wall. The CSI comes in with a spray bottle of Luminol and a special light and the stains explode from the new paint with neon clarity. The woman was absolutely fascinated at this point. She was completely engrossed with the conversation and was eager to hear more. It was then that I was able to share the gospel with her. I explained that those blood stains were an awful lot like sin. When we sin, it stains our lives. We try desperately to clean it up ourselves, but it just won’t come off of us. We even attempt to cover up those stains with “good deeds.”  We think we’re successful when we do that…but then comes that special light…the source of all light, the perfect LIGHT of God. When we stand in that wonderful light, the stains of sin are brought out into the open. The only way to deal with those stains is to completely tear down the walls. That’s where Jesus comes in…the Great Carpenter.  If we ask Him, I told her, He will come into our lives and tear down those sin stained walls free of charge!  He’s already covered the cost Himself. What’s more, He’ll build brand new, stain resistant walls into our lives…so that we can remain stain free forever!  All we have to do is ask.