Foreign missionaries defy ban during Olympics

< Prev | 1 | 2

How we worship

	Christianity Brazilians get baptized in Israel, a megachurch opens in Houston, and devotees carry a cross in the Philippines.
	Islam Whirling dervishes perform in Turkey, pilgrims gather in Mecca, and an elderly man is doused with holy water.
	Judaism Jews pray at the Mount of Olives, matzoh is baked in Brooklyn, and thousands of rabbis pose for a group photo.
	Hinduism and more Japanese ascetics hang from a cliff, Shinto believers pray in ice water and a 60-foot statue takes a colorful bath.

Video: Faith

More video

Catholic Church: politics over healing the sick
Nov. 12: The Reverend Welton Gaddy, president of Interfaith Alliance, tries to help Keith Olbermann understand how the Catholic Church can overlook the moral imperative of passing a health reform bill that will result in the healing of millions for the sake of picking a political fight over abortion.

Play depicting Jesus as gay man takes stage

Despite downturn, ‘prosperity gospel’ still strong

Vatican debates existence of E.T.

High-tech holy water font fights swine flu

RSS feeds on msnbc.com

Add these headlines to your news reader

Faith

Learn more about RSS

The subject of Olympics outreach was touchy for some groups.

"No comment," said a woman who answered the phone at Athletes in Action, the sports ministry of the Campus Crusade for Christ. She then hung up.

However, a spokesman for the Missouri-based Fellowship of Christian Athletes was happy to talk about outreach efforts within the Olympic Village by its athletes, including American marathon runner Ryan Hall.

Story continues below ↓

advertisement | your ad here

Athletes stepped up to lead their own prayer groups or Bible studies after the Chinese said they would assign chaplains to the village's religious services center instead of allowing teams to bring in their own, said Dan Britton, the fellowship's senior vice president of ministries.

"It's a very unique situation," he said. "When you assign a chaplain, it's almost like saying, 'We're bringing a team to China and assigning the coach.' Well, the coach doesn't know the players and only knows the sport. We feel the spiritual realm is the same way."

One outreach success came ahead of the Olympics, when a U.S. team was in China for an exhibition match. The U.S. team and the Chinese team — Britton wouldn't name the sport — gathered in a hotel room the night before the match for a 30-minute prayer meeting arranged by a foreigner who had access to the Chinese team.

"It was very powerful," said Britton, who said he had seen photos of the meeting, where members of both teams prayed and sang. "God pulled it together."

< Prev | 1 | 2

Discuss Story On Newsvine
Rate Story:
View popularLowHigh
Email
Instant Message
Print