Churches training in community outreach ahead of 2012 Games

Thirteen training events are to take place over the coming months to show churches how they can put on simple events that build community spirit and demonstrate the Gospel.

Organisers are hoping churches will work together to run a festival in their community in the run-up to or during the Games.

During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, some 250,000 people took part in 120 community festivals, making them the largest community event of the Games.

They included broadcasting some of the sporting events on giant screens, hosting barbecues and music performances, and entertaining children with face painting and clowns.

The festivals were coordinated by Australian organisation Fusion Youth and Community. Its Festivals Director, Marty Woods, has moved to the UK to share his expertise with churches looking to do something similar.

He said: “Community festivals can position a church at the heart of community life in a highly strategic way.

“At these festivals the children are the stars, onlookers are drawn in to the centre, and together we taste God’s Kingdom – the way life was meant to be.”

The training events are being coordinated by More than Gold, the charity overseeing church outreach during the 2012 Olympic Games, and being run by Fusion and Share Jesus International, which offer two alternative models of festival.

Venues include London, Newcastle, Oxford, Reading, Preston, Croydown, Liverpool and Aylesbury.

In addition to the training events, More than Gold is to host 18 presentations across England explaining not only the role of community festivals, but the opportunities offered by the Torch Relay and the strategic use of sports outreach.

David Willson, chief executive of More than Gold, said: “Athletes around the world are in training, the UK public are thinking about which events to attend, and it is time for churches to be making their own plans. This tour gives them the help they need.”


Find out more at: www.morethangold.org.uk