In the midst of 4,500 elite athletes from 71 nations competing for gold medals at the XVIII Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, Seventh-day Adventists were telling athletes and spectators alike that Jesus was the "Winning Way." The games, which l
In the midst of 4,500 elite athletes from 71 nations competing for gold medals at the XVIII Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, Australia, Seventh-day Adventists were telling athletes and spectators alike that Jesus is the “Winning Way.” The games, which lasted from March 15 to 26, is a legacy of the British empire of the 19th and early 20th centuries, and drew athletes from nations as diverse as India, Canada, New Zealand, South Africa, Malaysia, Barbados, Malta, Nigeria, Fiji as well as Australia and the United Kingdom.
The Adventist Church designed a series of events to explain to those attending the Games that, “Jesus is the Winning Way.”
More than a year ago, Pastor John Denne, ministerial secretary for the Victorian Adventist church area, envisioned “Jesus is the Winning Way” as an outreach theme at the Games. That vision became the reality of The Winning Way with 60,000 gold medals, 50,000 “Signs of the Times” magazine excerpts, 500,000 postcards and 7,000 sampler DVDs of programs available from the Adventist Media Centre being distributed during the Games.
During the Games, these Winning Way items were put into packs along with a Gospel of Mark and an Adventist Development and Relief Agency water bottle—and distributed widely. But the program wasn’t just about giveaways.
“Of all the churches involved in ministry for the Games, the Adventists have been the leading church in outreach,” commented Tony Crook, executive director of the Bible Society, an Australian organization.
On March 18, VicYouth—the Victorian church area’s youth department—held a rally in St. Paul’s Cathedral, located in the heart of Melbourne adjacent to Flinders Street Station, one of the two chief railway stations in the city. The rally attracted more than 1,100 young people, as well as many others passing by.
“The church was [more full] than I have seen it in the five years I have volunteered here,” commented a cathedral tour guide who was present at the rally. “It was an amazing program with music, lights and cameras.”
Participants also appreciated the event: “I was really inspired and felt like exploding with gratitude to God for the opportunity to see and be involved in the program,” said Darius Ignasiak from the Wantirna Polish Church. “The magnitude and quality of the service was truly inspirational.”
On March 19, the Revelate concert in Brunswick Park in Melbourne’s inner city, organized by Rebecca Auriant and Derek McKutcheon from VicYouth, drew huge crowds. Some 1,500 Sanitarium vegetarian “sausages” were sizzled up and handed out to people, along with the Winning Way packs, as they listened to music by Sons of Korah, Mayday, Simeon and Rocfish for the kids.
Church planter Johny Wong reported that by handing out Winning Way packs his group, “made 40 contacts who indicated a wish to study the Bible. We now run weekly Bible study meetings.”
Other evangelistic follow-up programs have commenced in many churches around the Melbourne area focusing on meeting the needs of those contacted through the effort.