The North American Mission Board’s (NAMB) Jeff Wagner has attended Summer and Winter Olympics in the past, but his seventh, the Beijing Games, were beyond compare.
Wagner worked with fellow NAMB missionary Debbie Wohler and a team from Georgia’s Gwinnett Metro Baptist Association, led by director of missions Sid Hopkins, in sowing the seeds of the gospel to Chinese who have never heard the good news.
Wagner and Wohler have no problems drawing a quick crowd. Once they set up in an area and start giving out their “More than Gold” Olympic pins and evangelistic brochures, it turns into a frenzy. Hundreds surround them, each wanting a pin. On a recent day at the Coca-Cola exhibit in Beijing, the pair gave out 100 pins in only five minutes.
Olympic pin trading is, of course, a longtime tradition, no matter what country hosts the Olympics.
Wagner said most of his contact with Chinese citizens is outside the Olympic venues. “You see most of the foreigners like us inside the events. But outside is where you see the vast majority of the Chinese who have come from all over the country just to get close to the Olympics.”
Despite the immensity of Beijing, Wagner said it’s no less than a miracle how God is working during the Olympics.
Amid the sea of people, Wagner, Wohler and the other Southern Baptists are sharing Christ one-on-one in what he regards as God-ordained appointments.
“God is preparing a great thing here in China,” Wagner said. “And I think the Olympics has been a springboard for this openness.” (BP)
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