Athletes at the recent Winter Olympics in South Korea were presented with copies of the Triumph and Struggle Bible in a joint project between international Bible society Biblica and Athletes in Action.
Some 16,000 hardback copies of the Bible, in languages including English, Korean, Russian and Chinese, were shipped to Pyeongchang in South Korea prior to the Games with each one also containing a special Bible study designed for athletes.
The Bible was distributed to athletes in the Olympic Village and at Games events by AIA workers as well as through local churches. Those who expressed interest were also pointed to a 30 day devotional app.
“We tried to connect athletes with either a member of our staff or one of our partnering ministries in the country that they’re from,” said Tim Pitcher, of the AIA.
The organisations report that one coach took multiple copies of the Bible for his athletes, inserting a handwritten note in each one.
Laura Fisher, Biblica’s area executive director for North America, said the organisation was delighted to join in the outreach. “We’ve seen how these materials have really made an impact in the past, and we are excited to see what God may do through our efforts in South Korea.”
The Struggle and Triumph edition of the Bible was first distributed at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. It includes testimonies from Christian athletes such as US bobsledder Lauryn Williams and US snowboarder Kelly Clark as well as Chinese speed skating coach Li Yan.
The organisations said whatever non-English Bibles were left over have remained in South Korea to be used in sports and campus ministries and outreaches. “Our Korean staff send a lot of missions trips into areas that speak those languages,” noted Mr Pitcher.
Ms Fisher, meanwhile, said she believed the project “has the potential to make a big impact not only in many individual lives, but as these athletes return home, in numerous countries too”. “We know that when a Bible is placed into someone’s hands, it has the power to change everything.”
