Witnessing effort in 2010 Olympics 'More Than Gold'

Quillian Mercer

Whistler, British Columbia provided the perfect venue for the outdoor athletic events for the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Jones Family

Fred Jones, of Byne Memorial Church in Albany, twisted balloons into animals to the delight of children and adults in Whistler during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

WHISTLER, British Columbia — Georgia Baptists were on the ground in Whistler, British Columbia bearing a powerful witness for Christ at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.

“More Than Gold” commemorative pins have become a trademark for Baptists in witnessing at the Olympic games. The attractive collectors pins are often traded for other pins and often open the door for an effective witness.

The Olympic pins originated in Athens at the 1896 Summer Olympic Games. There were only three different pin-badges produced at the first modern games. They were made for judges, athletes, and officials; and were little more than small circular cardboard badges with a ribbon. They were not traded, because their function was that of an identity badge.

The first Olympic souvenir pin produced for spectators was made available at the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games. IBM produced the first corporate pin for the 1964 Olympiad in Tokyo. The tradition has grown and visitors to the Olympic games can often be seen with scores of Olympic pins – all different in color and design.

The “More Than Gold” pin features a beautiful star with a different color for each of the five points. Each point of the star represents a Gospel truth. At the base of the star for the Vancouver Olympics is a black bar with the words: “More Than Gold 2010.”

The pin is encased in a packet inscribed with the following paragraph: “Only a few people ever get a chance to win a gold medal. Eternal life is a gift offered to all people regardless of nationality, religious background, race, or status. The term ‘eternal life’ does not only speak of the quantity in length, but also of the quality of life God wants every person to experience.”

In Whistler the More Than Gold pin became an effective tool for witnessing. People from all over the world seemed to be interested in acquiring one of the pins and many were willing to listen to the accompanying Gospel presentations by Georgia Baptists.

Shop owners, clerks, and local residents were the primary ones targeted by the Georgia Baptist witnessing team, because one of the objectives of this particular mission was to build relationships in hopes of establishing a new church in Whistler.

Mike Gravette, GBC state missionary for volunteer missions, rented a house in Whistler that became headquarters for the Olympic outreach effort. Several Georgia Baptist churches sent short-term missionaries to Canada to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

Gravette had several preaching opportunities in the Vancouver area and noted a good response from the people with souls being saved.

Bethany Baptist Church in McDonough was well-represented in Whistler. Pastor Al O’Quinn and his wife, Deborah, along with Bethany youth pastor Quillian Mercer and Terry and Vicki Glenn, were patrolling the streets and shops in this world-renown, four-season resort to build relationships and share the Gospel.

The Bethany pastor commented, “I met a man named Chris from London, England. He saw all the Olympic pins on my hat and I invited him to trade pins, but he didn’t have any pins, so I gave him my current More Than Gold pin, the ’96 pin from the Atlanta Olympics, and the ’04 pin from Salt Lake City.

“The man seemed shocked that I would give him the Olympic pins without expecting anything in return. He took off his coat and scarf and gave me his scarf. This happened on the street in Whistler. I have seen him three or four times since then. When he sees me he treats me like an old friend.”

The GAs at Bethany had made some creative bookmarkers out of tongue depressors and the Glenns were distributing them by the scores. The bookmarks, with John 14:6 inscribed on each one, also made an effective witnessing tool.

Quillian Mercer

Al O’Quinn, right, pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in McDonough, shared the Gospel with “Chris,” left, who was visiting the Olympic games from London.

Fred and Joyce Jones of Byne Memorial Baptist Church in Albany were also winning friends and influencing people for the cause of the Kingdom.

The Jones couple had no trouble drawing a crowd because Fred has the ability to take a balloon, a puff of air, make a few twists, and transform the balloon into a dog or a giraffe. Kids obviously love balloon animals and other whimsical balloon models and they were automatically drawn to Fred’s magical creations.

The Joneses are veterans at short-term missionary service, but their Christian ministry started at home in their Albany church. They have been members of Byne Memorial for 33 years.

Fred, a retired firefighter, has served his church as a deacon, Royal Ambassador leader, trailer park helper, and handyman helper. Joyce has been a Girls Auxiliary director, assistant Sunday School teacher, trailer park helper, and Vacation Bible School director.

Joyce, a retired special education teacher, explained, “I am sure we get more of a blessing

out of these missionary experiences than those whom we serve. When we retired we decided to give up vacations and go on short-term mission trips. We always love telling the lost about Jesus.”

The Joneses were part of the witnessing effort in the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and have been to Moldova multiple times to work with children in hopes of influencing the next generation. They have also traveled to Cancun, Mexico on several occasions to teach English and engage in construction projects.

The mission experiences of Fred and Joyce Jones also include trips to Albany, New York and numerous trips to the Gulf Coast to represent Christ in the months following the Katrina disaster. And in the Peach State they have been involved in the Georgia Mountain Resort Ministry.

Joyce added, “Here in Whistler we have also given out a number of More Than Gold Olympic pins and have witnessed to all those who would listen, but we will not fully understand what we have accomplished until we get to heaven.”

The witness of the Georgia mission team was so consistent that people in Whistler were beginning to refer to them as “the Jesus people.”

Quillian Mercer

The town of Whistler, the site of most of the outdoor Winter Olympic events, sparkled with lights and life each night, especially during the awards ceremonies.

Bethany Baptist Church

Q Mercer, youth pastor at Bethany Baptist Church in McDonough, communicates the love of Christ to a mother and daughter in Whistler, British Columbia.