Starting in 2006, 4 Winds Christian Athletics distributed the testimonies of Olympic track and field athletes worldwide, including in the underground Chinese church.
Outside groups that work with the underground church asked to take the testimonies into the underground church, estimated to be over 100 million people according to China Aid and the Voice of the Martyrs.
Four of the athletes whose testimonies were consistently distributed won five Olympic medals: Stephanie Brown Trafton (discus gold), Bryan Clay (decathlon gold), Allyson Felix (200m silver, 4x400m gold), and Nick Willis from New Zealand (1500m bronze). Stephanie and Nick were not expected to gain medals according to the experts.
4 Winds never wavered through the year leading up to the Olympics. In November, when a rumor circulated about Bibles being banned in the Olympic village, 4 Winds took a stand and was quoted in an article from the Associated Press, saying banning Bibles would be a "deep violation."
Then in May, 4 Winds took another stand when Franklin Graham preached in the Chinese government's Three-Self Patriotic Movement church and then told people they should not evangelize during the Olympics. Steve McConkey, 4 Winds president, told Reuters, "Christians should use caution and do as God leads" in China during the Olympics. The Three-Self Patriotic Movement churches have thirteen seminaries that teach Marxist liberal theology.
The athletes who won medals shared after their performances. Stephanie Brown Trafton told NBC after her gold medal win in the discus, "I was singing a gospel song based on the Bible verse Joshua 1:9. This verse actually carried me to a winning toss and I knew that whatever happened at the end of the day I was not afraid of loss or success. Winning or coming in 10th place did not determine my worth as a person, but my worth in God's eyes is much more than a gold medal."
Steve McConkey believes that we should not forget the Christians in China, "We need to keep these people in our prayers and support organizations that help them."
Christian Web News - Galatians 3:13-14. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree''), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
Christian Web News - Often when we talk about sin, we use lots of examples such as abortion, homosexuality, murder, substance abuse - I could go on and on. However, I want to direct this little three letter word to the Christian who is serving God and can tell a sinner all about his or her sin. We use to call it “pointing the finger” at someone who does so many bad things.
