Learn more about Engage Sochi, the 2014 Olympics Outreach

Marc Ira Hooks, one of International Mission Board (IMB)’s main strategists for the Sochi Olympics and creator of Engage Sochi, sat down with me to share the story and vision for Engage Sochi and what to expect with the upcoming Olympics.

What is your official job title?
I am the Olympics event coordinator and co-director for Engage Sochi. My colleague, Earl Gillespie,* is the Sochi City Strategist and the other Co-Director of the project.

What city in the US is Sochi most like?
It would have to be some place in California. Sochi’s considered the longest city in Europe. It’s about 90 miles long and it wraps along the coast of the Black Sea. But in places, it’s only a mile wide. And the other thing, you can literally stand on the beach with the Black Sea to your back and see snow-covered mountains right there.

Which event are you most excited about?
Well, I’m probably most excited about the woman’s hockey because I’m going to get to see somebody I know play. To get to see an Olympian that you know personally play, that’s pretty awesome. But, if that were not a factor, I’m really excited about going to see curling.

Really?
True story. I’m really excited about getting to see curling.

What events is the US expected to do well in?
Kellye [Marc’s wife] says it’s the first time America’s predicted to win ice dancing. Our bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton teams are really strong and I think that they are going to do really well. But, with Lindsay Vaughn being out, that was a huge blow to the US team in general. Bode Miller could do well, but he’s an old guy, and I read an article this morning saying, “I’m 36 and my body is feeling 36.” But, I think there’s the potential for all our US teams to do well.

Which event do you have the most trouble calling a sport?
Most people would expect me to say curling, but I’ve already expressed that I like curling. I appreciate the athleticism in men’s figure skating; however, it is not a sport I enjoy watching.

Which athlete would you most want to bump into?
Even though I said what I did about men’s figure skating, I think that the athlete I would most want to run into would be a former athlete and it would be Scott Hamilton, [former Olympic male figure skater].

Where did you get the idea for Engage Sochi?
For whatever reason, maybe it was the time difference, it was late at night, we were sitting on the bed and I just remember the guy pulling out the envelope and saying, “The next Olympics will be in Sochi, Russia.” I remember looking at Kellye and saying, I don’t know how, why or whatever, but we’re going to be involved in that.”

What did you learn from attending the Olympics in Vancouver that applies to Sochi?
As we came away from Vancouver, we started saying, we as the IMB, our concentration, our focus is on church planting, and while mass seed sowing is good, and should be done, there’s more to reaching people with the Gospel than just giving them the Gospel and walking away. So, we wanted to create something that as people came into contact with the Gospel, that they were touched for a long period of time.

What is Engage Sochi?
We want something that is a multi-tiered approach and where what we’re talking about is not just the fortnight of Olympic competition in Sochi; we’re talking about reaching the people of Sochi before, during and after the games.

What are the plans for following up with people who respond to the Gospel?
We want everybody that we come in to contact with to have the opportunity to continue the conversations that were started in Sochi. So, regardless of where that person is from, we want to connect them with a believer in their area who can make a relationship with that person and continue to speak with them about issues of faith.

What has gone on in Sochi in preparation for those coming?
For two years, we’ve had people coming and working with our church planters in Sochi, in winter and in summer. In the winter they are doing ministry in the mountains at the ski resorts and that kind of thing, and in the summer they’re doing beach reach ministry and ministry in the city. So as our friends come in these next couple of weeks, it’s just another phase of construction in building Christ’s church in Sochi.

What sort of training has been given to those coming?
This is a relational ministry and our folks will be coming and making relationships. Interestingly enough, the majority of our groups that are coming are performing arts kinds of groups. So we have a large men’s choir, we have a bluegrass band and a Dixieland band. We have a drama group coming and a church choir coming, and some people doing clowning. Basically, they’re going to be walking through areas, come together, perform, talk to people and disperse again. So a lot of it will have that flash mob kind of feel; they’re not doing scheduled performances on stages, they’re there to meet people and their performing arts are a way to be able to do that.

Are you frightened of the security issues?
I would not use the word frightened, I would say I am concerned. It’s a healthy concern, however, I am confident in the Russian government’s ability to do what they say, and the Russian government has pledged that this will not only be the biggest Olympics in history, which I think it will be, but it’s going to be the safest Olympics in history. And so, while there have been threats made and have been other threats that have been carried out, I really and truly believe that from January through March, Sochi, Russia, is probably going to be one of the safest cities on the planet.

How potentially disruptive will Russia’s position on homosexuality be?
There will be people who try to make this an issue, there will be people going to the games for that [reason], but the last reports that we’ve heard, demonstrations will be allowed; demonstrations over different issues, this being one of them, will be allowed in the city, but they will only be allowed in certain designated areas and people who are coming to demonstrate must have permits to do so, and that kind of thing. So, it’s not going to disappear and it’ll be an issue that’s there and the media will cover it, but will it be a disruptive factor in the city? No, I don’t think so.

What outcome would you want to see as your best-case, hope-and-pray-for, result?
Oh, it would be that multitudes of churches are planted around the globe as a result of this and that the people who come to the Sochi Olympics will be connected with a church planter, regardless of where they’re from. So, that’s the homerun for us, that new churches would be planted in Sochi and beyond.

Along with the homerun, how can we include the Sochi Olympics in our daily prayers?

• We want to pray for all of our friends who will be in Sochi during the games and we want to pray that they are able to do the things that they are there to do. That they have more than just a pleasurable Olympic experience, that they are able to share the Gospel, and to reach people and connect them to a church-planting network. That’s number one.
• Number two, you can monitor @Engage_Sochi twitter account, and through this we will be doing daily updates and news for daily prayer requests.
• And pray for our Engage Sochi staff who are responsible for the mechanics of this whole project, making sure people are where they need to be when they need to be there, and are safe in doing so.
• And for open hearts and receptivity; that God would draw to us the people that we’re supposed to talk to.
• More prayer resources are available at http://engagesochi.org/pray.

*Name changed.

William Bagsby is an IMB writer based in London.