October 2, 2000

VOLUNTEER Candy Tseung, a member of Sydney's Northside Chinese Alliance Church, witnesses in Sydney's Chinatown during the Olympics. Sydney and other major cities in Australia have become multicultural magnets in recent years, especially for Asian immigrants.

This tent was big enough for 14 nations
___By Jenny Rogers
___SBC International Mission Board
___WINDSOR, Australia (BP) --Fourteen nations, plus Aussies from all parts of the country, were represented at Windsor District Baptist Church's sprawling "Tent City" Olympic village in Windsor, Australia, just an hour from Sydney's bustling Olympic scene.
___The volunteers hailed from the United States, Canada, England, Germany, Kenya, South Africa, Japan as well as such Asian neighbors as New Zealand, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Taiwan.
___Bill Whelan, a deacon at Windsor Baptist Church, said that at the project's onset he had no idea Tent City would bring so much of the world to his doorstep.
___"The most exciting thing has been seeing groups of international Christians proclaiming one Lord and one Savior, evangelizing together--shoulder-to-shoulder

NEW ORLEANS Baptist Theological Seminary students Josh Dickson (far left), Scott Rourk (center right) and Jack Kisby (right) talk about spiritual matters with a young man at Sydney's Darling Harbor. (IMB photos by Warren Johnson)

evangelism," Whelan said. "That's us proclaiming to the world that we are one. And all those groups are having a profound effect on Australia."
___Not only have the international groups reached international Olympic visitors, but Whelan said they've made a sizeable impact on the Aussies themselves.
___"We are seeing Australians with no reservations committing their lives to Jesus Christ, and that has had a profound impact on everyone," he said. "That's so important because there is no other way. You can't educate people into the kingdom of God. You can't culturally accept them, manipulate them or buy them into the kingdom of God. It's our challenge" to tell them that.
___And Australians--with barely 3 percent of them evangelical Christians--are in dire need of someone to tell them, he said. "The continent of Australia has never experienced a major revival, and it's the last continent."
___Whelan's prayer is that Australia will be the next.
___Some of Tent City's international volunteers include 62 members of Indonesia Global

CHRISTIAN volunteers at the Olympics relax and recharge at the "tent city" constructed for them by Windsor District Baptist Church near Sydney.

Outreach, an interdenominational Christian ministry team specializing in traditional Indonesian song and dance. Batara and Esther Sihombing, national directors of Indonesia Global Outreach, said they have been preparing for the Olympics for more than a year.
___They sang and danced in various venues throughout Sydney, on the streets and in churches. Their glittering costumes and lush vocals attracted constant attention, and they hope their Christian message came across to their audience.
___"Our mission in coming here is that we want to bless Australia," said Esther Sihombing. "We

AT SYDNEY'S beautiful Darling Harbor, Action International volunteer Mickey Bailey (left) talks with two young people about faith in Jesus.

want to reach the unreached here. People are always asking us, 'Why did you spend so much money to come here when Indonesia is in economic crisis?' It's because we want to bless Australia and the other nations. And we want to encourage them to pray for our country."
___Hickson Lome, team leader of six Papua New Guineans, spent the day sharing the gospel on the streets of Sydney. And on the train on the way back to Windsor he met a man he knew needed help--"just by the look on his face," he said.
___"I'm a drug dealer," the man told Lome. "I don't know how I can get out of this situation. I've been in jail so many times, and every time I come out I start doing drugs again."
___"There is one man that will change you," Lome said. "His name is Jesus Christ."
___Lome shared what Jesus had done in his life and explained to the man how to invite Christ into his life. The man's eyes filled with tears as they bowed their heads on the crowded bus to pray.
___"Now I know who will change me," he said. "Jesus can do it."
___Whelan wants to see that change touch all of Australia and make a dent in the 97 percent of its people who have never made a commitment to Jesus Christ.
___

Get printer-friendly version of this story


Send this story to a friend

---

Contents/ Masthead / Why We're Here / Links / Archive / E-mail us/ SUBSCRIBE!