Forever Newsletter April 2011 Print Version

The Official YWAM Olympic Outreach

Issue 7 April 2011

www.forever2012.com [email protected] +44(0)1582 463322 Forever is a ministry of YWAM England & Wales and YWAM International. Registered Charity No 264078.

Recently, the Forever Team went on the official tour of the Olympic Park. It is, quite simply, inspirational!

My eyes have been opened to the scale, significance and impact of the London 2012 Olympics! The site is HUGE! The media and communications centre alone is big enough to house nine jumbo jets! So many jobs have been created with an emphasis on employing local residents, 4,000 apprenticeships were started, and the long-term vision is quite something! They’ve thought of everything.

Our guide, let’s call her Jane, was a fount of knowledge. Environmentally speaking alone, the site is impressive – the four massive soil washing machines that washed 120 million tonnes of

contaminated topsoil, the energy centre using biomass to generate the power for the site, the use of rainwater, or the nature reserve and relocation of newts and toads – it was all very inspiring.

There were so many things I hadn’t even considered – each venue is being built by a different construction company (I like the fairness and minimising the risk of mess-ups!) and designed by different international architects. The lighting in the main stadium has been created with no shadows so HD TV won’t be affected. It’s amazing how culture has shaped our planning and values.

But what most struck me is something that Jane said in her opening words of the tour. She

continued on page 2

Forever team member Helena Kittle reflects on her visit to the Olympic Park.

Park life


Being socialYou can now Skype us on Forever.2012Follow us on Twitter on www.twitter.com/urforever or tweet us at @forever For Facebook, type in “Forever” and read all the latest news and views from the team

mentioned that one of the reasons London was chosen was for its bigger vision, its long-term significance, its heart for regeneration and legacy in an area of London that has generally been considered neglected.

All of the buildings have a long-term plan. For the temporary ones, it’s to be taken down and used elsewhere (rumour has it some have already been booked for Rio in 2016). For others, it’s to be turned into affordable housing, schools and sports centres. London transport has been overhauled in what was the worst connected part of London – of course by 2012 it will be the best, including a new international rail terminal.

Working with Forever in mindI got to thinking about the Forever team and our vision and wondered if there were some parallels between us and the long-term nature of the Olympic Park.

Like the Olympic Park, we do not want to have a short shelf life, working with churches and doing outreach on a one-off basis through the Olympic season alone. No, we want to create, establish, grow and nurture relationships and ministries that will continue and go on impacting people through 2012 and way beyond.

Our vision is to see communities transformed and enter a process of ongoing change and to establish teams and ministries that will stretch far beyond the 2012 horizon – we too want to pursue sustainability, and, for me, to leave a legacy of faith, of hope and of love in the communities of young people and children with whom we work.

Every person is allowed to go on a free tour of the Olympic Park site. The restriction is that you can only go once a year. To find out more, phone 0300 2012 001.


Praise God for• ourfirstYWAMprayer

networking meeting, which gatheredmultipleYWAMerswith a heart of prayer. It is really encouraging to see how we are starting to work together;

• theconnectionsandopportunities we have made inManchester.

Please pray for• acontinuedYWAMpresence

inManchester;

• breakthroughinourteamfinances so we can do all we feel God is asking us to do;

• WeymouthandPortland,the location of the next DTS Gathering. For open doors and partnerships with local churches.

Wanted: participants for Mind Body Spirit 2011Come and join the Forever team attheMindBodySpiritfestivalinLondon,25–30May2011.Thisis one of the largest spiritual fairs inEurope.WewillshareGod’slove and making Jesus known to many people who are interested in spirituality. Contact Hayley – [email protected].

Advance noticeThe next Discipleship Training School (DTS) Gathering ...... is in the Olympic venue of Weymouth,4–11June2011.AllDTSs,YWAMstaffandYWAMassociates welcome! For more information, contact Catherine – [email protected] find out how you could get involved ...

in using sport as part of the Olympic outreach, contact [email protected].

Forthcoming…

“It’s fantastic that my passion for sports and my passion for the Great Commission can be combined into one job!” - Dondi Carter

“My passion is to glorify

God with sports. I get to be

a part of the Olympics and

see thousands of people use

sports to point people towards

Christ.” - Rebecka Larsson

Explain what you hope to achieve in your role.RL: “We want to create a platform for teams that want to do sport outreaches before, during, and after the Olympics. We want to match-make the teams with churches and organisations in areas where the Olympics will be held. At the same time we want to be involved in sport ministries in London, using them as a tool to reach out to people. DC: “In my role, as well as creating sporting platforms for teams to come and do outreach, I’m doing graphic design for the Forever team.”In terms of Forever, what are you passionate about? RL: “I am passionate about sports, to use sport to glorify God and as a key to reach people. I want to see a sports ministry in London that really affects people and the community, a ministry that’s not there temporarily during the Olympics but that’ll have a deep, long-term impact on London. I want to see Jesus transform people and the community in the area where the Olympics are held.”DC: “ I am passionate about helping to make Jesus famous throughout the nations. It’s incredible that for most of the 215 nations participating in 2012, I don’t have to speak their language to connect with them. Sport makes it possible to cross cultures and language barriers and share Christ’s love through a simple football. I’m excited that I will be a bit player in this epic story God is creating. The Olympics is an event that will come and go, but the story God is creating is so much bigger and has eternal worth. With the Forever team, I am hoping to be a part of allowing others to encounter Christ and that concept of Forever.”

Forever’s Sports team founding members Rebecka Larsson (from Sweden) and Dondi Carter (from the USA) talk about what they are hoping for during their time with Forever.

Good sports

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Forever Newsletter April 2011 Print Version