Volunteers and friends of Whitesburg Baptist Church stepped into crowds of people coming to the Olympics in London last week to offer trading lapel pins and a mini-magazine featuring profiles of Olympic athletes giving their Christian testimony. (Courtesy of John Crocker) -- Pastor John Crocker joined 21 of the members of Huntsville's
to watch the opening ceremony for the 2012 Olympics on television – the same as people all over America.
What was not the same is that Crocker and the Whitesburg team were not in America; they were a few Underground stops away from Olympic Park in London.
Even in the Christian conference center where they were staying, Crocker said this week, the energy of the games was palpable.
“This was the most incredible mission journey I’ve ever been on,” said Crocker – a serious comparison since Crocker spent 11 years serving in West Africa and the last seven leading or organizing up to 14 mission expeditions a year as associate pastor of missions for Whitesburg.
"We talked with more than 1,000 people from 43 countries in seven days," Crocker said. "We helped with a Holiday Club – like a vacation Bible school – with our partner church, Loughton Baptist, that served more than 100 children from 9 to 3 for five days. And these were Christian, Muslim and Jewish children. We helped with a Loughton Fun Day with Olympic games for the children, and more than 3,000 people came.
“The world was there.”
Pastor John Crocker's mementos from last week's mission trip to London include his permit, with trading lapel pins on the ribbon, a news story about Loughton Baptist Church in London, a global mission partner of Huntsville's Whitesburg Baptist Church, and one of the white and gold lapel pins bearing that logo "More than Gold" and a flame made of symbolic colors. (The Huntsville Times/Kay Campbell) More than gold
Planning for the trip began about a year ago when Crocker joined other Christian ministers at a planning session organized by the Christian Enquiry Agency in England.
They wanted to plan a way to introduce Jesus to the thousands of people who would be visiting London for the Olympics.
Out of that came plans for a full-color, pocket-sized “mini-mag” that includes profiles of great Olympic athletes and their Christian testimony.
And the eye-catcher the canvassers who walked the streets for a about six hours a day offered passersby is a postage-stamp-size lapel pin with a stylized flame made of stripes of five colors.
Witnesses would offer the pins – trading pins is something many visitors do during the Olympics – and then offer to explain the meaning behind the "More than Gold" slogan and the colors themselves.
“Those colors are the plan of salvation,” Crocker explained, pointing out how the dark purple represents the darkness of sin, the blue the hope of eternal life, the red for Christ’s sacrifice, gold for eternal life and green to symbolize continual growth as a Christian.
“I’d say 95 to 98 percent of the people wanted the pin and wanted to hear the meaning,” Crocker said.
During the evening, the team often traveled to one of the public viewing areas, such as in Hyde Park or near the London Tower, where screens as large as the side of a building carried broadcasts from the games. Even those gatherings offered opportunity for conversation.
“What I saw, what is very evident in the church in England, is that they understand that you win people to Christ by love – you share the gospel of Christ when you’re demonstrating the love of God to people,” Crocker said.
Christy Pilgrim, at right, joined other members of Whitesburg Baptist Church, including, from left, her daughter Spring Pilgimr and Bekkah Qualls, to share information about Jesus with the crowds flocking to London for the Olympic games. In additon to helping with a vacation Bible school at a Baptist church in London, the volunteers offered "More than Gold" trading lapel pins to passersby and, if people were interested, an explanation of the meaning of the colors used in the pin's flame. (Courtesy of John Crocker) Divine appointments
For Christy Pilgrim, a Whitesburg member who joined the trip along with her 15-year-old daughter, Spring Pilgrim, she spent the entire journey wrapped in a sense that God's planning was behind it all.
There was the woman they met at a bus stop en route to an exam over a tumor she had to have removed.
Crocker was able to encourage her – he himself had a tumor removed last year that was benign, he assured her – and the team sent her on her way with prayers.
Then there was the young store clerk Pilgrim happened to begin speaking with in Harrods, the iconic department store.
“For 45 minutes he stood there, asking questions about grace, salvation, God’s word, and how could he be sure of what happens after he dies,” Pilgrim said.
“I’m terrified of dying,” the young man told her. “I don’t want to go to Hell, but I don’t know what to do.”
Pilgrim handed him the mini-mag, pointing to the message in the back and the contact for Loughton Baptist Church.
“He went away with the gospel, if he takes the time to read,” Pilgrim said. “That was just a divine appointment. It was like all along the way, God had set up our schedule, the people we needed to talk to.”
The experience has changed her daily life in Huntsville, too, she said.
“When we go on a trip, it’s really easy to share the gospel – we have no other responsibilities,” Pilgrim said. “Once we’re back, it’s easy to fall back into daily life. But I think coming back from that trip makes me more aware of all the opportunities we have here that we miss. It’s made me more aware of looking for opportunities for sharing Christ with someone at Walmart or a restaurant. I incorporate that into daily life more.”