Deans Corner March 2012

Saturday, 03 March 2012 06:26 Written by Julie Spence, Dean of the College of Arts & Sports

“You came to see a race today. To see someone win. It happened to be me. But I want you to do more than just watch a race. I want you to take part in it. I want to compare faith to running in a race. It's hard. It requires concentration of will, energy of soul…. If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race.”

- Eric Liddell, Olympic Champion and Missionary to China

Hello Arts and Sports enthusiasts,

Another exciting year has begun, and with it the challenges and promise of the London Olympic Games starting in July 2012. It is exciting to follow the call of the Lord; challenging because you never fully understand what that will mean or where it will take you because you're not in control; but incredibly promising because His call comes with guarantees of victory. I hope each of you will enjoy the ride of your life with Jesus this year.

I remember back to October 2010 when we had our annual College of Arts and Sports meeting in LosAngeles and we prayed about doing another "YWAM Global Arts Gathering." There were many ideas and opinions, but after that prayer all 11 of us felt God’s leading to hold this event in London the week before the Olympic games. I recall arguing with the Lord and telling Him how impossible it would be to hold such a large event back to back with an Olympic outreach. Was that really God who spoke? But since we’d all received the same word I had to agree it was God and we simply needed to act on His word to us. So today I'm writing to you from our flat in Wimbledon, London, as we prepare for “Go4Glory”, the YWAM International Arts and Sports Festival, in Harpenden, England 20 – 25 July 2012.

This will be the first global gathering of YWAM athletes ever! We welcome all sports ministry people, in every discipline to be part of this landmark event. For more information see www.go4glory.org This is open to all (YWAM and non-YWAM) Christian artists and athletes.

These are the words we received when praying about organising Go4Glory:

• celebrate God's goodness and His glory together
• network Christian artists and athletes from all corners of His kingdom to bring His glory
• train each delegate through seminars and workshops lead by experts in their field
• promote ministries at an Expo venue with displays to share about ministries, encouraging and inspiring others.

Go4Glory will have top speakers, inspiring times of worship, three art gallery areas, twelve different sports options (from competitions to coaching), a King's Kid's program, multiple venues for performances, seminars and workshops led by experts, an internet cafe and coffee shop, and an amazing afternoon outreach event to touch a community with our arts and sports, displaying God's glory. People will be talking about this event for the next decade because we believe it is initiated by the Lord and He will show His presence among us.

Following the G4G event we hope to launch many artists and athletes into outreach venues throughout the Olympics, which start on 27 July. In cooperation with “More Than Gold”, the Olympic outreach organisers, teams will be spread across London throughout the Olympic Games. Check out www.morethangold.org.uk for more info and registration. Both of these events are open to all athletes and artists in Christian ministry from across the globe. We will organise your accommodation, meals, programs and build a stage for you to perform, to exhibit, play, entertain and reach the local and international visitors with God's Kingdom. Applications close 1 May so you need to register as soon as possible.

Check out the attached article sent out by Forever2012, who are facilitating the YWAM Olympic outreaches in the UK. If you are a dancer, we recommend you consider joining Project Dance London and then stay on for Go4Glory. Check out www.projectdance.com for more info.

We want your Summer 2012 to be unforgettable! See you all in London.

Love and blessings,

Julie

Julie Spence
Dean College of Arts & Sports
YWAM’s University of the Nations
www.ywamcas.org

Prayer points:

• That the Lord will call in all Christian artists and athletes from the nations to Go 4 Glory and the More Than Gold Olympic outreach to build strong networks and together impact London with His glory 
• Pray that we'll have doors open to us in venues across this city of London for Christian artists to be given a platform to glorify the Lord. 
• Pray that all the finances needed by people coming in will be met and that their visa process will go smoothly.
• Pray for the core team in London for wisdom how to prioritise and get everything done in good order
• Please pray that we find the right groups of people to lead in worship for the G4G event. We're looking for teams and individuals to release the cultures in joy-filled praise to God.