A TEAM OF hardy evangelists are taking advantage of Olympic fever to share the gospel as they travel to the site of the 1996 Summer Games.
They are completing a cross-country cycle marathon from California to Atlanta, stopping to share their faith along the way.
The five-strong group prepared to set out from Los Angeles late last month, and is due to arrive in the Georgia host city on July 12, just in time to join an international evangelistic outreach at the event.
During their challenging trip - taking them through eight states and over the Rocky Mountains - the cyclists are taking time out to speak in churches and at youth groups, and to present gospel dramas and join in open-air meetings in local parks.
The 2,600-mile journey is being led by Taunya Rediger, a tri-athlete and former businesswoman now serving with Youth With A Mission in Hawaii, who has taken part in several other evangelistic bike trips and says that cycle teams draw a crowd wherever they stop.
"People always come up to you and want to know what you are doing - it's a natural conversation starter," she said. "With the Olympics so close, interest is probably going to be heightened, as well, because of the sports link."
With one day off each week to rest and another for church services, the cyclists - from South Africa and the US - are having to average 85 miles a day during the trek, and began serious training several weeks ago.
Even with preparation, it's a grueling schedule. "On long trips like this, sometimes you like it and sometimes you don't," said Rediger. "But it's a great way to get the chance to talk to people about the gospel.
"Bike tours are the most effective evangelistic outreaches I have ever been on not only because they draw people's interest, but because the team gets real close, too. You are going through the hard stuff together, riding through the same mountains and the same rain.
"At the end of the day, you sometimes have nothing left to give of yourself, and the Bible verse becomes very real that states, 'in our weakness he is strong'."
Once in Atlanta, several of the team will be joining YWAM's international Olympics outreach, which is bringing several thousand Christians from around the world for three weeks of prayer, evangelism and community service projects.
Last updated: 1996, July 21 /pf