Two thousand years ago, Christ told His followers, “Go ye therefore and make disciples of all nations….” Christians did so then, and they do so now. One group of modern disciples is Ensemble 2024.

These Christians’ efforts coincide with the Olympics and Paralympics in Paris. But the leaders of Ensemble 2024 don’t want the work to end there. They want to create something special that lasts.

So, what is this group?

A Collaborative Effort

Ensemble 2024 is a collaborative effort of French evangelical churches, associations, clubs and individual people who are sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with the world.

The organization’s national coordinator, Matthew Glock, explained that Ensemble 2024 groups are hosting more than 500 gospel-focused events centered on sports, music and arts. They also are helping people through social and outreach campaigns.

Glock explained that the name Ensemble 2024 refers to the idea of an orchestra, which plays together.

A long-time missionary, Glock has lived and worked in France for the last 31 years.  Consequently, he is aware of public opinions in France.

He noted that average French citizens feel little excitement about the Olympics, and most evangelical churches in France share their feelings. The games are “all passing you by and just an inconvenience,” he said.

Paris has a population of more than 2.1 million people, but it attracts around 50 million tourists every year, according to Road Genuis and other sources. This crowded situation may contribute to the indifference.

However, Ensemble 2024 hopes to raise another kind of enthusiasm. The group wants to generate excitement in Christ and His church. It also wants to encourage people worldwide to pray for France, as it is hosting this year’s Olympics, and to send Paris a gift of one million prayers from the global Christian church.

Outreach in Paris & Beyond

Ensemble 2024 events are or were in nearly a dozen French cities including these locations:

• In Grenoble, there was a volleyball tournament, football competitions, concerts, hiking, prayer gatherings and an open-air festival.  Ensemble 2024 teams also  distributed evangelical materials.
• Le Mee sur Seine’s evangelical church hosted a four-day Kids Games.
• The National Council of Evangelicals in France is leading a prayer effort; and the International Prayer Connect has launched a global prayer campaign.

Glock noted that the Olympic games are an excellent opportunity to spread the gospel. “… the idea was just to provide a platform that would allow people to connect and to see if we can build synergy around the different aspects of ministry that could happen during the Olympics.”

He explained that the idea is to provide a space that “would allow Evangelicals and other Christian bodies to work together, such as the Conseil National des Evangeliques de France and the Federation Protestante de France, alongside the Holy Games organized by the Catholic churches in Paris. And their hope is that it will outlast the Paris Olympics.”

There are events scheduled through September.

3 Prayer Points

Glock also encouraged people who are watching the Olympics to focus on three prayer points:

• Unity in Christ: “May our unity in Christ be evident through the way we work together and towards those we serve.”
• Prepared hearts: “May God be pleased to use our efforts to bring the truth Gospel to those he has prepared. May many come to faith.”
• Lasting fruit: “May the lessons learned through our collaboration during the Olympics produce lasting changes in the ways churches and ministries work together for the cause of the Gospel in France.”

Ensemble 2024 “aims to bring the good news about Jesus to as many people as possible while also hoping to leave a long-lasting legacy for evangelism in the country,” Christian Post explained.

“The collaboration is in partnership with International Prayer Connect, a 5,000-strong prayer network for global intercession, for the Love France campaign.

“More than 500 Gospel-focused events are underway, and they are covered by a united prayer effort called ‘France 1 Million,’ which seeks a million prayers for the secular nation,” the Post said.

A similar initiative at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics inspired the French effort.

“France 1 Million” Strong

The France 1 Million organization urges people worldwide to pray for France, which is hosting the 2o24 Olympics, as well as the church, the people and the Olympic games. “We will be publishing daily prayer pointers” until the closing ceremony of the Paralympic games, which will be held Aug. 28-Sept. 8,” France 1 Million officials said.

“We’ve got lots of interactive ways for you to connect with others across the nations as you pray and find out more about how to pray for France,” the organization added.

“Church leaders across France have welcomed this initiative and expressed their appreciation for pledges that are already being made from individuals, churches, ministries and houses of prayer around the world.”

The France 1 Million website allows people to click a button that says “I PRAYED” to let the organization know that someone has said a prayer for France. It also offers an option by which people may pledge to pray regularly.

Nearly 292,000 prayers have been prayed since the beginning of the 2024 Olympics to Aug. 7, according to the website.

Glock pointed out that Ensemble 2024 is about connecting. “…the structure of Ensemble 2024 is not a hierarchical top-down model but rather decentralized and grassroots, working in fellowship with one another,” Glock said.

A Way of Working Together

“What we say is if you have a passion, like you’re passionate about sports ministry, come together, share what your dreams are, share the projects that God’s put on your heart, and work together to do things,” Glock continued.

“Because by doing that, we’re modeling a way of working together that will last after the Olympics. So, we’re thinking about that legacy.”

An article about Ensemble 2024 that appeared in the Christian Post several days ago explained, “The breadth of this synthesis with Christians working together, simply taking advantage of the catalytic short-term effect of the Olympics, means people find it easier to work across professional boundaries on shared aims.”

Glock noted that collaboration helps people share and learn from one another. The Olympics is a catalyst in that it creates additional opportunities for people to develop relationships and connections inside and outside France.

And he added that he looks forward to sitting down with church leaders after the Olympics to discuss this question: How can we become better connected to help the church grow and develop even more?

How, indeed….