LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (BP) – As the areas around Upstate New York prepare to host the Winter World University Games in January, Southern Baptist churches are preparing to serve.
Scheduled for Jan. 12-22, 2023, the World University Games is an international sports competition for collegiate athletes from across the world taking place every two years in a different location.
More than 1,600 athletes will compete in events such as skating, skiing, hockey, snowboarding and curling, and more than 40,000 people are estimated to be in the region for the games. Attendance is expected to rival that of the 1980 Olympics held in Lake Placid.
Ryan Schneider is pastor of Saranac Lake Baptist Church and lead chaplain for the University Games. He said the event will be a great evangelistic opportunity for those in the area, including his own congregation.
“If our population is jumping by so much, we have a responsibility to share and reach people with the Gospel,” Schneider said. “My challenge that I laid down is I would love to see all our church members at Saranac Lake to serve at least three of the 10 days of the games in some capacity.”
Much like the Olympics, competing athletes will be housed in four villages across the four geographical areas across the Upstate region where events will be held – Potsdam-Canton, Saranac Lake, Queensbury and Lake Placid.
At each of the four sites, Schneider explained, there will be an evangelical chaplain there to minister to the athletes. All of the chaplains have either competed in high-level athletic competition themselves or ministered as a chaplain during an Olympic games.
Though the chaplains are important, Schneider said it will take more than their work to minister at such a big event. For this reason, the chaplains will also be highlighting and promoting the work of local churches.
Schneider said there is one Southern Baptist church near each of the four areas where events will be held, and supporting them will be a high priority.
“We realize that each community is unique and so the ways that they will reach their communities will be different, and so we’re just empowering the local SBC church and that pastor to really drive the train in their community for the ministry,” Schneider said.
Several other churches in the local Baptist associations – Adirondack and Hudson – will be sending volunteers to help the four churches in their ministry at the games.
Additionally, some mission teams will be traveling from out of state to volunteer with the churches during the games.
Many volunteers helping with the games will be trained to use the 3 Circles evangelism method by representatives from the Baptist Convention of New York.
