Going for Gold

• Research your chosen sporting event, especially for the history, key facts, and any interesting stories / video clips
• Decorate your area with flags, symbols based on the event etc … 
• Plan an afternoon tea and perhaps raise money for the Helping-Hand Appeal – you could add a twist based on the sporting equipment or the hosting country’s cuisine … 
• Research games or activities linked to the sport, including ones that are armchair-based – for additional ideas see Family Ministries UKIT Pinterest 
• Source imitation gold medals or trophies to award to members, and award-presenting music 
• Prepare a sporting quiz or source a quiz online
• Find a wordsearch about the event or create your own, eg:
  • puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com
• Prepare to watch the video clip of Derek Redmond competing in the 400m semi-final at Barcelona in 1992; or find another inspiring story to share

• Please be aware of food allergies.

Modern sporting events often culminate with a ceremony awarding trophies or medals. The winning medal is often yellow in colour – gold – and the phrase ‘going for gold’ means the struggle for trying to win it, to be the best.

In the first modern Olympics in 1896, however, the winning colour was not gold – it was silver. Then in 1900 no medals were awarded, only prizes. The iconic gold medals first appeared in 1904.

Sporting events, whether they are the Olympics, the Paralympics, the Football World Cup or Wimbledon, have a unique opportunity to bring people together. We often experience many cultural events in isolation; we record or stream programmes, films and concerts and watch when it suits our own schedules. This means we are often unable to connect with others about this experience, as people ‘haven’t seen it yet’, ‘are a series ahead’ or ‘don’t have the same TV package’. 

Sporting events are one of the few planned events that we can still experience in ‘real time’ with each other. Otherwise you risk spoiler alerts, finding out the results before you have seen the contest. And it is experiencing the journey, together with the athletes and each other, that is a winning combination.

TEA

Plan a sport-themed afternoon including an afternoon tea. You could make this a fundraising event for the Helping-Hand Appeal. 

GAMES

Hold a fun mini event for members to take part in, including events that can be done from a sitting position.

AWARDS

Organise a medal ceremony for your group and present members with medals recognising their valuable contributions to the group, eg Best Tea-Maker, Great Birthday Card Sender, Good Listener … You may wish to play music to accompany this, eg Award background music by TURPAK.

WATCH

Watch the video clip of Derek Redmond competing in the 400m semi-final at Barcelona in 1992. Edited: Derek Redmond the Olympian Who Never Gave Up BBC News uploaded by sylivia soh. Or share another inspiring sporting story.

SHARE

Share some historic or record-breaking events from the sport and ask if members recall any of them, and their perspective on it.

Ask members to share if they have any special memories about the event, and especially if they have ever actually been.

QUIZ

In teams, or as solo competitors, play a quiz based on the sport. This could be historical knowledge about the games, participants, the rules, or flags of the countries taking part.

WORDSEARCH

Give members a wordsearch based on the sport.

'You’ve all been to the stadium and seen the athletes race. Everyone runs; one wins. Run to win. All good athletes train hard. They do it for a gold medal that tarnishes and fades. You’re after one that’s gold eternally.’

(1 Corinthians 9:24-25 MSG)

What sport would you like to compete in (or like to have competed in)? 

As well as watching the [sporting event], it is interesting to see television programmes that give us something of the back stories of the athletes and how they have prepared for their event. Most athletes have had to overcome extremely difficult circumstances. However, for each athlete there is a strong sense of commitment to their sport, as to be in with any chance of winning there must be dedication and self-sacrifice in terms of their training and diet.

Sometimes we find it hard to stay committed to something we have decided to do. Lots of gym memberships go unused, garments are half sewn or knitted, and new weight-loss goals are given up when the cakes are passed round! However, we all know that if we really want to do something, we cannot give up at the first hurdle, but rather we must be determined to achieve whatever it is we set out to do.

In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul says the Christian life is like a race that we should each run with determination in order to win an eternal gold medal. We know that there are lots of hurdles, injuries and detours in life that can easily take us off track, but God has promised to be with us always. We can trust in him to guide us safely to the finish line.

In 1 Timothy 4:8, Paul also writes: ‘

Exercise daily in God – no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever.’ (MSG)

May we all live spiritually fit lives as we daily seek God in everything we do, so each of us is assured that a gold medal awaits us in Heaven, one that won’t tarnish or fade, but that is gold for all eternity.

• SASB 952       ‘Fight the good fight with all thy might’ 

  Watch the no lyrics version by Salvation Army band and songsters uploaded by Music and More; or soloist lyric version by St Anne’s Limehouse

• SASB 948       ‘Be strong in the grace of the Lord’ 

  Watch the brass (with lyrics) version by Kelston Stanford

• SASB 907       ‘What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought (Since Jesus came into my heart)’

  Watch the instrumental piano with lyrics version by The Salvation Army Songbook; the lyric version by Islington Baptist Church; or the no lyric version by Melbourne Staff Band uploaded by Music and More