4 Winds Allows Olympic Testimonies Underground -- China is Hypocritical in Treatment of Christians on the Streetsby Staff
August 13, 2008
MEDIA ADVISORY, (christiansunite.com) -- 4 Winds Christian Athletics is encouraged by the work they have done in the last few years leading up to the Olympics. Testimonies of Christian athletes have been distributed worldwide in free and persecuted countries.
In the summer of 2006, testimonies of Olympic track and field athletes began to be distributed in the underground church in China, estimated to be 110 million people. The USA athletes whose testimonies were distributed have won six gold medals and five silver medals in past competitions.
The testimonies are not sold and athletes are not paid for them. Outside groups asked permission to take them into the underground Chinese church. Athletes are not active in the distribution of them. Also, the testimonies have been given to USA ministries to use in the free world.
4 Winds is an evangelistic and teaching ministry working with track and field athletes throughout the world. Steve, president, and Liz McConkey have been in track and field ministries since 1981, twenty-seven years in September.
Recently, 4 Winds encouraged the athletes at the USA Olympic Trials. They were able to visit many of the 1000 athletes who competed in Eugene, Oregon at the end of June and the beginning of July.
During the last day of the Olympic Trials, the ministry had to switch Internet servers as the old server was hampered by Chinese Denial of Service attacks over the months according to Tylor Elm, a founder of discoverPC in Superior, Wisconsin. The website (
www.4wca.org) is currently on a new server.
On May 15, China Aid had a joint article that included Bob Fu, president of China Aid, and Steve McConkey. The article spoke out about evangelism during the Olympics. Through the year, 4 Winds consistently stood with various ministries that uncovered the abuses of Chinese underground Christians, including China Aid and Voice of the Martyrs.
Steve McConkey will not being going over to Beijing after seeking advice from the Department of State Overseas Citizen Services and various other people. By putting the testimonies in the underground church, 4 Winds broke Chinese law, but not God's law. 4 Winds is opposed to Olympic boycotts.
The Olympic athletes will have freedom in the Olympic village. However, the average person in China is still being persecuted for their faith. Steve McConkey says, "We are grateful for the freedoms that will be in the Olympic village. Now, the Chinese government needs to not be hypocritical and give the Christians on the streets the same freedoms. Christians are not a threat, but a Communist government without freedom of religion is."
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