One of the most strategic areas of work IPO Hope to People is the sports ministry. This specific ministry is being conducted by the organization for over ten years, in Rivne and Rivne region. Sport is a great opportunity to reach a large number of young people and adolescents, and to share the Good News with them. The work is being carried out with different categories of people – children, teenagers, young guys and girls, although most of them are schoolchildren and students.

The project Gospel through Floor Hockey is an evangelistic project geared for teenagers and youth in Rivne and Rivne region, and is active for two and a half years. Thankfully to this powerful tool, dozens of teenagers and young people got to hear the Good News and now continue to study the God’s Word.

Many years of experience with young people shows that the spiritual ministry with this specific category of people requires a special approach. Coming to the Christian sports club, the guys can satisfy their physical and social interests, as well as open their inner world becoming more receptive to spiritual edification. Being in the club, they realize that there is another level of life – spiritual, which gets them thinking about their own spiritual state.

The project is based on a specific type of sport that is called floor hockey (floor ball). In fact, floor hockey is a team sport. Children usually play this game with a plastic ball, which is hit with a hockey stick. The purpose of the game is to score the ball into a rival’s net. On the basis of this modern sports game, children and young people have an opportunity to get to know each other and be involved in the biblical teaching.

The major occupation of floor hockey club is – prayers, practices, Bible lessons, fellowships, celebration of birthdays, joint strolls and trips to competitions, as well as Christian youth camps.

Our Christian floor hockey team is called SKY, which means the Heaven, and the Heaven is the highest goal for every Christian, because this is the dwelling place of the Almighty God. Thus, we’re so eager to learn more and more about Him through the study of the Bible and play floor hockey to glorify the Lord.

The leader of this ministry is the employee Hope to People, Vitaliy Bakunets. Vitaly was born in August 17, 1986, in an Orthodox family, but he attended a church very rarely, only for Easter. He came to know God through the youth Christian camp, where he first realized that the Bible is the God’s Book, which is supposed to be read and studied daily. After the camp, he started visiting the Rivne Bible Mission Church Community of the Good Shepherd, where the Lord has completely changed his views on life, as well as priorities and goals. As a result, Vitaliy made a decision not to waste life living for self, but to dedicate his life to the ministry of Jesus Christ.

In the beginning of 2014-2015, a group of young brothers and sisters of the church – students of Inductive Bible Institute have received a permission from the urban management of education to conduct one spiritual and educational lesson in all schools of the city. After this action, the administration of one school has offered to Vitaly to run Bible classes every week. This is how he started building the relationships with students in schools, who were also pleased to continue their friendship. Then, he came up with the idea to get children involved in some sort of activity, and to study the Scripture alongside. God showed that this activity can be the floor hockey.

In early 2015, Vitaliy Bakunets, have been blessed by the church to do this ministry. So, he teamed up with like-minded people, and began this ministry. Vitaliy is married. He is one of the leaders of the youth ministry of the church Community of the Good Shepherd in Rivne. He holds a post-secondary education, and speaks a couple of foreign languages (bilingual).

The objectives for the ministry – Christian Floor Hockey Club SKY:
– To grow in Christlikeness;
– To strengthen the team and develop floor hockey ministry;
– To lead people to Christ using the tools given by God;
– To pass on the acquired knowledge and experience to others, advancing the Kingdom of God.