Cricket is the most popular sport in Pakistan. Prominent cricketer evangelist, Victor Lal established the Pakistan OM Sports Ministry in order to lead a group of Christian cricket lovers to share his love of Jesus in 1998.

He first started his sports ministry with a cricket tournament in Lahore in December of that year, with 12 teams competing. Now it has expanded to other sports and we refer to this outreach as a 'Sports festival', where many of the sports such as volleyball, soccer, table tennis and basketball have more than 20 teams of students and young people competing.

Over the past eleven years, his Mission has developed a pattern of two sports festivals (Christmas and Easter cricket) each year. It has developed a life of its own and as a ministry, it has become the focal point of the Mission to share the good news of Jesus Christ.

“We follow up these tournaments with a weekly Bible study for sportsmen,” explained Victor Lal. “We also arranged a coaching camp for top Christian athletes in September this year, and our plan is to formulate top class sports teams of Christians to contest at the highest levels in Pakistan.”

The New Testament speaks of Christians being involved in their community as 'salt and light', helping to transform ordinary lives as followers of Jesus. Victor Lal says that the success of his ministry is an example of that instruction by Jesus.

He continues: “Our goals of this tournament are to promote love, unity and harmony in Pakistan, to illustrate Christian and Muslim common-unity through sports, to share the love of God and the salvation plan of God for everyone, to care for athletes' spiritual, physical and emotional needs and to find, nurture and polish sports talent, in particular cricket.”

This current 'Christmas celebration sports festival' started on the 4th November and runs through to the 15 December. It is a six week sports festival and Gospel proclamation period.

Victor Lal said, “Although sometimes the circumstances are not so good for any such gathering as this, we've discovered God is good and is always with us. We raise the banner of love and peace in unpredictable situations.”

A wrist band is given to every player in this festival with the words in capitals, 'LOVE OTHERS', which is a theme of this sports festival.

“We ask prayer for the following issues: security, good team work, a message of hope for players, pleasing weather and that our financial commitments will be met,” Victor Lal explained. (Victor Lal and Mark Tronson)