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Sept. 14, 2011 – The stage explodes in an eruption of color, and color seems to be the very theme for the night – from the lights on the stage, to the people in the congregation, to the spin Pastor Johnson put on the stories from the Bible, encouraging you to imagine yourself in the shoes of the people from the pages of scripture from which he speaks. ‘Colorful’ seems to be the word to describe the entire evening of September 14^th. This is Fusion, the young adult ministry of Victory World Church, and this night not only marks Fusion’s 10-year anniversary, but also the first time they’re holding service in V1, the main auditorium. It is a night of celebration.

You can feel the intensity as these young people usher in the Spirit of the Lord. Yes, He is ALIVE and roaming this building tonight. He’s alive in the lights that show every spectrum of the rainbow on the stage, alive in the chorus of the songs shared by the men and women gathered with their hands raised in praise, and alive in the sermon… especially when Pastor Johnson asked the question from Ezekiel 37 –“Can these dry bones live?” – then took his time and carried us further into the scripture. By the time he spoke the words that seemed to breathe life, you felt as though you had been on Ezekiel’s journey. If there are any dry bones in the house tonight, they are ready to arise and walk. In this powerful message, Pastor Johnson was delivering meat to a Spirit hungry crowd.

When the service ended, the diverse crowd obviously revealed that Fusion is not just enjoyed by young adults. One of the parents, Elaina, explains why she continues to come to the Fusion services:  “I like the way Pastor Johnson speaks. He talks to you gently, but at the same time he doesn’t sugar coat anything.” Another parent jokingly says her daughter drags her to the Fusion meetings.

There are a couple of things that are certain – the crowd will keep coming back, and the crowd will continue growing. With this much passion in a Wednesday night service, it seems that God himself has breathed new life into us all.

Dry bones CAN live.

Fusion young adult ministry meets weekly on Wednesdays at 7:30pm in Victory World Church’s main auditorium. It’s a riveting God experience. Join us. 

I just wanted to share with you about how my being a part of the Fusion ministry has seriously changed my life.

I recently went through Ancient Paths and it was an amazing experience. During one of our small group sessions, my facilitator asked if anyone had any issues in their soul that were causing them to not be in alignment with God. We took a few minutes to pray and ask God to reveal any areas in our lives that needed prayer and forgiveness. As the minutes passed, I realized God was being really silent even though other people in my group were having revelations, crying, repenting, etc.

I found myself getting nervous, really asking God why He wasn’t showing me any areas that I needed to fix. As I was praying again, God took me back to a Fusion service from 2009. He took me back to the Naked series, the message on healing from heart break. That was probably my third Fusion service ever attending and that was the same night I truly gave my heart back to Christ. I saw Pastor Johnson on the stage praying for the congregation and I saw myself at one of the crosses on either side of the stage. During that service, we were all given the chance to nail all of our sins, hurts and pain to the cross and leave them there. I saw myself nailing my sins to the cross and having the greatest feeling of freedom in that moment.

While in Ancient Paths that weekend, desperately asking God to reveal areas where my soul is not at rest, God took me back to that night and spoke the words, “Look at what I have already done for you. I have already set you free.” In that moment, I knew that when I made the decision to leave my old life and accept salvation, I was already set free. Sitting in that room with my other AP participants felt a little weird because I was filled with this joy and peace that was so overwhelming and amazing. All I could do is thank God for His amazing redeeming power.

The Fusion ministry played a phenomenal part in my healing, my transformation, my growth in my faith, and in allowing God to use me to bring others to Him. I had no clue that after coming to that first Fusion service in August 2009, I would be saved a couple of weeks later, baptized in November, become a service team apprentice in January 2010 and now stepping into a small group leader role this year.

Words really can’t express how honored I am to be a part of the Fusion ministry and helping to lead my generation back to Christ. The Fusion leadership is amazing and truly authentic. I don’t know how many testimonies or praise reports you get about how God is using Fusion to change the lives of those who are truly seeking God, but I am one of those testimonies. The life I let behind was filled with abuse, shame, guilt, hurt, abandonment, fear and pride. Now, I can say with all confidence and certainty that I have been set free and I know my identity and worth is rooted firmly in Christ.

Thank you all for answering the call to help lead our generation and growing more young leaders to help carry the Good News to others. Your tireless efforts are appreciated more than you will ever know.

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We want to hear about what God has done in and through you at Victory. Whether long or short, complex or simple, your story is worth hearing, and there are others who need to hear it. Won’t you please consider sharing your story with us? If you’re willing to do so, please click the Share Your Story quicklink above, write your story, upload a nice photo (if you can) and click submit. It’s that simple. Now, don’t be shy. God’s given you a story for a reason! Share it today!

Black Shirts with white designs and bright green letters stating “FUSION ON TOUR” speckle each train car that takes off from the Doraville train station heading to the Atlanta Airport. A group of thirty people, split up in five different groups, all with the purpose of spreading the love of the Lord. Equipped with bags filled with bottled waters, hearts overflowing with God’s truth, the Holy Spirit and boldness that only the Lord himself could provide. As the train departs, anticipation gets stronger.

On a normal day, the door opens and many people rush on the train, find a seat, and get occupied with various things – men and women with headphones in their ears listening to various types of music, students doing homework and many eyes closed while leaning up against the window. The only noise heard is coming from the train tracks and walls being scraped at random times throughout the trip. The good thing is, this was no normal day. This day was made by the Lord, for the Lord, and it’s time for people to know and understand; so let’s take it back.

The doors open and many people rush onto the train hearing, “Good evening,” and “How are you?,” along with other questions and statements directly to the individuals. Each person trying to find a seat, scrambling around before the train takes off. As they find their seats, they are greeted with a bottled water and many kind words. If they had an empty seat and were welcoming of a neighbor, the seat filled up fast for conversation. Many were still trying to sleep, do homework or listen to their iPod.

Brayden goes from person to person giving hugs from God, which lifted many spirits and opened some hearts that were not welcoming to begin with. Ken, Celara, Dee and myself listened to different individuals, giving them a genuine ear that wanted to hear how their day was or what was going on in their lives. Some didn’t open up completely, while others broke down; one girl coming back to the Lord after hearing what He desired for her. Even after the water was out, we went from person to person and checked on them, telling them that God loves them. As the people got off, we told each one to have a blessed night and anything else that was on our hearts.

Being able to see the love of our Lord was a blessing in itself. To see the smile on others’ faces and gain understanding of the selfishness that plagues our society was something that couldn’t be taught by lecture, only by actions. This was just a small glimpse of what they should be seeing and what we ourselves should be doing and seeing. The Bible states that we are to first love the Lord, then, to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. Those are just basics and most haven’t been doing that right. So how can we, as Christians, go about claiming the Lord without having the basics down?! Fusion on Tour has begun, and it is time to be doers of the word, not hearers only. It’s time to look in the mirror and see what God has in store for us and what Christ would have done. It’s time to see Christ in our mirror and know that we are getting closer and closer to being just like Him. ~ Lauren W.

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But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless. Pure and undefiled religion before God and the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their trouble, and to keep oneself unspotted from the world. (James 1:22-27 NKJV)

On May 1st & 2nd, torrential rains pummeled Nashville, TN and surrounding areas, bringing more than 13 inches of rain in less than 48 hours. The result was creeks, rivers and lakes overflowing, washing away roads, homes, livestock and livelihoods. In all 29 people died, thousands lost everything and the places we’ve come to know and love in Nashville were completely underwater – the Grand Ole’ Opry, Opryland Hotel, the Titan’s stadium, the Predator’s Arena, historic downtown and much more.

The storm and its catastrophic results are being called things like, “the 1000-year flood,” “the costliest non-hurricane disaster in the nation,” and “the worst disaster to strike Nashville since the Civil War.”

As Nashville’s sister-city to the south, many of us have friends and family there who’ve been impacted by the storm. A good deal of those we know reside in the residential areas hardest hit by the storm – Bellevue, Kingston Springs, Pegram & Dickson, TN. So, we’ve partnered with Cross Point Community Church (crosspoint.tv) to assist them as they focus their clean up and recovery efforts within these communities.

We are supporting Cross Point both financially and with volunteer assistance. Our first response team from Fusion departed on Friday, May 7th for a weekend trip to help demo homes and salvage belongings. (See the video update from that trip below.)

Additional teams continue to depart each weekend throughout the month of June. If you would like to be a part of a Nashville Flood Relief team, please email Josh Wilkinson at jwilkinson@victorywc.org for the information.

FLOOD RELIEF TEAM INFORMATION:

It is important to remember when considering volunteering for one of our teams that the work will consist of all manual labor – pulling up carpet, stripping dry wall, shoveling debris. Additionally, the accommodations will require you to bring a sleeping bag and air mattress.

View the Video Update from our Second Flood Relief Team:

View the Video Update of our First Response Team from Fusion:

View Our iCare Nashville Flood Relief Video:

View Cross Point’s Flood Relief Photos:

In case you haven’t heard, throughout the summer, Fusion, our 20-somethings ministry has left the building and is taking it to the streets, engaging the community as Jesus would! Just because they aren’t having formal services doesn’t mean they’re just kicking back for the summer. No, through Fusion small groups and social justice projects they’re sharing Jesus with our community in real and practical ways, reaching out to neighbors, helping people in need and shining the light of God’s love into dark places. Check out these video blog posts highlighting some of what God’s already been doing in and through them:

And that’s not all! Check out the Fusion Blog to see what else is has been going on.

Plus, the summer’s only half over! There’s a lot more to come!

On February 11, 2009, we were pleased to welcome author David Batstone and musician Brant Christopher. Together, they shared with us a message of freedom.

David Batstone is the founder of Not for Sale, a campaign to end slavery in our lifetime. Brant Christopher is a musician who has partnered with Not for Sale, helping to spread the word that human trafficking and slavery is a modern day reality.

During this special service, David Batsone delivered a powerful message of freedom for the captives. Eyes were opened as David shared with Victory the disturbing fact that 27 million people are currently enslaved. Yes, 27 MILLION! And this is not just in other countries, it’s happening in our own backyard – right here in the “land of the free.” Children and adults are being sold as slaves to a perverse world – a world full of evil, greed, lust, and spiritual deadness. David not only informed us, but empowered us with the wisdom, knowledge and truth necessary for us to do our part to end slavery. As Isaiah 61:1 says: “The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor…to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners.” (NIV)

Brant shared his heart for the issue by putting music to his words – playing guitar and singing songs that portray the unsettling emotions associated with human trafficking and slavery. Brant’s music seized our hearts and caused them to be sensitive to the issue at hand. Brant unselfishly used his musical talents for the greater good of all. Brant is a great example of how we all can use our gifts to raise awareness of this issue.

We are truly grateful to David and Brant for bringing this relevant and urgent message to Victory. As a result, many were challenged to take responsibility, take action, and take the message of freedom to all who are oppressed.

Taina Brown had this to say about the event:

I had heard [Batstone] speak on the cause last year at a Fusion service and, since that time, had developed an interest in joining the anti-slavery movement. The Fusion band had led us into a time of worship and there was a sense of expectancy in the room. There were those of us who had already been involved as modern-day abolitionists on several different levels, and there were those who were new to the movement and unsure of what to expect from the night. Interweaved with the backstory of Not For Sale and what we as average citizens can do to combat the terror of human trafficking, was music by Brant Christopher and visual images presented on the screens. It was a very creative presentation that gave us information and also touched the human soul at its core through the different types of media that were present.

An abolitionists is defined as someone who favors the abolition of any law or practice deemed harmful to society. How many of us would actually say that sex trafficking and human slavery is something that we favor? At the end of the night, we were encouraged to take action. Not by signing up on rescue teams or traveling abroad to places where it’s right before our eyes, but by signing up to be informed, by writing letters to major companies which deem it un-profitable to buy things like chocolate and clothing not made from slave labor, and by getting the word out. We were challenged to live differently, work differently, shop differently. We are no longer ignorant to this issue, and to do nothing is to turn a blind eye.

Christ did not die in vain! The true reality of our times is that ALL are free! Not a select group, class, race, or gender, but ALL. Freedom! Shout it from the roof tops! Proclaim it to the captives! “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36, NIV). ~ Alex Hogan

For more information on “Not for Sale”, check out their website: www.notforsalecampaign.org