Welcome to the Victory Blog

Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” Matthew 19:14, NIV

Celebration Station is the children’s counterpart to Celebrate Recovery.  Children are resilient.  They may smile, play, laugh and you would never know that anger, loneliness, isolation, neglect, rejection, sadness, and feeling invisible are forming strong roots in their hearts.

During a skit, a girl raised her hand to express her thoughts about her home situation. Then I asked her, “How does that make you feel?”  There was almost a look of surprise on her face and the faces of others when asked that question. They were eager to reply. For some, perhaps most, that might have been the first time someone asked how they felt about the situation they are facing.  At Celebration Station, children are openly examining their hurts.  When we open up and admit where we are, God can come in and shine his light and heal us.

While preparing for the skit, I felt confident about what God was going to do.  But as always, that spirit of doubt came in and said, “This lesson is too heavy for these kids.  They come from good homes.  They won’t understand this stuff.”  I really thought I was going to have a hard time getting them to understand certain topics, for instance, “Domestic Violence.”  But the kids communicated their thoughts and feelings and even had prayer requests indicating that they totally understood.

In Celebrate Recovery we learn to come out of denial, confess our sins, realize we are powerless to change, and submit to God.  Kids have a God-given consciousness.  They hear and see more than we may think.  And with what they hear and see, they have an ability to interpret their environment.  We at Celebration Station are teaching kids how to face the challenges in their life, with Jesus.  We are providing a safe arena where talking about the heavy issues are okay.  We are here to meet the child wherever he or she is at.  We are giving them a God way of approaching their life.

A lot of hurts, habits, and hang-ups that we experience in adulthood start as seeds that take root when we are young, and are permitted to grow throughout life.  At Celebration Station we have an opportunity to expose those roots by shining love, compassion and the word of God into the hearts and minds of children.

“Train up a child in the way he should go, And even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Proverbs 22:6, ASV

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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!

As Pastor Rolando talked about a few weekends ago, God’s presence has really been showing up during our 212º services and some amazing and supernatural things have been taking place. Among them, a number of people, both youth and adults, have experienced healing of all sorts of ailments and physical problems. In fact, the very weekend he spoke, several people believed for and received healing.

After that evening’s service, Ryan, who had been suffering with a severe case of medically diagnosed patella tendonitis for 11 years, wrote, “During the prayer, my left knee popped violently three times and immediately all pain and weakness went away.”

Saretha, who had been diagnosed with scoliosis – curvature of the spine – wrote, “During the service, Pastor Gonzalez asked if anyone needed healing. I was urged by the Spirit to raise my hand, even though part of me had accepted my condition. The moment I raised my hand, I felt the Holy Spirit over me as if He had been waiting for me. I had my eyes closed, but I felt four or five hands on me. I literally felt my equilibrium change. I felt my spine align and the stress in my back decrease. I thank God so much for this unexpected healing!”

These are just a couple of testimonies to God’s power and faithfulness. Regardless of what some people say, God still heals today!

And, if God’s been doing something in or through your life at Victory, please consider helping to build the faith of others by sharing your story here.

This past weekend, I invited our 212º Youth Pastor, Rolando Gonzalez, to close out our One Prayer: Unstoppable teaching series. As many of us have heard, God has really been pouring out his Spirit in the 212º services and I wanted him to share some of what’s been going on with the rest of the church. He did so with a great message about the Unstoppable Kingdom. Here are a few of his key points that we all need to hear and receive into our hearts:

• The Lord enjoys spending time with us; he wants to spend time with us.
• God has a plan and if we can get out of His way ‘great things’ will happen for His glory.
• God is a lot happier and more joyful than we usually think he is
• In his presence is joy
• A lot of the things of God are pretty simple; they start getting complex when we try to take them apart, try to explain them
• God has set things in place and in motion and nothing can stop him
• His kingdom is who he is – meaning that God is not standing away just watching, but he’s currently active in his kingdom – Jesus is involved with his kingdom
• We know that God is everywhere, but sometimes it’s like He is more in one place than others; this “more” of God is His glory or presence
• His presence is what makes the unusual usual
• We were made to function in God’s glory, in his presence
• The Holy Spirit loves to bring revelation of the Father’s love and reveal Jesus Christ to us
• When the Spirit comes, He brings the unstoppable kingdom

If you want to experience God’s amazing presence and power as a part of his unstoppable kingdom, I urge you to listen to or watch the rest of Rolando’s message and then surrender completely to the Holy Spirit. You will definitely be encouraged. And, don’t miss the powerful collection of testimonies on the video that he played during service. I’m going to include it here as well. God is on the move. As we unite together with him, we are and will be unstoppable!

The crowd was huge for 212˚ as over 500 middle and high school students filled the floor of Victory’s main sanctuary. The band started to play, and the electrifying worship, that has become so characteristic to 212˚, began. Students rushed to the front with the sort of passion that it seems only young people can bring to their pursuit of God.

The word was clear, blunt and sobering as Donny Pauling, a.k.a., Donovan Phillips, ex-porn producer, revealed the cold, harsh realities of an industry and lifestyle bound in sexual perversion. His in-your-face tone and matter-of-fact way of saying things brought an emotion that is seldom felt in a crowd full of teenagers…gravity.

His raw presentation of not only the facts, but his own brokenness, earned their respect. His transparency was admired by all as he spoke to a generation who esteem honesty as, perhaps, their greatest virtue.

As I looked across the crowd, I saw young men who I’ve walked with over the years in their struggle with pornography. Even as I think of their battle now, my heart breaks for them. After the service was over, I saw one of these young men…and in his eyes, I saw a light…I sensed in him the freedom of a man who has just heard the truth. (See John 8.32) It was the look of a man (and I think it was this way for many) who still had a disease, but had just found the cure.

I think that Porn and Pizza was the beginning of a conversation wherein many will “confess their sins that they may be healed.” It was the beginning of a journey for those whose pursuit of God will not be impeded by the “besetting sins” of this world. May they run and not grow weary; may they walk and not faint! ~ Levi C.

Day 1

Victory has a full house many times a year, but never quite so electric as when over 1,400 teens pressed into God’s presence through worship at Jesus Culture. The room shook with the sounds of passionate worship as teens ready for worship cried out for His heart and His presence.

On the first night of Jesus Culture, Benny Perez brought the message. His first words to the group were, “God said, I’m going to begin to pour things in – My Spirit, in unusual ways – and pour things out – things you’ve been carrying. God is doing a work in not just this generation, but in anyone who wants Him.” He admonished the teens that God has an appointed time and an anointing that we don’t expect. He is always looking for a young person upon whom to release an anointing. The Lord wants that young person to rise to become more powerful – rise in purity, rise up to become a revivalist. He reminded us that the anointing in our lives rises as we give it away.

This generation has been through more brokenness and pain than any generation, but God is saying, “Rise up!” God wants to lift us up by His grace and by His anointing. If we think we can do it, then it would be all about us. But when we know we can’t do what is before us, then it’s all about Him.

Day 2

Cries of “Holy, holy, Lord God Almighty” reverberated across the sanctuary on Thursday night as over 1,500 teens gathered on the second night of Jesus Culture. The room shook with the release of hunger for God’s glory. Nothing quite compares to seeing a sea of young people crying out to God with all their hearts – on their feet and on their faces, hands raised towards the heavens. Every seat in the house was full – as were the aisles and the floor – and all ready to meet God in worship.

As the evening went on, teens testified of healings from scoliosis, asthma, paralysis and other conditions. Story after story was told, igniting faith for healing in the room. Speaker Scott Thompson shared the testimony of his life. The he shared that God has called us to break chains off a generation, and He wants to use us to do it.

Thompson also said that in the natural, we might all know someone, or even be someone, who people would think could never get saved. But Scott’s challenge for us was to never give up on the people in our lives. Our prayers are powerful and change lives. Our presence changes the lives around us. nd God’s love never gives up.

Day 3

On the final night of Jesus Culture, the place was primed for the miraculous. About 800 teens had spread across Atlanta that afternoon to pray for people out in the community, expecting God to meet them at their point of need. And meet them, He did! After another powerful time of worship, many shared testimonies of healing and God-encounters. These young people found out through experience that as they listened for His voice and obeyed, He would come and validate His Word in their lives through miracles. Banning Liebscher, the Director of Jesus Culture and the evening’s featured speaker, began by sharing three Scriptures: Jn. 6:1-13, I Tim. 2:3 and Psalm 2:8; and then continued with a little history about the Mount Hermon conference, which began in 1886 with D.L. Moody and others to raise up volunteers for missions. Beginning with just 100 students, that conference saw over 20,000 missionaries sent onto the field by 1945.

Then, Liebscher related a word from Cindy Jacobs about God releasing a new student volunteer movement. In this day and hour, God is again stirring up an increase in young people who will give their lives for revival. Those who are a part of this volunteer movement must:

1. Connect with the heart of God – I Tim. 2:4. This movement is motivated by and connected to taking care of God’s heart – He has desires, dreams and longings for people. God intends to give the nations of the earth to His Son, and the heart of the Father longs for that to come! We are not on our campus or job to make good grades or to make money but to take care of God’s longings! John 4 reminds us to lift our eyes and see the fields are white unto harvest – see the things that He sees and be moved by what moves Him.
2. Understand that God’s plan is to partner with us to carry out His plan. We must come before the Lord with whatever we have and say, “Here’s my life – use it for your will” We can either spend our lives on ourselves or spend it on God; but we have to decide. Many of us don’t ever fully give ourselves to God because we are overwhelmed by the need. One of the things that is killing the church is the lie of insignificance. The spirit of intimidation tries to speak smallness and insignificance, to try to get us to sit down and shut up. But, when we bring our lives to God, He has the ability to take what we bring and multiply it.
3. Count the cost – Luke 14: 25-33. Jesus requires it ALL. He says, “You may feel that you don’t have much, but I want all of it.” He requires everything. So the issue is this: Is my heart completely His? If we are going to be agents of change, our hearts must be completely His. We must cross the point of no return – when we no longer have any option but to follow him.

That night, the altars were full of young people saying “yes” to God’s call, having their lives marked for revival because of that commitment. All over the building, people were healed of various ailments, and young people were ready to go out and do what God has destined for their lives.

Perhaps the summary of the three days lies in the words of one of the musicians, “I am royalty. I have destiny. I have been set free. I’m gonna change history!” Hundreds young people are eager to jump into God’s plan. Just imagine what’s going to happen!

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