Welcome to the Victory Blog

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!

This week, we continue exploring the subject “God is…” along with hundreds of other churches all across the nation who are a part of One Prayer 2009, working toward answering Jesus prayer that we would be one. A major part of our ability to do that is contingent upon us truly believing that God is…Unlimited.

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You know, there’s nothing like cruisin’ down the road with the top down, listening to some nice jazz music as the wind blows in your hair. Everything seems so much more alive and vibrant. This is how God intended us to live life – without limitations. Yet, so often, our lives are full of limitations, and this keeps us from living life to the fullest – a life of peace, joy, freedom and love. God wants to take the limits off of our lives. He wants us to live free.

God is…Unlimited. He doesn’t think from within the same limitations that we do. He sees things from a much bigger perspective. The truth is that although the earth seems to be in tremendous turmoil these days, God is still in charge. He hasn’t lost his perspective or focus. Plus, He is all-powerful, completely loving, all-knowing and will provide everything we need whenever we need Him – He’s unlimited. He demonstrated this in Jesus, who certainly didn’t live within the limitations with which we are so familiar.

Get this: We live within the limitation of what we can believe. No matter how bad things get: marriage, economy, health, etc., if we can believe, all things are possible. God wants us to join with Him in this level of thinking – to get past the limitations imposed on us by others, circumstances and our own thinking patterns and believe in the impossible.

How do we remove limits? Well, it’s not by getting more religious. In fact, the more religious we get, the more limits we place on God and what He can do. No, instead of that, if you want to live life without limits as God intends, then begin to meditate on these truths from His Word:

1. You CAN live in dominion over sin. (Romans 6:12-14; Genesis 1:26)
2. You CAN be fruitful and multiply. (Genesis 1:28)
3. You CAN do the works of Jesus. (John 14:12; Mark 16:17-18)
4. You CAN pray and receive whatever God’s Word promises. (John 15:7; Mark 11:23)
5. You CAN plan and do the impossible with God. (Mark 9:23; Numbers 13:33)

Getting these truths down in your spirit until they are a part of your DNA will blow the lid off of your life! No earthly limitation will be able to stand in your way. I challenge you, don’t settle for a life of limitations. Experience the unlimited life offered to us by our Unlimited God!

(This is just a little bit of what I talked about this weekend. Make sure you watch or listen to the whole message by clicking here.)

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!

Click here to see more pictures.

It was an afternoon of fun, food, games and laughter for our Mercy Team members. Some played chess, others Uno, while another group of brave souls tried their voices at karaoke and dancing.

Pastor Bobby acknowledged each group represented by the Mercy Team and, on behalf of Pastors Dennis and Colleen, thanked them for their unwavering service to the community. The groups included Advance Plus Hospice, Nursing Home, Home Repair, Visitation, Seven Bridges, Norcross Co-op, Project Open Hand, Detention Center and Good Samaritan. Each group was well represented.

The Lord graced the day with partial clouds and a nice, cool breeze. This made for a time of fun at the adjacent playground for the youngest of the children. They played with abandon.

Pastor Bobby’s grilled burgers were superlicious, as was the grilled chicken, salads galore, fruit dishes and a boatload of desserts! There was something for everyone. Even ice cream for the kid in me! ~ Vivian L.

(To see the entire gallery from this event, click on a photo.)

This past weekend, my wife Colleen took the stage and spoke about God’s mercy. This is a message that so many people need to hear. Even those of us who know it, often need to be reminded that God is forgiving. Here’s some of what she had to say:

I want to talk about something that will absolutely lift your spirits. I want to talk about God’s mercy. Most of us have heard of “throwing yourself on the mercy of the court.” This is an appeal that one who is inescapably guilty might make to the judge in hopes that he is merciful. However, not all earthly judges are merciful. But God is no earthly judge; He is 100% merciful!

Yet, we often don’t really believe that. We often think He is much less merciful than He is. We have false beliefs about God. Our minds are held captive by wrong thinking – carnal mindsets. But God wants to break those things off of us so we can know and experience His mercy. You see, if we truly believe that God is forgiving and merciful then we will have no unconfessed sin in our lives!

One of the most humbling things you will ever experience is the mercy of God. God’s mercy is His statement of perpetual determination to do whatever it takes to keep us in right relationship with Him. It is wonderful in itself that He withholds giving us what we deserve, but it reaches beyond that in extending His kindness that we do not deserve.

God’s Mercy is:

1. Awaiting us
2. Abundant
3. Eternal
4. Given According to Love
5. Given With Delight
6. Unchangeable
7. Sovereign and Free.

However, so many people are missing out on experiencing God’s mercy, because they either don’t know they need to admit their guilt, or just plain refuse to do so. As Charles Finney said, “Many are defeating their own salvation by self-justification.” The thing is, in order to trust in God’s mercy, we must have a deep, heartfelt conviction of our personal guilt and cease from excusing and justifying ourselves.

Once we begin to experience God’s mercy, we need to realize that as much as we are recipients of God’s mercy, we are to be dispensers of His mercy. Read Jesus’ parable about the unforgiving servant found in Matthew 18:32-35. We are to love mercy in the same manner that God does, and through humility our hearts will have the capacity to offer unrestrained forgiveness and mercy. Think of what our lives will be like as we get a hold of this truth! Think about what our world will be like! Let us freely pour out forgiveness on others, just as we grow in understanding that God is…Forgiving!

“May the mercy that caused the Father to send the Son, be found in us to break the cycle of retribution for offenses received at the hands of those who hate us. And, may we always remember that mercy is more than the withholding of punishment, but it is the loving kindness of God.” – Charles Finney

Last summer, a group of people from Victory dedicated themselves to making a difference in our community through prayer…and it worked – big time! It started near the end of the 2007/2008 school year when Gladys Torres, a VWC staff member (Marketing) whose daughter was finishing her senior year at Meadowcreek High School, began to feel a tremendous burden to pray for that school during our weekly prayer meeting.

Meadowcreek had come to have a very negative reputation, with many people referring to it as “Ghettocreek.” In recent years, the school had experienced an unusually high decline in overall support, tremendous pregnancy rates, high numbers of violent acts, gang and drug activity and an overwhelming number of suicides. Large numbers of families began to move out of the district in order to avoid having their children in the school.

At the same time, however, Meadowcreek had come to play an integral role in our (Victory’s) basketball program for kids, serving as our “homecourt” – a real blessing! Additionally, we have been blessed with the support of the school staff.

Coming on the heels of R.E.A.L., a series in which Pastor Dennis challenged us to be Real, Engaged, Authentic and Living, it became obvious that God was moving us to reach out and do some serious work in the spiritual realm on behalf of the students and staff of Meadowcreek.

With this burden pressing heavily on her heart, Gladys went to Amanda Dance, another VWC staff member (Children’s Ministry) and prayer warrior. Together, they launched two teams of dedicated intercessors that would pray around the school every week throughout the summer. Beginning on June 10th, they prayed for at least an hour every Tuesday and Thursday evening, walking the grounds and, eventually, with the blessing of the school administration, throughout the common areas inside the school itself.

Among many other things, they prayed:

• Against the “Ghettocreek” stereotype and all that it encompassed.
• That the students would come out of the school with more vision and purpose.
• That God would send godly teachers who would speak life into the student’s lives.
• To break the power of addictions, fatherlessness, perversion, witchcraft, rebellion and other such strongholds evident in the school.
• That the students would succeed and not fail.
• That God would bring joy, peace and hope into every teen’s life.

With summer’s end, the teams stopped meeting. BUT THAT’S NOT THE END OF THE STORY!

On June 7th, almost exactly one year after the launch of the summer of intercession for the school, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published this article, entitled “Meadowcreek High Revamps Reputation.” The article speaks of a turnaround for the school, with higher test scores, a graduating class with high levels of college scholarships including multiple full-rides and increased pride in the level of cultural diversity represented in the student body.

Truly, this is a direct answer to the prayers that were prayed. And, it is a challenge to all of us to make a difference in our world through the power of concerted prayer. We look forward with great anticipation to many more such reports!

A powerful and memorable culmination of Victory’s Metro Atlanta Masters Commission’s (MAMC’s) ninth year was held on Friday, June 5th in the V2 Auditorium to honor, to charge, to commission and to celebrate each and every one of this year’s exceptional graduates. The Masters Commission Family, including alums, staff, pastors and friends, began the unique graduation celebration with a wonderful buffet orchestrated by Events Director Catherine Bachman and her staff. The atmosphere was chic and electric, with an ambiance of futuristic elegance. Gracious bow-tied servers attended to the honorees and their guests at beautifully appointed tables.

Following the banquet, the festive atmosphere transitioned into a quiet reverence as Masters Commission revived their popular “Human Video,” an intense visual drama juxtaposing images of the seen and unseen realms side by side on stage. This work depicts the burden-removing yoke-destroying power of the Lord’s suffering and sacrifice alongside its direct impact, empowering spiritual warfare in the lives of individuals, battling and ultimately triumphing over dark forces. Revisiting this powerful drama celebrated the many ways that MAMC students had creatively published the gospel and reached out to the lost and hurting in the Metro Atlanta community over the past year, yielding much fruit.

Masters Commission student testimonies, reflecting upon intensive periods of discipleship, leadership, ministry training and outreach, followed. First-year student, Janae Lee, recounted radical personal spiritual growth and transformation in a remarkable year’s journey into greater revelation, intimacy and passion, giving glory to Jesus, her King. Third-year student, Levi Carter, exhorted and blessed his Masters Commission family with a word from the gospels and the Psalms, saying that they had delighted the heart of the Father, and expressing the Father’s pleasure in them, “His glorious ones, in whom is all His delight.”

Striking video highlights chronicled what was termed, “an amazing year.” One could sense that the graduates accepted the charge brought by MAMC’s Matt Rigsby from Isaiah 6 and, having truly seen the Lord’s glory, were compelled to follow fully, no matter what the cost, answering His call with, “Here am I, Lord. Send me.”

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Special gifts and certificates were presented by MAMC Directors Matt and Angel Rigsby and on behalf of Pastors Dennis and Colleen Rouse.

Pastor Dennis commissioned the graduates, leading the assembly in prayer releasing the blessing and fulfillment of the purposes of God for their lives and ministries, decreeing a powerful and increasing anointing of the Holy Spirit, releasing them into their destinies, stirring up and activating them in their spiritual and ministry gifts, their callings and elections being made sure. Concluding with more prayers, hugs and joyful tears, this memorable and spiritually significant evening will not soon be forgotten by any who were in attendance.

We want to recognize and honor the following young women and men:

1st year:
Janae Lee
Samuel Choi
Kristie Lindsey
Eric Brewer
Kendall Bowling
Joseph Oguntoye
JaNiece Jackson
Daniel Rypma

2nd year:
Priscilla Hall
Derek Carlson
Victoria Delgado
James Goddard
Rebekah McGee
Brock Nevitt

3rd year:
Katrina Kyle
Robby Randall
Lizeth Lozano
Levi Carter

(Click on the photos to see entire gallery of this event.)

iCare About…
Those in my community who are suffering the devastating effects of…

Commercial Sexual Exploitation

When someone cares, it means there needs to be a safe haven – a place to run to, recover and regenerate. It means we act.

On a typical weekend night, more girls (129) are commercially sexually exploited in Georgia than the number killed in car accidents (58) in an entire year.

However, there is hope. This month, as part of our ongoing iCare campaign, we are partnering with Wellspring Living, an organization dedicated to restoring the lives of these young women through a comprehensive 9-month program designed to bring healing, education and a hope for a better future.

The per girl sponsorship cost is $7,000 and, with your help, we can see many young lives transformed. Please consider giving your best as we continue our iCare efforts to STOP the prostitution of Georgia’s children and restore their lives in Christ Jesus. If you’d like to make a secure donation to this iCare cause online, click here.

Thank you for your generous giving.

This year, during the month of June, we’re joining with over a thousand other churches across the nation in a movement called, One Prayer, in which we will all be talking about the same subject: “God is….” One Prayer began in 2008 with around 600 churches focused on bringing the Church together in unity and purpose and seeking to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 that we would be one.

Last year, the churches that were involved took an offering for the purpose of starting churches in Cambodia, China, Sudan and India. Their combined giving resulted in the planting of 660 new churches in these countries. This year, with over a thousand churches of all sizes and denominations joining together, our goal is to see at least 1,000 more churches planted in these countries, as well as building health clinics, digging wells, etc.

However, this is an unusual time in our history. There is a lot of fear and worry permeating our society. Regrettably, giving is one of the first things to go out of the window for most people in difficult times. Rather than trusting God, we tend to start hoarding what we have and looking to others, or to our own efforts, as the source of our provision. That is why I felt it was important to start this series by focusing on the truth that God Is…Our Provider.

My introduction to this truth began not long after I became a believer. I felt God leading me to sell my successful business, start a new life in a new town and help a small church in Richmond, Virginia. I assumed that as long as I obeyed God, everything would work out perfectly – that I would get a new, good job right away and everything would just fall right into place. It didn’t. I went unemployed for four months, and before long, I was out of money with more bills still to pay. In the midst of this, God took me through a major transition in my thinking in which I learned to trust completely in god as my provider, no matter what the circumstances looked like. It wasn’t easy, but it deeply impacted the rest of my life. It’s a transition that we all need to go through.

The problem is WORRY. According to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6, worry is the number one sign we do not really believe that God is our provider. In fact, worrying is practical atheism! It is us trying to control our situation. We have the mistaken belief that if we worry long or hard enough, something will change. In reality, worrying does nothing to help; it only hurts us.

When I asked the Lord why we worry so much, He answered that we are more focused on trying to survive than on fulfilling purpose. And, as long as that’s the case, we’re on our own. Why? Well, when survival becomes our focus, we start to worry, which equates to taking matters out of God’s hands and into our own. So, God lovingly steps back and lets the difficult consequences of our independent efforts show us how much we need Him. On the other hand, as we focus on God and fulfilling His purposes, putting our total trust in Him, provision comes. God doesn’t call us to do something and then not provide for it. On that note, if provision’s not coming in, one thing to check is whether we’re doing what God’s called us to do, or just what we want to do.

As we trust in Him, God will provide – not necessarily our wants, but definitely our needs. And no, He doesn’t always do it according to our expectations, or in our timing. But, He is good and perfect and loves us more than we can imagine. He will provide exactly what we need when we need it; in His perfect timing. He is all about working all things out for our good. The question is, do we trust Him with all our heart? If so, it will be evident in how we think (the battleground of our minds), how we give and use our money and how we pray. If not, don’t you think we’ve spent way too much time and energy putting our trust in ourselves and others instead of God? Let me urge you to put aside fear and worry. Trust that God is…in His perfect, faithful love… our provider. Without a doubt, He WILL provide for ALL our needs!

This is just a portion of what I spoke about this last weekend. I encourage you to listen to or watch this message here.

An article I recently read stated that as of 2002, 15% of men and 23% of women who are single and without children attend church weekly. Those numbers are pretty sad, but they explain why there are literally dozens of social networks designed to help Christians connect with others. Now, I’m not going to knock anyone who joins a social network, especially since I suffered a lapse in sound judgment a few years ago and joined one of the more popular Christian social networks. My “counselor” had assured me that it was a great place to meet fellow Christians and make friends, and was not at all a dating club. Sure. LOL! (Hey, I’m not proud and I won’t bore you with the tawdry details, but suffice to say no matter how much they touted their wine and cheese socials, at the end of the day, it was a dating club with a loan shark approach to collecting its membership fees.)

With the number of social networks targeted at single Christians on the increase, it has become obvious that there are a lot of people who want to connect with God and others. A little over two years ago, Pastor Steven Baldwin, along with his wife Linda, arrived at Victory from Chicago with a challenge from Victory’s Senior Pastor, Dennis Rouse, to “develop something structured for singles.” He met that challenge by developing CORE, the singles’ ministry here at Victory. And, that ministry just celebrated its two-year anniversary with food, music and plenty of Victory-style fun.

“My wife and I have always had a heart for relationship,” said Pastor Steven as he described what leading the CORE Ministry has meant to him: “Connecting people into deeper relationship with God and others.” Looking around at the large crowd gathered under the lakeside pavilion talking, laughing, eating and dancing to a mix of music supplied by Victory’s very own D.J.’s, Darren and Andre M., Pastor Steven smiled and continued, “There are two types of singles’ ministry extremes. The first only develops your relationship with people. It’s structured around socializing with no spiritual growth. The second is structured around Scripture with no opportunity for fellowship. CORE is in the middle. As CORE has developed, the people in CORE have grown and developed and that’s exciting.”

There are so many people thirsting for a relationship with God and with others, but the thought of a church singles’ ministry makes many Christians wary, especially since the image that most often comes to mind is that of a bunch of boring Christians sitting around reading Scripture. Not so with CORE. Monica Manwaring, one of the organizers of the picnic, has been in CORE since the very beginning and put it this way, “CORE is where people get to be real, no artificial additives.” And, while many singles’ ministries are focused on helping people find a prospective mate, that is not CORE’s focus. “CORE helps you develop and strengthen your relationship with God. It’s not about hooking up. CORE teaches you what love and respect look like from both a man’s and a woman’s perspective.” Monica will be attending Rhema Bible College in August, and while she plans on joining Rhema’s singles’ ministry, she will miss the CORE fellowships and getting to know others. “Going to CORE is like hanging out in Midtown or Buckhead without the guilt and the shame.”

CORE, like Victory, is a unique mix of diversity and cultures, which gives people the opportunity to hear different perspectives. “I attended other singles’ ministries at another church and CORE is different because of the ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” said Andre G. “You learn different perspectives. We’re all the same inside.” Both he and Dennis, who started attending CORE a little over a month ago, agree the best part of CORE has been the Locker Room, where men have a chance to discuss issues and share with people who have been through, or are going through, the same things without judgment.

While CORE’s focus is not about meeting that special someone, relationships do develop. Cheryl and Mark met in Victory’s Children’s Ministry and developed their relationship through CORE. Cheryl explained, “Everything we learned in CORE helped us grow individually so we could have a healthy relationship. The best thing about CORE is getting to know other people and seeing that we are all in this together.” ~ Karla Eyre

*Learn more about CORE by checking out the CORE blog.