Welcome to the Victory Blog

Since growing up in the church as a young child, I have always heard sermons on tithing and the importance of it. Unfortunately, I had never learned the biblical laws defining tithing as the first fruit or holy until reading The Blessed Life. At the time of receipt of The Blessed Life, I was sporadically giving tithes and offering. I read the book from cover to cover and am so thrilled to report I have become an overwhelmingly good steward. Not only have I become a good steward of my finances but of everything the God of creation has given me!

Since tithing consistently, and reading God’s word regularly, my life has changed for the better. My home has been approved for The Making Home Affordable program and I have received not one but two home loan modifications lowering my home mortgage a total of $371.04 a month. I have also received a new career in a field that I truly believe my calling is placed. I am so much lighter as a person as I give freely and consistently. My finances are no longer cursed; instead, they are blessed and freely multiplied for the Kingdom of God.

I recently viewed my contributions out of curiosity, and I have given more in the last two months, upon completing reading The Blessed Life, than I’ve given in the last 10 years of my life. God is my redeemer and my vindicator. All praises to Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior!

________

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!

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. 

Of all the qualities of becoming a disciple, I believe being “Evangelistically Bold” is one that makes many of us the most uncomfortable. How do we change that? How do we actually get comfortable telling others about Jesus? First, I believe we’re thinking too hard about it and making it more complex than it really is. If we can keep it simple, we’ll make major strides in this area. I’m sure of it.

For starters, the term “Evangelism” is simple at its core. It basically means to share the Good News. No preferred methods. No schooling required. No formal titles needed. Just make it known.

Also, when we personalize it, it gets easier. Jesus has done something in your life. Don’t just keep it to yourself. Share it, somehow.

Another way we complicate things is by thinking too much about how the news of Jesus in our lives will be received. We’re taking on too much. It’s not our responsibility to make people get it. God just commands us to tell it—and it’s not only a select group of us who are charged with this command, but all of us who accept Him as Lord.  In Pastor Johnson Bowie’s words: If you’re saved, you’re sent!

Nobody hides it when good things happen to them. The natural reaction is to let somebody know about it. Isn’t Christ moving in your life good news? What’s stopping you from sharing Him? If you’re fighting fear, doubt or any other negative emotion, pray and ask God to help you get over things like pride, people-pleasing and laziness.

This weekend, Pastor Johnson gives us three action items on how to become evangelistically bold. He breaks it down in simple terms and makes it memorable for easy recollection. Praying and persevering in these three areas will help you get more comfortable with sharing Jesus or keep you on a steady track if you’re already there. Listen here.

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

________

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!

Missing God is easy. Unfortunately, it’s a road that the average Christian often takes. But a disciplined follower of Christ is sensitive and submitted to the Holy Spirit. What’s your easy road? What blocks you from hearing God? Is it pride? Your emotions? Other people or stuff? Right now, there’s a pressing deadline you must meet. Some major decision has to be made, or the simple choice of yes or no can determine your future. God has a say on all of it. Can you hear Him?

Every day we by-pass God and lean on the voices of logic, research or somebody else’s advice for the answers to our situations: What should I do with my life? Who should I marry? How do I get out of this mess? What’s the future going to be like? Everything you need to know is found in the mind of God! If you struggle hearing Him and you feel like giving up, don’t! He has direction and guidance for you, and there’s a way to get it.

You’ve got to unplug, and I’m not just talking about pulling back from the internet, your cell phone, television, etc.  There are three distinct qualities in those who hear from God most, and I cover them in detail in this week’s message. It just takes one critical moment to decide that you’ll do what it takes to hear from God. I dare you to make that decision, follow-up on it and then begin your amazing journey.

I wanted to share the miracles that have recently happened in my life since I’ve accepted Jesus in my heart and given my complete life over to God.

I received Christ on March 4, 2011 and began going to Celebrate Recovery that same time. I am a single mother in recovery from drug addiction (August 20th, I’ll be 6 months clean), affects of abuse, and abandonment. I knew that I couldn’t change or heal on my own and Pastor Jumie recommended that I go to Celebrate Recovery (CR).

The first night, honestly, I walked in and out of the door five times before I actually went into the service. I knew I was in the right place as soon as I was greeted. I shared my story and I was not judged, but comforted and made to feel loved. Since joining CR I have found a new family and have for the first time in my life joined a church and am living a Christian life.

I was diagnosed with Hepatitis C, there was a tumor on my Liver, and I had colitis. I have had several hospital procedures and tests over the last couple months. This Wednesday I had a doctor’s appointment to get all the results. Like I have said above, I had given God total control over my life and health. The doctor proceeded to tell me that the tumor was completely gone, the colitis was gone and the blood tests for Hepatitis C were inconclusive, which meant there wasn’t a live Hepatitis C virus in my blood! After hearing what God had done in my body I started crying and explained to the doctor that God healed me. His response was that in all his time practicing medicine, he never had someone that was Hepatitis C positive, tested again, and then three months later, completely healed!

I wanted to share this because I believe God has a plan and wants me to be a living testimony for Him. I am currently trying to find a job so that I can put myself through pastoral school. I feel led by God to share my story and help others that have been in the same hopeless cycle of sadness. Through God, they can begin their healing process as well.

Thank you for everything that the church does.

________

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!

Think about your health, your relationships, your work, and even your time, money and mind management. How would you describe your life overall? Is it good enough for you to get by and be comfortable? Well here’s the problem with that. Good enough is ordinary, but God calls us to be EXTRA ordinary. He calls us to be over-the-top relentless in our commitment to Jesus, and when we are, it shows up in every area of our lives.

Ordinary doesn’t take most of us where we really want to go anyway. I believe most people desire to know more, be more and do more. I’m challenging you to be passionately committed to Jesus. That’s the point from which your journey will take off as you move from a believer to a disciple, and it’s the foundation of these 10 Qualities of a Disciple that I will engage you in over the next 10 weeks.

In His Word, Jesus doesn’t tell us to go and make believers of all nations, He says, go and make disciples of all nations. (Matthew 28:19 NKJ). That’s what He wants you to be: a disciple. You can’t be lukewarm walking in those shoes, and average won’t cut it. It’s not easy, but God created you to stand out, so He’ll grace you to do it.

Give a listen to this week’s message about being Passionately Committed to Jesus and see what that looks like. I share three ways you can tell if you’re on the right path.

I am a 16 year old young man. On August 15, 2009 I came home from school feeling tired and weak. My parents were thinking that maybe I was exhausted from the first week of school and football practices. By that Sunday my chest was beginning to hurt. My parents took me to Children’s Healthcare. The doctor did an EKG and it came back normal. He diagnosed me with just having some kind of virus.

Throughout the day my chest continued to hurt. Then around 11:30pm, my parents and I could hear a rattling noise in my chest. My parents didn’t like the sound of it and God placed it in their spirit to take me to the emergency room at Scottish Rite. When we arrived, my oxygen level was only at 70%. They gave me breathing treatments to help my breathing. They diagnosed me with pneumonia. The doctor also noticed that my heart rate was very erratic and decided to do an EKG, which came back abnormal. The doctor was puzzled as to what was happening to my heart. I never have had any issues with my heart in the past. They suddenly admitted me into ICU.

My parents called their Small Group Leaders Pete and Gladys Torres and my spiritual grandparents Terry and Linda Nash to spread the word for people to pray for me.

As my parents waited in the waiting area my health began to take a turn for the worst. They said my heart was functioning like a 60-year-old man having a heart attack. The cardiologist told them that things weren’t looking good and that they needed to call in our minister and other family members. I was immediately transported to Egleston Children’s Hospital to be put on a heart and lung machine called ECMO. As I arrived at Egleston I went into cardiac arrest. God had already stepped in and placed the appropriate people to care for me. Dr. Clay and a nurse (her name was Angel) were there to resuscitate me. They worked on me for about 30 minutes. They said God had placed in their spirit not to give up on me. I’m glad they listened and followed God’s voice.

The doctors told my parents that they weren’t sure if I would make it through the day. They diagnosed me with Acute Myocarditis, which is inflammation of the heart muscle caused by an infection. They shut my heart and lungs down to rest. (The ECMO acted as my heart and lungs.) I was also put in an induced coma.

By this time Pete and Gladys had arrived along with Minister Jumokee from VWC. Mrs. Torres had just prayed for God to massage my heart. As soon as she prayed that prayer the doctors came in and told us that I had responded to a command. This was a great milestone!

Throughout the days my parents and my grandmother “Mama” would come to my bedside and whisper prayers in my ear. As friends and family visited they often questioned why my parents were so calm through the whole ordeal. It was their strong faith in God that gave them strength and peace.

My parents were told that I could be on the ECMO machine for months. Praises to God I was off of the machine after only 5 days and was home after 2 weeks. They also weren’t sure if I would be in a vegetative state after coming out of the coma due to lack of oxygen to my brain for almost 30 minutes. There are no indications of any brain damage or cognitive issues to date.

As other doctors study my case, they are just amazed! My heart is stronger and healthier than ever. I tell them Jesus is my healer!

_______

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!

Many who follow Christ have somehow settled into thinking that serving is for “other” Christians, not them.  Whether we verbalize it or not, our actions tell all. But God has given each of us a gift, the ability to do something very well, and He expects us to actually use that gift to help others, to bring Him glory and to build up His Kingdom (1 Peter 4:10-11 NLT). When we do this, His serving grace begins to take over in our lives.

There’s an outpouring of God’s serving grace reserved for each of us who will take our gifts seriously and use them. What’s preventing you from serving others? Are you being selfish with your gift, discounting its relevance, or simply neglecting it altogether? If you’re currently sharing your gift with others, how can you be more faithful?

Jesus was the ultimate servant. He says in Luke 22:27 (NKJ V), “For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the One who serves.”

Watch this week’s message, start sharing, and prepare for God’s serving grace to flow freely in your life.

Our story begins with arguing over money and the resulting stress on our marriage. We owed over $40,000 in credit card debt. We knew two things had to happen to decrease the stress in our marriage: First, we had to get on the same page about handling money, and second, we had to stop ignoring our debt.

We tried handling the situation on our own but that created even more stress. The breakthrough came when we decided to do it God’s way. We enrolled in Crown University and met some awesome people that were dedicated to helping others understand the biblical approach to money. Crown was an objective third-party, if you will. It helped us come together and strive for the common goal of being debt free. Our mantra became “Be the head and not the tail,” Deuteronomy 28:13. We realized that it ALL belongs to God, not just our tithe.

Another benefit of Crown was having the opportunity to meet with a financial planner. They helped us to look at where we were, where we wanted to be, and most importantly, how to get there. With their plan in mind, we agreed to attack the debt aggressively and that meant all of Dori’s income and any additional income such as bonuses went to paying off debt. This allowed us to eliminate $24,000 in ten months. This was quite an accomplishment for us, given where we started.

Even while in debt, we’ve never stopped tithing, always believing God’s word.

We now feel at peace with our finances, we’re on the same page, and we know what we owe and we’re paying it off.

We are not debt free yet, but we have God’s plan now, and whenever there is a question, we rest in that.

______

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 go to our homepage, victoryatl.com and click the Share Your Story quicklink, 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!