History
Victory Baptist Church was founded in September of 1969, when after much prayer and seeking of Divine guidance, Rev. Carlton Allen, along with eleven adults and eleven children, met for church services in an old wood-frame house, just a few miles from the church's current location. These founding members worked faithfully, and in less than a month, they soon outgrew the house they were meeting in.
In October of 1969, the church rented the small building which now serves as storage for the Landis Corporation, located next door to our current church/school facilities. Here they held services for nearly two years, and it was in this building that Victory Baptist Church was organized with thirty-four charter members.
The church saw continuous growth and soon outgrew the rented building. At that time, the men of the church decided to sell bonds and purchased the seven acres where our facility currently exists. Construction began on a new church building.
On July 18, 1971, Victory Baptist Church held services in its brand new building, and God saved a soul. This was the beginning of wonderful things in the history of the church. Over the next couple of years, the Lord would bless by allowing the men of the church to build a new fellowship hall and pastorium, and later a gymnasium.
In 1977, the church experienced a period of transition. The founding pastor, Bro. Carlton Allen, was called to be a missionary to Peru, South America. Bro. Ronnie Shiflett became pastor for the next two years, until he was also called to be a missionary to the Island of Samoa.
In August of 1980, Bro. Steve Ward was called to be the new pastor. Bro. Ward had been saved eight years prior through the bus ministry of the church. Over the next few years, the church continued to experience growth, seeing souls saved and membership increase.
In 1984, the church members saw a need to provide a Christian education to the children of the church. The membership voted to start a Christian school, utilizing the A.C.E. (Accelerated Christian Education) curriculum, also known as “School of Tomorrow.” Two weeks after the decision was made, the doors of Victory Christian School opened for its first day of classes. The church hired a school administrator and initially only admitted church members as students, charging only the cost of curriculum. The remaining staff consisted of volunteers within the church family for the first year.
As the ministry and community interest grew, admission was eventually opened to the public. After beginning for spiritual and academic reasons, the school began to broaden its operation over the years, incorporating various programs to round out the ministry. Getting involved with the A.C.E. Conventions gave students opportunity to enhance their education by competing in areas such as sports, fine arts, music and other performance events. Athletic programs were added over the years, including flag football, volleyball, softball and basketball, with good success even when competing against much larger schools. Missions trips, community service, field trips and other extra-curricular activities have served to provide students with opportunities for fellowship and social interaction, while improving and encouraging a sense of esprit de corps.
As the school ministry began to evolve and expand, the church was also experiencing continuous growth, and once again the facilities were not adequate. In 1998, the men of the church united together in a building project once again and construction began on a new sanctuary. On December 15, 1998, open house and dedication services were held for our new church building.
In 2007, realizing the need to acquire a recognized accreditation status for Victory Christian School, application was made to the Georgia Accrediting Commission. In 2009, the school received full accreditation through the GAC, which was effective through the 2013/2014 school term. The school also became a member of the Georgia Association of Christian Schools in 2012. Due to the GAC becoming a less favorable option for small, private Christian schools, and desiring to better our ministry and educational endeavors through accountability to peers of like-minded faith, the school applied to the Georgia Association of Christian Schools for accreditation in January of 2015, and was awarded Candidate status for the 2014/2015 school term. In January of 2016, the school reached Provisional status, and in December of 2017 was awarded Fully Accredited status.
Today, Victory Christian School continues to reach the children in our community and church family, with an excellent record of student success in many walks of life. Our students have gone on to become doctors, nurses, teachers, lawyers, bankers, business owners, ministers and members of the military, and have excelled in various fields of service and employment.
The years of this ministry have been filled with too many blessings to number. Countless souls have been saved and lives changed for eternity. Our desire is to be a shining light in our community as we continue to expand our ministry and outreach.