Victory Churches are a first generational pioneer movement that is rapidly expanding all around the world. We are an apostolic, prophetic, Church planting/growth movement with a 50% growth rate every year for the past 12 years.
Because of our rapid growth pattern, we have lots more opportunities than what we have trained, qualified people to take advantage of these opportunities. Therefore, a great deal of our attention must be on raising up tomorrow's leaders today. We must build for the future or we will always be years behind.
We thank God for the past and all that has been accomplished through God's grace and favor. Our past gives us tremendous hope for the future; because, if God can do what He has done with the little He had to work with yesterday, imagine what He can do in the future with what we have now!
As we look to the future, we can see a world full of opportunities for those who are totally committed to Christ and willing to serve. "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest" (Matt. 9:37-38). Jesus said, "lift up your eyes and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest" (John 4:35). It is harvest time!
Charles Finney said, "Revival is no more miraculous than a crop of wheat". A great future doesn't just happen anymore than a good garden just happens. If you are not thinking, planning and preparing for the future, you end up living in the past. The future belongs to those who are willing to invest in it.
Jesus spent 3 years building a team of 120 committed believers, who went on to change the history of the world after the birthing of the first Church in Jerusalem.
We must have a mindset of foresight (Prov. 22:3). We must think at least 2 years ahead; otherwise, we will always be in a crisis survival maintenance mode instead of an aggressive, possessing the land mode.
We, as Victory Churches, are known for being proactive rather than reactive. We, like the children of Issachar, have seen where things were going and have acted accordingly (1 Chron 12:32). To maintain this position, we must constantly be building for the future.
This means we must have foreknowledge, forethought, foresight, insight and a prophetic edge, together with a pioneer spirit.
- We must train tomorrow's leaders today
- We must build tomorrow's teams today
- We must write tomorrow's books today
- We must compose tomorrow's music today
- We must buy tomorrow's properties today
- We must plant tomorrow's Churches today
- We must develop tomorrow's programs and strategies today
- We must form tomorrow's structures today
We must invest in the future now. People don't sacrifice anything for today, but if they can catch a glimpse of what the future could look like, they would be willing to sacrifice something small today for something gigantic tomorrow. It's called the principle of delayed gratification. We pay now and play later. The future is worth fighting for. The battle is not over your past or your present; it's over your future. Destroy the author and the book will never be written; destroy the musician and the song will never be sung. We must continue to be pioneers: pioneer Churches; pioneer pastors, leaders and peoples.
Eight Characteristics of a Pioneer
- Pioneers dream of a better life (Heb. 11:10, 16).
- Pioneers are willing to go where they have never been before and do what they have never done before in order to obey God (Heb. 11:8).
- Pioneers are willing to put up with what is less than ideal, because of what they see happening in the future. (Heb. 11:9).
- Pioneers always want to go further (Heb. 11:13)
- Pioneers are a tough breed of people. They don't quit; they would rather die than go back to their old dull boring way of life. (Heb. 11:15, 33-34).
- Pioneers are builders; they will cultivate the wild land; turn the desert into an oasis; bring order out of disorder (Heb. 11:7).
- Pioneers are willing to fight for what they believe (Heb. 11:33).
- Pioneers break the way open for others; they blaze a trail for others to follow. We don't have to re-invent the wheel; we can take off where other pioneers left off. (Heb.11:20-22).
Every generation needs a first generational pioneer movement. Settlers never want to go any further but pioneers are always going beyond the present boundaries. There is more to Christianity, to Church, to life, to the Holy Ghost and the power of God than we have ever experienced and I am going after it!
A great future is not going to just fall on us; as Victory people, we are ready to make an aggressive faith decision to get up and go after it. We are going to let God stretch our lives knowing that the best is still to come! And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following (Mark 16:20). Together, we will be History Makers and World Shakers!!
Together we Win!
Dr George Hill