We are an open book. We want to be as transparent a church as possible. We are very open with our goals and ambitions through Christ. Feel free to ask us anything you want!
THE VICTORY MISSION
Helping People Become Who God Created Them To Be
There are four stages to how we do this.
KNOW GOD
We help you Know God through our weekly services - a time of intentional teaching from the Bible. Being involved with the local church will help you to learn who God is on a deeper level.
FIND FREEDOM
We help you find freedom through connecting in Small Groups - connecting with others helps to form deeper, more meaningful relationships in a place where you are free to be yourself.
DISCOVER PURPOSE
We help you discover purpose through Growth Track - a series of classes designed to help you discover your unique gifts and your special place in the church.
MAKE A DIFFERENCE
We help you make a difference through connecting you to the Dream Team - serving through various forms of volunteering.
who we are:
Here’s the deal. The one thing that Victory Church cares about more than anything else is God. And because God loves you more than anything, so do we. That’s why we’ve made it our mission to help you become who He created you to be. Victory Church is a family of imperfect people who strive each day to follow Jesus, and to help others do so as well. Because we love Him, and we love you.
where we come from:
Victory Church has been around since 1994, starting out in a small storefront in Garner. Our vision has always been for our church to be welcoming to all, regardless of personal history, family background, ethnicity, or gender.
where we're going:
Here’s the bottom line. You may have already gathered that we love God and we love people. Well our goal is to help the people we love meet the God we love: plain and simple. Because when you meet Him, you can’t help but change. As Victory Church moves forward, we want to move forward together to where He has called us.
what this means for you:
What does this mean for you? Well most importantly, it doesn’t matter where you come from or who you are. God has a plan for you. And if you don’t know what that is, we can help you figure that out. You are welcome here, and we are saving you a seat! Wherever you are in your faith journey, you’ll always be accepted here! Beyond that, if you’re ready to plan your first visit, click here. If you want to learn more about our beliefs as a church, click here. Or if you’d like to get in touch with someone directly, click here.
OUR STAFF
say hello to the leadership team at Victory Church
Our Pastor
Executive Pastor
Pastoral Team
Creative Team
Administrative Team
Our Pastor
Mitch Horton
Senior Pastor
Mitch had a deep experience with God in 1976 just three weeks before his 18th birthday. Six months later he felt the call to ministry and changed his desired vocation from Electronics Engineering to ministry. Mitch began attending his first Bible school in 1977 in his home town of Florence S.C, and there met his future wife Susan. They were married in 1979 and later both graduated from Rhema Bible College. Since that time, Mitch has been involved in various forms of ministry: from serving on staff at Grace Church in Tulsa for six years to pioneering a church in South Carolina, then traveling as an itinerant minister, and serving as an associate pastor in his home town. Mitch eventually came to North Carolina in 1994 where he assumed the role of pastor at what was then Auburn Christian Church.
Over the years, Mitch also obtained a Master of Divinity Degree from Christian Life School of Theology. From the early beginning at that small church on Garner Road in the Auburn community of Raleigh, God has grown a fledgling group into the thriving church now known as Victory Church.
Mitch and his wife Susan have four grown children who are all married and have families of their own. His son Jon and his wife Kristelle have two children, Loïc and Maéla. His daughter Sarah and her husband Michael Vivona, have blessed Mitch and Susan with a granddaughter named Gabriella. And Mitch and Susan’s daughter Jessica and her husband Geoff Jones have one daughter, Sadie. Their daughter Lindsay is married to Kelton Cox. Mitch says that he would love for ALL of his four children to have four children of their own! Mitch loves his family and loves, loves, loves being a granddad.
In his spare time, Mitch enjoys long-distance cycling on the Neuse River trail. In his time off you may find him on one of the cycling trails that surround Raleigh. He also enjoys yard work around his house. As an avid reader, Mitch enjoys some chill time with a good book while sitting in a park, at Starbucks, or lounging at home.
Pastor Mitch blogs daily at www.mitchhorton.com It’s relevant and full of the Word!
You will find Mitch and his wife Susan to be down-to-earth people who enjoy conversation and friendship.
Executive Pastor
Meera Short
Meera serves as the Executive Pastor at our church. She has attended Victory since 2001, and loves cooking and watching British television shows.
meera.short@victorychurchraleigh.com
Luke 12:32
Pastoral Team
Cameron Peedin
Youth Pastor
A member of Victory since 2008, Cameron serves as Youth Pastor over Victory Youth. He loves basketball and beating on drums.
cameron.peedin@victorychurch
raleigh.com
Colossians 2:7
David Nixon
Kids Pastor
A member of Victory since 2006, David serves as Children's Ministry Pastor over Victory Kids. He is passionate about football and also enjoys video games..
david.nixon@victorychurch
raleigh.com
2 Corinthians 1:20
Joshua Davis
Worship Pastor
A member of Victory since 2017, Joshua oversees the worship and audio teams. He loves his wife's baked beans and his mama's deviled eggs.
Psalms 139
Tina Durham
Small Groups Director
Tina has been a faithful member of Victory Church since 2010, and serves as our Small Groups Director. She enjoys spending time with her friends and family.
tina.durham@victorychurch
raleigh.com
Psalms 119:29-30
Creative Team
Isaiah Short
Creative Director
A member of Victory since 2001, Isaiah is the head of the Creative Department. He loves heavy metal and playing the guitar.
isaiah.short@victorychurchraleigh.com
Colossians 3:23
Trevor Jones
Media Tech
Trevor serves in the Creative Department, and has been a member of Victory Church since 2013. Trevor loves finding hole-in-the-wall restaurants.
trevoron.jones@victorychurchraleigh.com
John 3:16
Administrative Team
Anne Houston
Administrative Assistant
A true blessing to Victory Church, and a member since 1995, Anne serves as Administrative Assistant. She loves the outdoors, and enjoys bird-watching and heart-to-heart conversations with friends..
anne.houston@victorychurchraleigh.com
Isaiah 30:15
Lisa King
Finance Director
A member of Victory Church since 1996, Lisa faithfully oversees our Finance Department. In her spare time, you can find her looking after her hostas and playing the ukelele..
lisa.king@victorychurchraleigh.com
Proverbs 3:5-6
Milly Bolick
Receptionist
A faithful member of Victory Church since 1987, Milly serves as our receptionist and finance assistant. She has a true servant's heart, and loves helping and working with others.
milly.bolick@victorychurchraleigh.com
Isaiah 26:3
Donna Vivona
Receptionist
Donna has been a member of Victory Church since 2008. She serves as a receptionist, and loves being with people and making them laugh!
donna.vivona@victorychurchraleigh.com
Phillipians 4:13
Pedro Crespo Trujillo
Maintenance
A faithful member of Victory Church since 2003, Pedro oversees housekeeping and maintenence. Pedro loves American history and watching Old Westerns.
Jeremiah 33:3
Steve Gillespie
Director Of Business Operations
Steve has been a member of Victory since 2011, and currently serves as the Director of Business Operations. Steve is passionate about basketball and his family.
steve.gillespie@victorychurchraleigh.com
Galatians 6:9
The Bible
THE BIBLE
we believe that the bible is the inspired word and revealed will of God and is the infallible rule of faith and practice for the Christian (2 Tim 3:15-17; 1 Pet 1:23-25; Heb 4:12). To put it simply, we believe the bible and everything in it, and theres no give or take.
Jesus And Salvation
JESUS AND SALVATION
Jesus and Salvation
We believe that salvation comes through Christ alone, because He alone paid the penalty for our sin on the cross and provided a way of relationship with God through His sacrificial death and resurrection (Ps 103:3).
Accepting salvation comes through repentance, acknowledment of our sin, and by confessing that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and that He was raised from the dead to make us right with God. This brings to our lives a spiritual awakening called the new birth! (Rom 3:24, 10:8-10; Eph 2:8).
We’re saved by faith and not by our good works. Our works, or what we do, reveal what we believe, and should be an overflow of our love for Jesus! (Acts 16:3; Rom 10:9-10, 14:10-12; 2 Cor 5:10; Eph 2:8-9; Titus 3:5-7; James 2:18).
Who God Is, And Who We Are
WHO GOD IS, AND WHO WE ARE
We believe in God, the Trinity: He manifests himself as the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ - Matt 28:19; 1 John 5:7) , and the Holy Spirit. We were created by God and in His image: spirit, soul, and body. We inherit a sinful nature from birth because of the first man’s sin (Gen 1:26-31, 3:1-7; Rom 5:12-21).
The Holy Spirit
THE HOLY SPIRIT
We believe that all believers should seek and experience baptism with the Holy Spirit, which indwells the believer at the New Birth. We believe that each believer should also receive the experience of Holy Spirit baptism. This baptism with the Holy Spirit enhances the spiritual life of the believer, and helps the believer live a life of obedience to the Lord (Luke 24:49; Acts 1:4-8, 2:38-39, 10:44-46, 11:14-16, 15:7-9; 1 Cor 12:1-31). The baptism with the Holy Spirit is accompanied by the physical sign of speaking with other tongues, which should continue throughout the lifetime of the believer (Acts 2:4, 10:44-46, 19:2,6, 1:8).
We believe in the manifestation of Spiritual Gifts in the body of Christ and in the local church. Each believer and church should allow and encourage these. (I Cor 12:8-10).
Marriage
MARRIAGE
We believe that marriage is a social institution ordained by God as the union of one man and one woman. (Genesis 2:24).
Water Baptism
WATER BAPTISM
Baptism in water is an outward sign of an inward work of transformation that has already occurred. Water baptism is a landmark experience during which the believer publicly confesses his salvation through Jesus. (Matt 28:19; Acts 10:47-48; Rom 6:4).
Communion
COMMUNION
We follow the observance of the Lord’s Supper, or what is commonly called Communion. This is an outward act of remembrance and acceptance of the death and resurrection of Christ and our relationship and union with Him. (1 Cor 11:24-30). All born-again believers are welcome to share Communion with us.
Church
CHURCH
The church is the body of Christ, and each believer is an important part! We believe that personal relationships in the body of Christ help to encourage and edify the believer. Iron sharpens iron! We also believe that each believer has been given specific gifts from Jesus to be used to minister to others (Eph 1:22-23, 2:19-22; Heb 12:23).
Living As Believers
LIVING AS BELIEVERS
We believe in the full prosperity and blessing of the believer spiritually (John 3:3, 11:2, 2 Cor 5:17-21; Rom 10:9-10), mentally (2 Tim 1:7; Rom 12:2; Is 26:3), physically (Is 53:4-5; Matt 8:17; 1 Pet 2:24), financially (3 John 2; Mal 3:10-11; Luke 6:38; 2 Cor 9:6-10; Deut 18:1-14), and socially (Prov 3:4). It is the will of God for every believer to walk in perfect health. Jesus Christ became our sin and our sickness on the cross, providing both for forgiveness of sin, and the healing of sickness and disease. We believe in praying the prayer of faith for the sick and trusting God for the healing of their physical bodies (Is 53:4-5; Matt 8:17; 1 Pet 2:24; Acts 10:38; James 5:14).
Second Coming & Eternity
SECOND COMING & ETERNITY
We believe that Jesus will return to earth for saved believers, to take them to heaven in the rapture of the church. We believe in the second coming of Christ with His saints to set up a millennial reign on earth (Rom 11:25,27; 2 Thess 1:7; Rev 19:11-16, 20:1-7) and the subsequent New Heaven and New Earth (Rev 21). Those who leave this life without experiencing the new birth through Jesus Christ will experience eternal punishment in hell and then in the lake of fire. We believe in a literal hell with literal flames, just as Jesus taught. Salvation and redemption are available only during this life and are not available to those who die without Christ (Rev 19:20, 20:10-15).