Victory Baptist Church in Mt. Juliet Tennessee is celebrating 25 years of ministry. What a celebration it is! We give God all the glory for all that He has done these past 25 years at Victory. As we celebrate what God has done, we must be mindful of what God is doing today and how He is leading us into the next 25 years.

                As we look ahead, it is vital that we consider what exactly is Victory Baptist Church? Who are we? What is our purpose? What does God want us to be? God has a specific calling for every church. Victory does not need to be something we are not. We do not have to be like every other church. We are to be the church that God calls us to be. In light of our history and how God has worked over the years, who we are becomes very clear. The following statement is basically our purpose, mission, or vision statement, or however you want to call it. It is a statement that clearly defines who we are as a church. It is a statement that bridges the past to the future. It is an unwavering statement. It is who we are and who God wants us to continue to be. The statement is as follows: Victory Baptist Church is a united multi-generational family that partners together to be a missional, disciple-making, and sending church. Let’s break down this statement so we can grasp what is fully meant.

                United. Jesus prayed in John 17:21, “May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one  in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me.”^[1] It is at the very heart of God that as believers in Christ we stand united. Unity is something we must work toward. It does not come naturally. It is something we must continually seek. Ephesians 4:3 says, “endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”^[2] Where is unity found? It is found at the foot of the cross. Unity does not mean we are all alike. Unity is not found in cookie-cutter Christians where we all look and act the same. We have unity in diversity. We are not to be a church filled with various camps fixated on musical styles, personalities, or methodologies. We are to be one church united together in our diversity at the foot of the cross. It is the cross of Jesus that brings us together. Therefore, to be united, we must make much of Jesus. To endeavor to keep the unity we must not make it about our personal preferences, but we must make it about Jesus. When a church is united at the foot of the cross: musical styles will not matter, personal preferences will not matter, our comfortableness will not matter, our age will not matter, our skin color will not matter, our background will not matter. The only thing that will matter is Jesus! We must focus on the One that brings us together and His name is Jesus!

                Multi-Generational. If you look around Victory Baptist Church, you will see different generations. We see children, teenagers, young adults, middle-aged adults, and senior adults. This is who we are. This is who we have always been and this is who we will always be. There are few things we must understand as multi-generational church.

(1) A multi-generational church will not forsake their landmarks. Proverbs 22:28 says, “Do not remove the ancient landmark which your fathers have set.”^[3] There are certain things that a church has established that makes them who they are. Every church is different. Every church has different landmarks. For Victory, we are a traditional Baptist church and we always will be. By the way, we should not be ashamed of that. Sadly, many Baptist churches have taken ‘Baptist’ out of their name. We should not be ashamed of who we are. We are a Baptist church and we always will be. We are a traditional Baptist church.

We hold to a traditional Baptist doctrine. Meaning, we are not reformed. We are not mainline protestant. We are not charismatic. We are evangelical, conservative, dispensational, pre-millennial, Bible believing Baptist. We hold to a literal, grammatical, historical, cultural hermeneutic. We believe that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world and we believe in whosoever will. This is traditional Baptist doctrine. It is who we are. It is who we have always been and always will be. As a multi-generational church, we will not remove the landmark of traditional Baptist doctrine established by those who came before us.

We also hold to traditional practices. This means that there are certain things that we have always done that are still good and still work and we will not abandon them. For example, we have a Sunday School. This is a traditional program that has been in the church for a number of years. Sunday School still works! It works for discipleship. It works for fellowship. It works for evangelism. At Victory, we will not remove the landmark of Sunday School. We practice believer’s baptism by immersion. We do not baptize infants for that is not biblical. We baptize those who put their faith in the Lord Jesus and we do so as soon as possible after they have accepted Christ. We do this because it is biblical. We practice communion or the Lord’s Supper. We do this because it is biblical. We sing the great hymns of the faith. The singing of hymns is a landmark that will never be taken away. Why? Because it is who we are. We make the preaching of the Word of God a priority. We preach the inspired, infallible, inerrant, Word of God expository and without apology. As we look ahead to the next 25 years, we must not remove the old landmarks. We must be who we are. We must be who God has called us to be. We must simply be Victory Baptist Church.

(2) A multi-generational church will establish new landmarks. The Bible speaks a lot about ‘new’ things. Revelation 21:5 says, “Then the One seated on the throne said, Look! I am making everything new. He also said, Write, because these words are faithful and true.” ^[4]There is coming a day when everything is made new. God will create a new Heaven and a new Earth. There we will dwell forever! God started making all things new when He sent Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Through the cross and the resurrection, we can have a new life. A new beginning. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”^[5] When you come to faith in Christ, you become a new person. The evidence of truth faith in Christ is a life that is changed. A life that is made new.

Since God is a God of new things, as a multi-generational church, we should also embrace new things. Psalm 144:9 says, “I will sing a new song to you, O God; upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you.”^[6] There was a time when the hymns we sing would have been considered contemporary or new. Sometimes we treat the hymn book like it’s the Bible, a closed cannon. However, songs are still being written in praise to the Lord. God wants us to use our creativity in worship. He wants us to keep writing Him songs because He inhabits the praise of His people. Therefore, we should embrace new songs. We should sing new songs to the Lord. We should not throw out the old and at the same time, we should not discard the new. Not only should we embrace new songs, but we should also embrace new ideas and traditions. Every tradition had a beginning. As a church, we should welcome new ways of doing things as we grow especially in our diversity. The more God brings to us different people from different cultures and walks of life, we should embrace the new traditions that they bring. Personally, I am all for establishing new landmarks especially if it involves coming together for a meal! A multi-generational church will be mindful of their diversity and will establish new landmarks as they grow.

Family. Victory Baptist Church is a multi-generational family. What do you think of when you hear the word ‘family’? What does ‘family’ mean to you? John 1:12 says, “But to all who believed him and accepted him, he gave the right to become children of God.”^[7] If you have accepted Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, you have been adopted into the family of God. You are a part of the universal family of God. All believers, all around the world, are a part of the same family. As a member of Victory Baptist Church, you are a part of this local family of God. There are several things we should understand about being family.

(1) A family loves one another. It all starts with love. God’s love for us. Our love for God. Our love for one another. The thing that brings us together as a family is our love for God and our love for one another.

(2) A family grows together. There never comes a time when we no longer need to learn. We all have room to grow. Therefore, as a family, we are to help one another to grow in our walk with the Lord.

(3) A family forgives one another. Every family has problems. The church will always have problems. We will not always get along. We will disagree and we will hurt one another. However, a real family will not allow their differences and problems to tear them apart. They are quick to forgive. They do not hold grudges. They move on. They move forward together.

(4) A family sticks together. I must confess that one of the things that frustrates me is when people jump ship. I have seen people hop from one church to another because of something that upset them. There is no perfect church. There is no perfect family. Instead of leaving when something does not go your way, stay faithful. Your family may let you down. They may do things you do not like. But, they are still your family. We should stick together through thick and thin. We should stick together through good times and bad. A real family will not give up on each other no matter how difficult things may be.

Partners Together. Philippians 1:5 says, “….because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day  until now.”^[8] As a family, we are partners. I think it is interesting the terminology we use and how it affects our thinking. For example, as a church, we have church members. However, the term ‘membership’ is not really biblically accurate. When you think of being a member of an organization, you think of having certain rights or something owed to you as a member. You pay your dues, and you expect to get some type of service or product in return. The church does not have members. We are partners. As partners, we are all equally invested. We are not looking to see what we can get out of the church, but rather, how we can be a part of the work of the church and the advancement of God’s Kingdom. We are not members of an organization. We are partners in a great enterprise. The enterprise of advancing God’s Kingdom.

Missional. Victory Baptist Church is a united multi-generational family that partners together to be missional. Matthew 28:18-20 says, “Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.”^[9] We have been given a great commission to go into all the world and preach the Gospel. It is the mission of the church to lead the lost to Christ and to train them up in the things of God. We do this by providing training and help in living a missional life. Learning to live life with the sole purpose of bringing the lost to Christ. Understanding that our daily life is a mission field and being aware of the opportunities God gives us to share Jesus with others. Being missional involves engaging with our local community, having Gospel conversations with co-workers and friends, implementing various projects and initiatives to bring the Gospel to our local community, hosting special events with the sole purpose of reaching the lost, giving to missions world-wide, and participating in mission trips. These are just a few of the ways in which we are to be missional.

Disciple-Making. Our work is not done with leading someone to Christ. We cannot just dunk them and drop them. We must make disciples. We must help each other in our spiritual growth. 2 Timothy 3:15 says, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”^[10] We are to be students of the Word of God. Discipleship never ends. It is putting our sanctification into practice. It is the ongoing process of becoming like Jesus. What does this look like in the church? It is connecting new believers with discipleship mentors who walk with them through those early stages of their faith. It is providing ongoing training and Bible studies for mature believers for continual growth and to be equipped for ministry. It’s doing life together. Investing in one another. Spending time together. A church that does not make disciples will fade away. For a church to stand the test of time and continue to reach the world for Jesus, there must be a robust discipleship ministry.

Sending. Victory Baptist Church is a united multi-generational family that partners together to be a missional, disciple-making, and sending church. In John 20:21 we read, “Jesus repeated his greeting: “Peace to you. Just as the Father sent me, I send you.”^[11] As we live missional lives (reaching the lost for Christ) and disciple one another; we must then equip and send those whom God is calling. The real measure of a healthy church is not necessarily the numbers we bring in, rather, how many we are sending out. I pray that the day will come when Victory Baptist Church is sending out our own missionaries. That we would call out the called. My prayer is that young people currently in our church would be discipled and equipped and then answer the call to ministry. As God calls those out among us, we should support them fully both financially and in prayer and in partnering with them in their ministry. I pray that Victory will be a church with a pipeline producing pastors and other full-time Christian workers to reach the world for Jesus.

Victory Baptist Church: A united multi-generational family that partners together to be a missional, disciple-making, and sending church. If you think about it, this is what Victory has always been. This is what we have strived to be over the past 25 years and this is who we will continue to be for the next 25 years. This is both our past and our future. It is time that we stop talking about church or doing church. It is time for us to be the church. The next 25 years or until Jesus comes will not be easy. There will be some good days and some bad days. There will be difficulties along the way that will test our faith. However, we cannot waver. We must stay faithful. We must stay the course. We must be Victory Baptist Church until Jesus comes!

---

^[1] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (Jn 17:21). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.

^[2] The New King James Version (Eph 4:3). (1982). Thomas Nelson.

^[3] The New King James Version (Pr 22:28). (1982). Thomas Nelson.

^[4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (Re 21:5). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.

^[5] The New King James Version (2 Co 5:17). (1982). Thomas Nelson.

^[6] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Ps 144:9–10). (2016). Crossway Bibles.

^[7] Tyndale House Publishers. (2015). Holy Bible: New Living Translation (Jn 1:12). Tyndale House Publishers.

^[8] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian standard version. (Php 1:5). (2009). Holman Bible Publishers.

^[9] The New King James Version (Mt 28:18–20). (1982). Thomas Nelson.

^[10] The Holy Bible: King James Version (Electronic Edition of the 1900 Authorized Version., 2 Ti 2:15). (2009). Logos Research Systems, Inc.

^[11] Peterson, E. H. (2005). The Message: the Bible in contemporary language (Jn 20:21). NavPress.