EDMOND — An Oklahoma City-based megachurch soon will open a campus in Edmond.

Victory Church, which has campuses in Oklahoma City, also home to an Hispanic congregation in Corpus Christi, Texas, and affiliate churches in Albuquerque, N.M., and Maseru, Africa, soon will have a new location at 1515 N. Kelly Ave., just north of the Danforth-Kelly intersection. Beginning Oct. 16, services will be at the  Edmond campus on Sunday mornings at 9 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Senior Pastor Mark Crow said he has a heart to see new churches located around the world that minister the love of God to all people. Church members are fulfilling their mission to reach cities, change nations and touch the world, Crow said.

While praying for guidance, he felt a pull to Edmond, home for Mark and his wife Jennifer.

“We love Edmond,” he said. “The people are great. It’s a great city. We’re looking forward to serving the community. We want to be a part of the community.”

Crow said his church will make a serious investment in Edmond through ministering to residents in need and providing a place where lives will be transformed by Jesus’ life-changing gospel. The church invests heavily in mission work at home and abroad, he said.

Roles that keep Crow busy include serving as an executive director of Integrity Leadership Ministries, a group of ministers who exchange resources, build relationships and empower church leaders, serving as chairman on the board of the Beautiful Dream Society, a U.S.-based anti-human trafficking organization and serving as chairman on the board of Danita’s Children, an organization working to rescue, love and care for orphans in Haiti.

Locally, Victory Church mission work includes supporting tutoring programs, the City Rescue Mission in Oklahoma City, a ministry to homeless men, women and children, and working with a shelter in Norman, Crow said.



HUMBLE BEGINNINGS

Pastor Crow’s commitment to communicating the gospel began in 1977, when he was radically saved from a lifestyle of depression as well as drug and alcohol abuse.

Crow said his sermons center around hope and empowerment and the simple message that God loves us and we are saved by grace, not works. He said he believes in people and God believes in them, so much that he sent his son Jesus to bridge the gap caused by sin. People have a hard time with loving themselves, he said.

“If we can do that, we can love others,” Crow said.

Meaningful verses for Crow include John 16:13, in which Jesus said, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this word you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  

He met Jennifer at Oral Roberts University while he was working toward his bachelor’s degree in theology. He also earned a master’s degree in ministry from Southwestern Christian University.

In 1994, Mark and Jennifer founded Victory Church in Oklahoma City. Today, that campus averages 6,000-7,000 worshipers a weekend. Pastor Crow also has appeared on the Daystar Television Network, and his church broadcasts the television program MarkCrow.tv.

Growth at the Oklahoma City campus, at 4300 N. MacArthur, long commutes for members who live in the Edmond area and a longtime desire to start a church here are behind the launch, Crow said.



THE LOCAL PASTOR

Jon Chasteen will be the pastor of the Edmond campus. Additionally, Crow will preach both in Oklahoma City and Edmond.

Chasteen served as the vice president for University Advancement for six years at Southwestern Christian University in Bethany. In his role there, he was the administrator over all university external relations including marketing, public relations, alumni relations and fundraising efforts.

He has been married for 10 years to his wife Michele who works in the medical research field. Together they have a daughter, Corey, 4, and a son, Jace, 1. They have been attending and volunteering at Victory Church for almost a year and a half and are dedicated to the church and its vision.

Chasteen said he is honored to be a part of Victory Church and the vision God has put on the heart of Pastor Crow.

“We are excited about the opportunity to join the Edmond community and become involved in various outreaches in the area,” Chasteen said. “We believe the addition of the Edmond campus will allow us to continue our mission to reach a city, touch a nation and change the world.”



FOR MORE information about Victory Church, visit www.victorychurch.tv.