THE VICTORY BAPTIST CHURCH

About Us

The Victory Baptist has been in existence for over 60 years now. During this time the church has been constantly evolving through the molding of our leader, Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Victory Baptist Church has faced many challenges, as many churches have, in this uncertain time we live in. In spite of this the Lord has been faithful to us as we continue to follow His lead.

We are a church that loves God and His people. We are on a mission to make disciples and glorify Him in all we do! We are an imperfect people serving a perfect God. So, we are striving to be a blessing to the community we live in by purposefully looking to impact them through community outreach.

Come join us for Sunday morning worship and you will experience prayer, praise, worship & preaching to the glory of the Lord. During our worship experience we want you to experience the truth, love and grace of God which will allow you to get to know Him in ways you may have never known Him before.

Our vision is to be fearless and devoted followers of Christ, sharing His word to impact the local church, their families and the community. We believe the church should be a place where lives are changed through the preaching and teaching of God’s Holy Word. We also believe that we should live out this preaching and teaching before our fellow man to be examples to those we come in contact with.

We believe that a church is more than building. It is a place where people come to learn more about God, fellowship and discover their purpose. We invite you to come and join us because your presence will bless us and we know that God will allow us to enrich each other’s lives.

Lastly, the Victory Baptist Church's mission is to be a church that loves God, all people and seeks to make disciples that will discover their purpose to make a difference for Christ (2 Timothy 2:1-2).

Our Story

On January 7, 1962, the Victory Baptist Church was organized with eight people in the home of Rev. Mother Preston as a New Testament Church. Rev. James Alfred Smith Preston was elected as the first Pastor of the Victory Baptist Church.

The first worship service was held at the Myers Memorial Chapel. A service of recognition was conducted by the Eastern Keystone Baptist Association on January 22, 1962, at the chapel which was located on 4141 Westminster Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19104. Rev. M.E. Gayton was the moderator and Rev. Alpheus L. Bright presided over the ceremony.

On November 27, 1964, settlement was made on a property located at 4918-20 Fairmount Ave. Philadelphia, PA 19139. The mortgage was later liquidated on November 25, 1967. On July 23, 1968, in the Court of Common Pleas, The Honorable Judge Raymond Pace Alexander entered a decree approving the Articles of Incorporation for the Victory Baptist Church. Later, a new church location was secured and a relocation and dedication service was held on November 21, 1970.

Our founder, Rev. Preston served as the Pastor of the Victory Baptist Church until December 17, 1984 when he was called home to be with Lord. The Victory Baptist Church looked for a new Pastor and the Lord blessed the church with a new Pastor by the name of Rev. William Cross. Rev. Cross was installed as the Pastor on September 5, 1985. Pastor Cross served as the Pastor of the Victory Baptist Church until his retirement from the office of Pastor on October 23, 2011. Pastor Cross was faithful to the Victory Baptist Church and assisted with interviewing new candidates to step in to the calling of Pastor. The church came to a decision and elected Pastoral candidate Minister Rashid J. Goins as the Pastor-Elect to succeed Pastor William Cross. Pastor Goins was installed as Pastor on December 16, 2011.

The Victory Baptist Church, like many other churches, had to lean on the Lord in ways that we never thought we would have to. Under the leadership of Rev. William Cross, the church had to temporarily locate services to the Price Funeral Home located at 613 N 43rd St, Philadelphia, PA 19104 due to Carbon Dioxide being found in the building. The church also had to endure two fires under the leadership of Pastor Rashid Goins. The first fire was on March 18, 2018. The church relocated services to the St. Ignatius Nursing home located on 4401 Haverford Ave, Philadelphia, PA 19104. While repairs were nearing completion a second fire occurred on January 4, 2019. We know God is mighty and able to do great things because by His love, might and spirit He allowed the church repairs to be finalized and we were able to move back into our church home on September 15, 2019.

On November 23, 2020, Pastor Rashid Goins resigned from the office of Pastor. The Victory Baptist Church, after much prayer, decided to look in house for the next Pastor. Minister Dwight Chavis was given a vote of confidence by the leadership of the church. The leaders then brought Minister Dwight Chavis before the church, and He was unanimously voted in as the new Pastor of the Victory Baptist Church on February 28, 2021. Due to concerns with COVID-19, the installation service for Pastor-Elect Dwight Chavis was held on May 1. 2022.