In the Beginning
Victory Assembly began as Providence Chapel in March of 1960 as Pastor John Bunney held the first service in a nearby home. That service consisted of seven people. The first permanent location for the church was an old farm house which was located at the upper level of our 15 Bedford Road address, behind our present Administration Building. During this time the decision was made to purchase five acres at the corner of State Route 422 and Bedford Road. Arrangements were made through the Ohio District Council of the Assemblies of God and the first church structure was built in 1962.

Pastor Bunney pastored until 1967 and saw a high attendance of 70 people. After resigning the church, Brother Bunney served as a missionary to Central America and pioneered several churches. He now serves as pastor in Avon Lake, Ohio. Following Brother Bunney were Rev. Harp and Rev. Miller, both pastoring for a short time. Brother Boyce, who was a layman in the church, became the church's pastor by serving part-time for several years and became a full-time pastor around 1977.

Small in Number, Large in Heart!
During the first 15 years of our church's existence, there were many ups and down, with a couple of years when the attendance was at 5 to 10 people. Thank God for the faithfulness of that handful of people who wouldn't let go of the vision even when things looked very, very bleak. It was during this time, older pastors have told us, that closing the church was on the agenda at many sectional ministerial meetings.

Shortly after David Thomas became the senior pastor on June 25, 1978 the name of the church was changed to "First Assembly of God, Lowellville" because the church's mailing address is Lowellville. The name "Victory Assembly" was chosen in 1981 to more appropriately represent what the church leadership felt the Lord was saying to our congregation as a people.

The first sanctuary was remodeled with new pews, carpeting, drapes and window air conditioning in 1979. As the Lord added to our congregation, towards the end of 1979 we had reached the capacity in the sanctuary, which held 100 people comfortably. After much prayer, ground was broken on September 13, 1981 for our second sanctuary at our 15 Bedford Road location. With a congregation numbered around 175, a 16 ft. by 60 ft. sanctuary to seat 300 was built, accompanied by a fellowship hall and kitchen located on the basement level. The old sanctuary was remodeled to a lobby, rest rooms, class rooms and offices. Dedication of these facilities was held on May 3, 1982.

Room to Grow
Within a year the Lord had blessed our church with additional people which made a second Sunday morning service necessary. Additional growth brought on a Saturday night in addition to two Sunday morning services. God was blessing Victory Assembly, but we were once again out of room. God opened a door for us by making it possible for us to purchase the 45 acres that had been the Sky-Hi Drive-in Theater for more than forty years. Those present will never forget the time of gathering under the tent located in the parking lot as everyone sang "We Are Standing on Holy Ground." The new 20,000 foot church structure was soon occupied by our congregation. Nobody who was there will ever forget the excitement as we ran out of room in our unfinished balcony the very first service! Soon the Lord had provided for us to finish our balcony and add an additional 180 seats.

The Baby Boom
Since that time, we have seen continued growth which has brought about the addition of two more Sunday morning services. In August of 1996, we held the dedication of another addition, "Byler Chapel," which holds 250 and is used to accommodate our children's church ministry as well as small weddings and other gatherings. The chapel is named in honor of two saints of God from Victory, Jonathan and Laura Byler, who attended our church faithfully after leaving their Amish community. The Bylers were an example of faithfulness to our congregation until they went home to be with the Lord in 1993. In 1999 our newest addition, the Victory LIFE Center was completed. The LIFE Center is our main sanctuary and seats 1000 people. The move allowed us greater freedom in worship and fellowship. Additional classrooms, lobby space and rest rooms were also part of this construction project, making our entire Christian Education department more effective for both children and adults.

For Such a Time as This
Only the Lord knows how many lives have been touched by the gospel through our church over its history. One thing is for sure, none of it has come easy. First, it cost our Lord His life to purchase our salvation. It also has taken much faith, courage, perseverance, and prayer by many people to see a good strong church established in this community. At each crossroad, members have met the challenge of providing facilities for ministry. Those who came before us made significant sacrifices, so that we could enjoy the benefits of their vision and faith.

Our future looks better the our past. There are still many souls to reach, many people who have yet to hear the Good News of Jesus Christ. We cannot rest on any accomplishments of the past, we must realize that everything the Lord has been doing in our church has been preparing us to step out in faith as Esther did, "For Such A Time As This."

One Church - Two Locations
On Sunday, November 13, 2005 Victory Christian Center experienced the most revolutionary event in the history of their church. Victory Christian Center, Lowellville, OH and Living Word Church, New Wilmington, PA became One Church ~ Two Locations. During an unforgettable ceremony Living Word Church joined hearts and hands with Victory Christian Center.

Both healthy and growing congregations have been reaching their communities for decades; when an extraordinary relationship between Pastor Rob Cypher and Pastor David Thomas began. It was not just a mentoring relationship, but they sensed that a spiritual marriage was to take place between Living Word and Victory Christian Center. On November 13th, the actual wedding took place and Living Word became Victory Christian Center New Wilmington Campus. The Coitsville/Youngstown campus is referred to as the Victory Christian Center Main Campus.