Last Saturday, Aug. 18, Victory Outreach Church of Gilroy held a
special event at San Ysidero Park on Gilroy’s East Side.
 The church’s Children’s Ministry welcomed the community’s youth
toÂ
”
Bring Your A Game,
”
a day of activities which included flag football, handball,
3-on-3 basketball, PS2 Madden video tournaments, a jump house and
free barbcue for participants.
Last Saturday, Aug. 18, Victory Outreach Church of Gilroy held a special event at San Ysidero Park on Gilroy’s East Side. The church’s Children’s Ministry welcomed the community’s youth to “Bring Your A Game,” a day of activities which included flag football, handball, 3-on-3 basketball, PS2 Madden video tournaments, a jump house and free barbcue for participants.
This is just one of the many programs sponsored by the church. Anna Sifuentes, Children’s Ministry Director, said, “The (church’s) goal is to restore and support the family unit.”
Victory Outreach has been active in Gilroy since 1991; they moved into a permanent facility at 7401 Hanna St. three years ago. The location now has a busy schedule of worship and community-building activities.
The local church is part of a denomination founded in 1967 by Sonny and Julie Aguinzoni in Los Angeles’ inner city. From a humble beginning it has grown to a worldwide network of over 600 churches. President George W. Bush has lauded the organization for helping individuals to “look beyond themselves to change their lives dramatically, regain a sense of hope and bring their families together.”
In June the local Children’s Ministry held its 10th annual Children’s Rally at San Ysidero Park. All children in South Country were invited to share free food, games and win prizes. Nearly 250 attended.
On the last Thursday of each month a Youth Outreach Service is held at 7pm in San Ysidero Park, followed by athletic events and free refreshments.
Another important ministry to local youth is G.A.N.G. (God’s-Anointed-Now-Generation). Junior high school-age students meet for Bible study on Monday evenings, and high school-age students meet on Thursday evenings. Both groups participate in various regional conferences and retreats throughout the year.
Each summer Victory Outreach sponsors B.R.I.D.G.E. (Building-Restoring-Independence-Destiny-Guidance-Education) for students ages 10 to 16. It offers classes concerning topics relevant to youth such as drug abuse and gang violence, as well as providing them wholesome recreational activities like visits to amusement parks and movie theaters.
Worship services for adults are held on Sunday mornings at 9am and Friday evenings at 7:30pm. Spanish translations are provided, as well as free childcare.
On Saturday, Sept. 15, Victory Outreach will participate in the annual Northern California “Run4Hope” run and walk-a-thon at Arroyo High School in San Lorenzo. Proceeds from this event will go to “support training programs to equip young people to be effective leaders in their communities around the world.” Registration and sponsorship information is available by calling (831) 753-9443.
Victory Outreach also operates a nonprofit Community Center which provides faith-based prevention, intervention, and mentoring programs:
– Adult and youth anger management classes
– Domestic violence classes
– Twelve-step programs
– Relapse prevention classes
– Twenty-four-hour live-in recovery homes
– Parenting classes
– Other support groups.
– For more information call 848-6715.
Back to School
Gilroy’s First Baptist Church is conducting a drive throughout the month of August to collect school supplies for two of its neighboring schools: Rod Kelley Elementary and Mt. Madonna High. If you have any items you would like to contribute, please drop them off at the church (8455 Wren Ave.) or call (408) 847-6000 for more information about this worthy cause.
