Paul Daugherty and his wife, Ashley Daugherty, have served as the lead pastors of Victory Church for the past five years. Their creative approach during the pandemic led 39,000 people to Jesus over 30 weeks.
They lead full lives at the church with all its ministries as well as raising their four kids. They are passionate about people having a genuine encounter with Jesus. They have a heart to see all ages, all ethnicities and all backgrounds empowered through the local church.
“If you’re too big to serve, you’re too small to lead,” Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. once said, and this proved true for Daugherty. Early on, he learned the value of serving, having no idea how God would use him in the future. The more you serve, the more you understand the weight of what it takes to lead.
“The night my dad passed away; I’m sitting by his bed in the hospital. The EKG monitor flatlines. I just sat on his bed, put my head on his stomach, put his hand on my head, pretending he was still alive. In that moment, I could feel something from his hand transferring like electricity over my head. I said, ‘Lord, whatever You have on my dad, put it on me. Put it on me.’ I wanted what my dad carried. At the same time, I was praying, ‘Please bring my dad back to life.’ Our whole family is weeping in the room, and I heard the Lord say, ‘Get ready. Serve your mom, serve the church, because you’re going to pastor these people soon.’ I didn’t know what that meant, and I only told my wife. My mom stepped in as the interim pastor, and my wife and I served her, anything that she needed, during a painful time.
“Five years later, she told me that my dad had told the board that one day I would pastor the church. I’ve been leading it now for seven years, and we’ve seen a lot of growth, the finances strong and launched more campuses—that’s the faithfulness of God from generation to generation. I know that one day when I was a kid, I wanted to serve my parents, but I never knew I would be the pastor.”
Victory Church gained national recognition for the innovative ways it led through the pandemic.
“Prior to the pandemic, we had an oil crisis that caused a lot of loss of jobs. Fear was rampant. I heard God say one night, ‘God favors the bold. Rise up and show to have courage in a crisis.’ During the shutdown, we launched our first rooftop service and drive-thru groceries. We ended up leading 39,000 people to Jesus over 30 weeks.”
Listen to the full interview on this episode of Make Life Matter on the Charisma Podcast Network. {eoa}
About Our Guest
Paul Daugherty has completed his bachelor’s degree in theology from Oral Roberts University and is currently working on his master’s degree. He has written several worship albums, as well as several minibooks. Paul often travels internationally for missions, crusades, pastors’ conferences and also speaks at churches to equip believers to fulfill their God-given purpose.
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