This year marks the 30th anniversary of Victory Outreach and it’s also the first year the group’s World Conference will be held outside greater Los Angeles.
Victory Outreach International’s World Conference will be held Aug. 4-9 at the San Diego Sports Arena. There will be day and evening meetings — all free to the public — and there will be youth sessions at the Town & Country Convention Center as well.
“It’s a tremendous honor for San Diego,” said Tony Guzman, pastor of Victory Outreach in San Diego. “The churches here are really excited about participating in the conference. We expect 15,000 to 20,000 people to come from all over the world.”
Victory Outreach was started 30 years ago by Sonny Arguinzoni, a heroin addict from the hard streets of New York City. After his conversion to Christ, he started attending the Latin American Bible Institute in La Puente and did street evangelism in the barrios in East Los Angeles.
After graduation, he ministered with Teen Challenge and the Nicky Cruz Crusades, but in the midst of all the evangelistic work, he saw a need — for a church where former addicts could bring their families and worship God.
In 1967, Arguinzoni purchased a church building in the Boyle Heights district of Los Angeles and began Victory Outreach. The church grew as he encouraged members to reach out to their neighborhoods and beyond.
Today there are over 400 Victory Outreach sites established throughout the U.S., South America, Europe and Asia.
Victory Outreach has also launched a “Vision 2000” campaign to establish 1,000 inner-city churches by the year 2000.
Keynote speakers for the convention this year are Sonny Arguizoni, Brian Villalobos, Sonny Arguizoni, Jr., Rick Alanis and Edmond Morales.
“The keynote speakers this year are from within our leadership, but in previous years we had people like Jack Hayford and John Dawson speak,” Guzman said.
“When you go to the East Coast, things are really different, as in Europe. Wherever the needs are greatest, that’s where you’ll find Victory Outreach.”
The convention is truly an international gathering, with interpretation at the meetings done in three languages — Dutch, Portuguese and Spanish.
For more information about the World Convention, call any of the local Victory Outreaches: San Diego, (619) 262-0172; Escondido, (760) 745-9727 or El Cajon, (619) 440-5418.
