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About Us

Victory Road Evangelical Free is an elder led church in that elders are chosen by the congregation to shepherd the church.

  

Teaching Elder Pastor Mike Vincent is joining our staff in 2009 after almost 20 years as an EFCA pastor in Lee’s Summit, Missouri.   Mike was born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas and received Christ as his Savior when he was 12 years old. He was actively involved in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in high school and attended the University of Kansas, receiving his Business Administration degree in 1983.  While at KU, he was a student leader with Campus Crusade for Christ.  After two years of youth ministry in Alabama, Mike attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  He received his M. Div. in 1988 and Th. M. in 1989.  While at TEDS he was a teaching assistant in the Evangelism Department for one year, and a Teaching Fellow in the Homiletics Department his last year of school.  In 1986, he married Kathy, who is also from Lawrence.  In 1987, Mike and Kathy spent 5 months in Clacton-on-Sea, England, while Mike completed his pastoral internship.  Mike and Kathy have three children – Abbie, Sam, and Debbie.

Mike and Kathy started Living Hope Fellowship (EFCA) in Lee’s Summit in 1989.  During their stay in Lee’s Summit, Mike obtained his D.Min. (1998) from Phoenix Seminary, focusing on Christian Leadership.  He also founded LifeChange Ministries, through which he has published a book and produced three music CDs.  You can find out more about this ministry at www.lifechangeministries.org.  Mike has served on a variety of boards in the Midwest District of the EFCA, including the Board of Church Development and the Board of Ministerial Standing.  He has been on short-term mission trips to Romania and Russia and has a great interest in reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus.

Along with studying and teaching God’s Word and dabbling in music ministry, Mike enjoys a variety of sports, old movies, reading and traveling with his family.  Mike is excited to work with the Elders, Teaching Team and the Church Family at Victory Road to help spread God’s Word and make disciples throughout Norfolk, northeast Nebraska, and the world.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Pastor Tom Burns came to Victory Road E-Free Church in November 2002. It is his mission at the Victory Road E-Free Church to bring glory to God by teaching (Titus 2) the youth and youth workers of northeast Nebraska who He is (John 1:3-4), who they are in relation to Him (Psalm 62), and who we are as a body of believers (1 Corinthians 12:12). It is his prayer that through this teaching each individual will obtain not only a saving relationship with Christ, but also a growing relationship with Him. Additionally, it is his prayer that the youth and youth workers in his sphere of influence develop a growing relationship with other believers, understanding their need for others in the body in order to complete God's purposes in their lives (1 Corinthians 12:27). This mission statement is borne of his realization that this ministry's purpose is not to build a program, but rather develop communities within the larger body that draw individuals from isolation into heart-to-heart fellowship with God and a small band of friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Elder Pastor Bill Knievel was born in West Point,  NE and graduated from West Point CC. He served 5 years in the U.S. Navy. Following his honorable discharge in 1979 he returned to Nebraska and worked in the Maintenance Department of IBP-Madison for 7 years. He attended Central Community College in Columbus for 2 years working towards a degree in electronics. In 1983 he gave his life to the Lord ( II Cor. 5:17) and began attending the Highland Park EFC in Columbus . He felt a call to further his education, so he and his family moved to Omaha in 1986, where he attended Grace University for 4.5 years, graduating in 1991 receiving two degrees - a B.S. degree in Pastoral Ministries and a B.S. degree in Bible. During college he served as interim pastor at Midland EFC in Council Bluffs for 6 months. Following graduation in 1991 he accepted a call to Mamre EFC in Marquette , NE. where he served as pastor for 8 years. He was ordained in the EFCA in 1999, the same year he accepted a call to pastor Orchard EFC in Orchard, NE, where he served for 3 years. He has served in District and National ministries of the EFCA, serving on the Midwest District Board for 4 years, as chairman on the Eastern Region Church Development Committee (responsible for church planting) for 8 years. He was the Plant Chaplain at Tyson Foods in Norfolk for 14 months until the plant closed. He has served here at VREFC in several capacities since 2002, as part-time Office Manager, Trustee, assistant with the Audio-Visual Ministry, Sunday School teacher, member of the teaching team, and with the visitation ministry. Bill is married to Elizabeth (1978) and has three grown children - Rachael (Greg Cook), Jonathan, and Justin and 2 grandsons.

 

 

 

Elder Pastor Dave Busskohl was born and raised in    Norfolk, NE. He came to personal faith in Christ as a Junior in High School and helped start the Fellowship of Christian Athletes in Norfolk. At college at the University of Nebraska, he was involved four years with Campus Crusade for Christ. After graduation, Dave worked five years with Athletes in Action, a ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ, at UCLA and Iowa State. During these years he completed the Certificate Program with the Institute of Biblical Studies. Upon returning to Norfolk in 1983, he has worked with a family business, Allied Tour & Travel and Arrow Stage Lines. He has been involved in various church ministries over these years including several short-term missions to Poland, Ukraine and Venezuela. From 2000-2006, he worked both full time and part time with the Evangelical Free Church of America International Mission helping churches develop church planting partnerships with missionaries in various parts of the world. Most recently, Dave served as an elder at VREFC.

 

 

Elder Paastor Joe Smith was born in Greenville SC and accepted   Christ as Saviour in grade school. After completing degrees in Respiratory Therapy and Accounting (1989), he spent 3 years as a Respiratory Therapy travel temporary, working numerous short term assignments across the nation. After an assignment in the Washington DC suburbs, he settled in Bowie Maryland, where he attended Capital Bible Seminary and earned a MA in Bible (2000). After moving to Norfolk in 2001, Joe founded TravelTax LLC, a tax consulting and representation practice, specializing in the contingent staffing industries. He is currently working on a MS in Taxation from Golden  

Gate University in San Francisco.

 

 Joe has served in a variety of ministry capacities. He has worked as a medical missionary in Mexico and participated in short term mission projects in Panama, Trinidad, Poland, Lithuania and Puerto Rico. Through his tax practice he advises missionaries and mission boards in international tax matters and is on the Board of Directors at Puerto Rico Baptist College, a 4 year bilingual missions college. Joseph enjoys teaching the Scriptures in a way that relates to everyday life and serves VREFC as an Elder, Sunday School teacher and a member of the teaching team. Joe and his wife, Daina have been married 18 years.

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Our History

In 1975 a group of believers meeting in homes for Bible study had the idea to start the Victory Road Evangelical Free Chruch. After a few months of meetings and much prayer by the group, the Midwest District sent Louis Wimberley to Norfolk during the summer of 1976 to plant a Free Church. Mother churches in Columbus, Concord, Ponca, and Wayne aided in the church plant.

The first church service was on January 9, 1977 at Westside Elementary School. From its beginning, the church focused on evangelism and seeking the lost through lay-witness. Land for the new church was purchased in 1977 and a new church building was completed in March of 1980.

The church continued to grow in both numbers and lives changed for God. A need for expansion became evident in 1991, and a new addition to the church building was dedicated the first Sunday of August 1994. God continues to bless the minsitry with growth and fresh vision as God's people serve Him sacrificially in spreading the gospel.

As viewed from the church leadership retreat in 1989, several of the goals for the next ten years have been realized. One phase of the three-phase building plan was completed. An associate pastor is on staff. Visible outreach into our community is happening and resulting in seeing people come to Christ. God has been at work.

Our vision is a desire to create new ministries while others are deepened and expanded. As we look to the future our vision remains focused on God's Word (preach, teach, and study), intentional disciple-making (AWANA, youth and small group Bible study), fruitful evangelism (short term missions, personal and community involvement), leadership development (network program, spiritual gift generated programs), missions and vision driven ministry (missions support, growth and planning for fund raising goals), church planting (involvement with Polish church efforts, becoming involved in neighboring plant projects) and financial stewardship (commitment to a balanced budget and trusting God to provide the increase to advance growth in budgets year to year).

It is God's clearly expressed desire to reach the entire world with the Gospel. He intends to use us in being a part of the fulfillment of the Great Commission. And He promises that He will accomplish even beyond what we can imagine by the power of His Holy Spirit working in and through us. As we go forward in faith we will be claiming those promises.

 

 

Mission Statement

The purpose of Victory Road Evangelical Free Church is to bring people to a growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ, activating them to passionate ministry and outreach, in a unified community of worship, in order to magnify God's name.

Philosophy of Ministry

1. Our ministries will be designed to mobilize the laity. It should be the purpose of the programs of the church to involve God's people in the work of the ministry. It is the people, not just the pastors, who are the ministers of the church (Ephesians 4:11-12).
2. Our programs tend to be multidimensional rather than one-dimensional. When we do a benevolence event such as "Toy Fair" it will also have elements of evangelism and disciple-making as parts of it. When we do a "fund-raising" program it is likely to emphasize worship and prayer as much as money. When we do a worship service, we anticipate that God may call people to conversion, discipleship, and service decisions.
3. We will tend to major on the major issues of the Word of God. This is part of the EFCA tradition. We will always be pushing the Great Commission and the Great Commandment as fundamentals to every believer's life.
4. In seeking to meet the needs of one another within the congregation, need-oriented activity will always be purpose driven. The purpose of meeting someone's needs is so that they in turn can mature in Christ and begin meeting the needs of others. There will likely be a strong sense of not really being a part of this fellowship until you begin to serve.
5. Our hope is that in everything God will be glorified. We understand that it is impossible to glorify God if certain things accompany Christian service. God cannot be glorified by that which is contrary to His Word; He cannot be glorified by that which is filled with acrimony and division; He cannot be glorified if we are seeking an individual agenda rather than His agenda. This may result in some of our plans moving more slowly, as vision is shared and owned by the majority of the fellowship.
6. We are growth oriented in ministry because God is growth oriented. In terms of evangelism, He is not willing that any should perish. In terms of mission-mindedness, His commission will not be completed until some from every tribe and nation have trusted Christ as Savior. In terms of reaching our community with the resources He has entrusted to us, we believe we ought to have at least a four-county impact for God. While bigness is not an end in itself, Christ is the One who will build the church into the size He determines it should be. We know that a church of 450 to 700 could be accommodated on the property He has given us and seek to reach that size in His time.

Sundays
Sunday School 9:00 am
Services: 10:15 a.m.

Wednesdays
AWANA: 6:45 pm
Prayer Time: 7:00 pm

1201 North Victory Road
Norfolk, NE 68701
402.379.1338