Steve has returned to the Shenandoah Valley after an “awesome, awesome week” at Daytona and seeing doors open for future Kingdom work. “We have made good friendships with the Brown’s Speedweeks Campgrounds. The owners are committed Christians and they helped us from beginning to end with our events,” Steve added with appreciation.

Steve actually started his work before the huge race at the Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 26. Starting as early as Thursday, February 16, Steve met with multiple friends of the ministry and valued the time spent reconnecting and sharing what God is doing in his life and through Victory Weekend. On February 19, Steve shared a message at Abundant Life Church that transformed lives. To read more about this visit and then to return to this report, visit: https://wingfieldministries.org/abundant-life-church-report/

Then, on the evening of Friday, February 24, Victory Weekend began with a fun blast of energy, thanks to Levi Riggs, Audra McLaughlin, and Jess Zimmerman. All three performers smiled and shined for Jesus, as they encouraged the crowd and welcomed the NASCAR fans numbering 300 into a safe and fun space to celebrate before Daytona. The team had a few sign-ups for the air guitar competition on Friday, so they knew that there would be some great talent on the stage for Saturday, February 25.

Both on Friday and Saturday mornings and afternoons, the Victory Weekend team stayed busy and walked around Brown’s Speedweeks Campground promoting the event with those staying in or near the grounds about the free concerts Victory Weekend would be offering. The big event of the weekend for Victory Weekend was on Saturday, February 25. The crowd increased to 600 people, as Levi, Audra, and Jess wowed the crowd again with their talents. Then the excited fans pictured below stood on stage, competed in the air guitar competition, and had a fun time doing so.

One of the Victory Weekend team’s favorite moments on Saturday night is recognizing our American veterans, military personnel, and first responders who have given and continue to give so much to keep our nation protected. Daytona was not an exception, as we recognized 33 American heroes in our midst! May we pray for them to know that they are appreciated for ALL they have done and will do while serving in their positions.

Afterwards, Steve gave an inspiring message for people to know that Jesus Christ loved us so much that He went to the cross to die for all of humanity’s sins, even though He was sinless. Steve offered an invitation, and Jesus’ sacrifice brought 18 people to dedicate their lives to Jesus as their Lord and Savior either for the first time or thought re-commitment. Praise God for working faithfully! We encourage you to pray for these 18 souls to find and commit to attending a church, so that they can receive constant and amazing encouragement.

Dale Blose, Director of Logistics, helped with photography during the two-night event and at the visits to Chick-fil-A prior to Victory Weekend events. Dale shared his favorite observations from the visit to Florida. “They invited us back, and the whole weekend was great. The clean crowd hardly left any trash after our events, and the respectful responses they gave encouraged us. They want us back, both the crowd and the Campgrounds.”

Steve shared that Victory Weekend entered twice through doors of opportunity and networking, expanding the Kingdom of God even wider. “The owner of a local radio station came up to me and talked and set-up for the radio station to broadcast the Winning the Race: Keep Your Drive Alive audio files on their radio station. Also, Caleb, a policeman and veteran from North Carolina, said that he had collected items from wrecks, had them signed by NASCAR drivers, and wanted to do something with them. We worked with him and auctioned off those items. The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. (VFW) raised $1,000 so that they could pay for a counselor to help at their facility.”

We invite you to pray with us to see more of God’s favor and more open doors throughout 2017 at all our other Victory Weekend events. Jesus is interacting with people like He would if He was still here on earth. Pray about how you can be a part of joining us for spreading God’s Word about how we share the gospel, for joining us at an event to help as a volunteer, and for financially supporting these events. Every moment spent in these campgrounds give us more stories of life transformation to share with you. Victory Weekend will see God work as we gather together to pray, share, volunteer, and give.

Thank you for reading the 2017 report about Daytona, and Steve is already eager to see how God moves next on April 21-23 in Bristol, Tennessee at the Bristol Motor Speedway.

 

Photos courtesy of Dale Blose