It was a sunny Thursday morning on December 10th, 2020 when City News Group met with Patricia Sax at her home in San Bernardino.
Patricia, along with City News Group, is responsible for publishing the Homeless Times newspaper. In a previous conversation, Patricia had shared that she wanted to donate some hygienic products to the Victory Outreach Church of San Bernardino. So on December 10th, City News Group drove her from her home to Victory Outreach and brought additional hygienic products to donate.
We were met outside by Bryant Carter, the overseer for the Victory Outreach church—and a sensei. “I teach martial arts here at the church,” he informed us.
It’s one of various programs organized by Victory Outreach Church of San Bernardino. The church located on 990 West Mill Street is only one out of many Victory Outreach churches around the world. According to their website VictoryOutreach.org, Victory Outreach is a church-oriented Christian ministry comprised of hundreds of independently run churches, with the shared goal of “evangelizing and discipling the hurting people of the world, with the message of hope and plan of Jesus Christ.”
For the San Bernardino “campus,” as Bryant phrased it, “We offer support for families and individuals suffering from drug abuse, coming out of the prison system, or victimized by homelessness.” The church’s founder and pastors come from those backgrounds themselves. “We believe in going out there and accepting people for who they are and helping them find their way,” Bryant said.
Bryant took us on a tour of the church’s facilities, which include three different sanctuaries. The first is their main chapel, which Bryant said, “can seat up to 400 people.” The second sanctuary is a youth chapel for the toddlers’ ministry, with small chairs, a tiny podium, and their own sound system. And the third is a chapel for the young adults’ ministry, called G.A.N.G., as a way of reclaiming their gang origins. The stage and speakers are transportable, so Victory Outreach can bring their ministry to streets and neighborhoods—outreach in its truest form.
In regards to the effect COVID-19 has had on the church, Bryant said, “COVID has really devastated us. We had some deaths in the last few weeks.” He further explained that precautions have been followed including sterilizing the church, encouraging members to wear masks, checking temperatures at the door, and social distancing with the space provided by the sanctuaries and overflow rooms. Services are streamed online through the church’s YouTube channel and Facebook page. “We’re pressing on,” Bryant said. “We’re pressing on.”
The last stop on our tour was the gym. It houses two full boxing rings and various exercise equipment. “At 5 o’clock in the morning, this is where I’m at,” Bryant said. He demonstrated a few exercises for us like pull ups and dips, explaining that, “You have to be strong enough to pull your own weight before lifting other weights.” It was more than impressive to watch. “How old are you?” Patricia asked. “I’m fifty-eight,” Bryant said.
Exercise, meditation, discipline—all of these things are emphasized in Sensei Carter’s martial arts classes. During one of the exercises he showed us, he said, “I teach my students to meditate through the pain.” Muscles tear and hurt, but they recover. And after healing, they’re even stronger.
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