By: Pastor Larry Gregory
Over the years Lehigh Acres has gotten a very bad rap when talked about in the same breath as other places in Southwest Florida. It is always the same thing, Lehigh is a ghetto, there’s too much crime, there’s not enough commercial businesses and to get anything you must drive to Fort Myers, but after living here for almost 20 years I have become quite fond of Lehigh. Instead of complaining about it I decided that Lehigh could be a place that we could literally change the world from. So, in 2005 we started a church (Victory Church) in the Old Movie theater. Yes, Lehigh used to have a movie theater many moons ago, but after a short time renting from the movie theater it went out of business. Through a miracle of God our church was able to buy the old theater and over the years we have been able to buy over 13 connected acres right in the heart of Lehigh (behind the Burger King off Homestead Road) which is now called “Victory Town Center”.
Instead of complaining about what Lehigh lacks we started to dream of what we could do to bring change to our community. Although our number one purpose is to see people’s lives change by the Good News of Jesus, we also wanted to make a change in the dynamic of our community. So, we started dreaming of what we could do with the 13 plus acres. The ideas have ranged from many different spectrums but one by one we have been adding different things to make our community a unique place. We established a retro arcade with games like Pac-man, Asteroids, pinball machines, and dozens of others. A place where kids and families can hang out.
At the end of April, our sit-down coffee shop/restaurant called Maggy’s House will open so people can sit down and have a cup of coffee, or a meal together and not feel rushed. In the coming months, we will have a food truck park planned, a gym, and many other things to enhance our community. The best thing that we can do is try to change things instead of complaining about things. That is what we have tried to do as an organization to better the community that we live in.
I believe Lehigh can be a first-class city if we have a heart to make it that way. Lehigh has greatness sitting right under the surface. All it will take is people who care that can dig a little to see what is underneath. Things can change in our community if we become the change agents. The future of Lehigh Acres is in our hands.
ABOUT VICTORY CHURCH
Victory Church is apart of a network of 1500 churches all around the world and is a non-denominational Christian Church. Victory has services on Sundays at 9:00am & 11:00am and Wednesday Nights at 7:00pm with a Youth Group on Friday Nights at 7:00pm. Check Victory out at: victoryoflehigh.com
