Aaron + Bailey Waggoner
Bailey + Aaron Waggoner
Stepping Into A New Yes
For Aaron and Bailey, the story of this new season begins with a simple yes. Aaron remembers when the Lord first stirred his heart for ministry. “I went to Co:Mission in 2015. That night D.L. Lowery preached on Matthew 6 — about how you can’t serve two masters. I knew the Lord was calling me into ministry, so I surrendered to ministry the next morning.”
Since then, God has continued to lead step by step. “I started working at Victory Life Church as a college intern. I then became the college pastor here, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Bailey’s story took root at Challenge when she moved to Lubbock for college. “I grew up in a Christian home and always knew the things I was supposed to do, but I just didn’t know how to do them. I started coming to Challenge, and it was there I learned what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus.”
“The college pastor’s wife, Amy Wood, started to disciple me. We sat down once a week and she walked me through Scripture, how to study it, different ways to pray, and how to sit down and have a quiet time. In this season I learned the importance of being a disciple and making disciples. Later I joined an all-girls Challenge group, and it was there I found my passion for building relationships with girls and helping them in their walk with Christ.”
Now, together, Aaron and Bailey are saying yes to something new: planting a church in San Angelo, Texas.
“Our heart is that this is a church plant that would go on to plant other churches,” Aaron says. “We want to give students an opportunity, when they’re done with college here, to move to another city and take what they’ve learned with them. We don’t want their college experience to just be coming here for four years, going to Bible study, learning how to serve, and being in Sunday school, then leave it all behind at graduation. We want them to truly have a life change.”
Bailey agrees, especially when it comes to the role of students. “We have been able to see the value that college students add to a church. They don’t give you money, but they give so much of their time, energy, selflessness, and their willingness to go get things done. We want them to be a part of our church and push them to think, ‘Where can I go in this world to serve the Lord better?’ not, ‘Where can I go get a job that serves me?’”
Through prayer, conversations, and visits, God led them clearly to San Angelo. They explained, “We started with thirteen cities. We narrowed it down to five, then two — San Angelo and San Antonio. We went and visited both places and were able to meet people and talk to other churches in the area. In the end, we felt like San Angelo was a better fit for what we feel God is calling us to do, what we are passionate about, and what we want the church to look like.”
Aaron adds, “While San Angelo has churches, there isn’t a single one that has a college minister on staff full time. The campus is not currently being reached, and there are 10,000 students we want to reach, disciple, and send out.”
It’s a big step, but one they feel ready for. “It’s scary leaving a place we feel so comfortable and loved and have such great community,” Bailey shares. “But we’ve always wanted to church plant with VLC because we love it here so much. It has been our home. It’s where I truly learned how to have a relationship with the Lord, it’s where all my best friends are, and all the staff feels like family. That’s what we want our church to feel like.”
As Aaron and Bailey prepare to go, their prayer is simple: that God would raise up a team, provide the right location, and move powerfully in San Angelo — just as He’s done in their lives.
Since then, God has continued to lead step by step. “I started working at Victory Life Church as a college intern. I then became the college pastor here, and I’ve been here ever since.”
Bailey’s story took root at Challenge when she moved to Lubbock for college. “I grew up in a Christian home and always knew the things I was supposed to do, but I just didn’t know how to do them. I started coming to Challenge, and it was there I learned what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus.”
“The college pastor’s wife, Amy Wood, started to disciple me. We sat down once a week and she walked me through Scripture, how to study it, different ways to pray, and how to sit down and have a quiet time. In this season I learned the importance of being a disciple and making disciples. Later I joined an all-girls Challenge group, and it was there I found my passion for building relationships with girls and helping them in their walk with Christ.”
Now, together, Aaron and Bailey are saying yes to something new: planting a church in San Angelo, Texas.
“Our heart is that this is a church plant that would go on to plant other churches,” Aaron says. “We want to give students an opportunity, when they’re done with college here, to move to another city and take what they’ve learned with them. We don’t want their college experience to just be coming here for four years, going to Bible study, learning how to serve, and being in Sunday school, then leave it all behind at graduation. We want them to truly have a life change.”
Bailey agrees, especially when it comes to the role of students. “We have been able to see the value that college students add to a church. They don’t give you money, but they give so much of their time, energy, selflessness, and their willingness to go get things done. We want them to be a part of our church and push them to think, ‘Where can I go in this world to serve the Lord better?’ not, ‘Where can I go get a job that serves me?’”
Through prayer, conversations, and visits, God led them clearly to San Angelo. They explained, “We started with thirteen cities. We narrowed it down to five, then two — San Angelo and San Antonio. We went and visited both places and were able to meet people and talk to other churches in the area. In the end, we felt like San Angelo was a better fit for what we feel God is calling us to do, what we are passionate about, and what we want the church to look like.”
Aaron adds, “While San Angelo has churches, there isn’t a single one that has a college minister on staff full time. The campus is not currently being reached, and there are 10,000 students we want to reach, disciple, and send out.”
It’s a big step, but one they feel ready for. “It’s scary leaving a place we feel so comfortable and loved and have such great community,” Bailey shares. “But we’ve always wanted to church plant with VLC because we love it here so much. It has been our home. It’s where I truly learned how to have a relationship with the Lord, it’s where all my best friends are, and all the staff feels like family. That’s what we want our church to feel like.”
As Aaron and Bailey prepare to go, their prayer is simple: that God would raise up a team, provide the right location, and move powerfully in San Angelo — just as He’s done in their lives.
victorylife.net | 806-698-6553
12401 Slide Road, Lubbock, TX 79424
Sunday Mornings | 9:30am 11:00am
12401 Slide Road, Lubbock, TX 79424
Sunday Mornings | 9:30am 11:00am
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