Meet Bishop Rufus Turner

Bishop Rufus Keith Turner was born in the city of Martinez, California in October of 1958. From the time he was born according to his mother the late Olean C. Turner, he has spent his entire life in church. He has always and still does love the Lord, the church, and God’s people.

At the age of 19 years old, he married his high school sweetheart Trena L. George. They have been married for 44 years. They have 2 children and 7 grandchildren.

Prior to becoming pastor of the Victory In Praise Church of Stockton, CA, Rufus was a musician for various churches and singing groups in the Bay Area. He was taught music directly from the Lord on how to play the piano. He began to faithfully use his gift at his home church, New Bethel Apostolic Church of Richmond, CA. He went on to play the piano and direct choirs as a hired musician at St. John Missionary Baptist Church of East Palo Alto and the Menlo Park Christian Methodist Episcopal (CME) Church of Menlo Park, CA.

His love for music and singing brought about his own group named Heirs To The Throne. It was through the ministry of this group God brought about Rufus’ call into the pastorate. The Heirs traveled throughout the United States and had the opportunity to sing in Europe for the military in 1987. It was at one the Heirs’ singing engagements in Modesto, CA that Rufus encountered a prophet that changed the course of his life.

The prophet carried a message from God that He wanted Rufus to birth a church out of him. At that time, the Turner family was looking for a new church home in the San Joaquin Valley area. The commute, between work in San Francisco and home in Stockton, then to church in Richmond became too much. The message from the prophet was heard, but ignored.

It was in 1994, after completing his Bachelor’s of Science degree in Organizational Behavior from the University of San Francisco, that God troubled Rufus in order to get his attention. Rufus had been very responsive with everything else the Lord had directed him to do, but the call into the pastorate seemed to him too great of a leap from musician/director to pastor. He had his own plans and goals set for his family and himself.

While fasting concerning the troubling situation, God gave Rufus a vision of Victory In Praise Church. God said, “You will establish this church the way I will instruct you.  Will you do it?” God revealed the pulpit area without the traditional seating arrangement and many other details He wanted. Rufus was instructed to sit on the front row and worship God with the rest of the congregation. The Lord revealed the audience with people of various nationalities praising God together with uplifted hands. He showed the building filled to capacity with seats in the rear of the sanctuary on various platforms going up the sides of the church in a bleacher type fashion. There was no balcony, but entrances and exits to and from the sanctuary on different levels.

To get to the fulfillment of the vision, the Lord required that Rufus would have to be obedient. Delayed obedience was unacceptable. Delayed obedience would be considered disobedience. This is where Rufus’ motto is derived from: “If God said it, you had better get out of the way!” Too much is at stake at each turning point. Many of the Lord’s directions would not make much sense, but would become clear when Rufus would push forward at any cost. When the Spirit of the Lord speaks, he moves.

The Lord has blessed the Victory In Praise Church tremendously to this point. Since the Lord birthed Victory In Praise of Stockton in 1995, He has multiplied the ministry into thirteen other churches throughout California and Florida.

After completing his undergraduate studies at the University of San Francisco, Rufus went on to complete his graduate studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in Palo Alto, California. There seems to be a connection between Rufus’ education advancement goals and his ministry advancement. The Lord elevated Pastor Rufus into the office of Bishop of the “Visionaries Pursuing Excellence” Inc. governing the churches established out of Victory In Praise of Stockton.

Bishop Rufus has a vision for pastors with a mind to accomplish major things for God in the spirit of excellence. This is accomplished through regular meetings with the pastors at the “Iron Sharpens Iron” (ISI) monthly meetings. It is here pastors can receive and give help in every area of ministry to build and lead a successful church of excellence. Information concerning Bishop Rufus Turner and Visionaries Pursuing Excellence can found at www.vpechurces.com.

Is the vision God gave Bishop Rufus complete? No, but Rufus is still moving according to God’s instruction. The story continues with the sanctuary expansion project where God blessed the ministry to purchase 55,000 sq. ft. building at our current campus at 2029 E. Harding Way.