Testimony | How God Turned Our Story Into a Calling
Duane and Sue Sheriff’s story…
began in May of 1980 in Orlando, Florida. Duane taught tennis lessons at an apartment complex where Sue was living at the time. After meeting one day in the parking lot, Sue felt prompted to share the Gospel with him, and sought the Lord for His timing. When the time came soon after, Sue emphasized how much God loved Duane and how he had been forgiven at the cross.
Duane was convinced he had strayed too far from God and was unworthy to receive God’s love and forgiveness. Through Sue’s persistence and hours of heartfelt conversation, God gave Duane an open vision of the Cross—a supernatural revelation that radically transformed his life. This encounter ignited a passion for Christ fueling more than 40 years of ministry. Duane and Sue became friends, attending church and Bible studies together, but their friendship soon blossomed into something more and they have now been married nearly 50 years.
While attending Bible College, Duane began his ministry pastoring a small Methodist church which expanded to the care of two congregations and a move to a Methodist church in a different town. During that time, he attended a conference where a prophetic word was spoken over a pastor sitting next to him:
“You are a hub of ministry, and from this hub, many spokes will go out. Ministry will go out from this hub all over the world.”
Those words echoed what God had already placed in Duane’s heart.
A few years later, this same pastor needed help navigating a difficult personal situation which Duane felt led to assist. Though it was intended to be a temporary assignment, Duane and Sue never left Durant, Oklahoma, where they founded Victory Life Church—a congregation that multiplied into 11 campuses across Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. In time, the Lord revealed the ‘hub of ministry’ prophetic word was spoken for their location, and God brought the word to pass through Duane’s leadership.
By the grace of God, many spokes of ministry have emerged. Victory Life Church and Duane Sheriff Ministries host mission trips, food banks, a Christian school, community outreaches, discipleship programs, a television ministry, and provide teaching resources that reach across the globe.
Since 1983, more than 100 million teaching messages have been freely distributed—first on cassette tapes, then CDs, and now through digital downloads as well. God gave Brother Duane a conviction early on, to give away his teachings at no cost, even when other ministries were charging for their resources.
In January 2020, Duane released oversight of the Victory Life campuses to his son’s leadership. God had revealed to Duane that he needed to focus on his teaching gift, and there was much more ministry to accomplish. Out of a heavenly encounter with Jesus, Duane Sheriff Ministries reemerged with a mandate to equip the Body of Christ worldwide for the third great awakening, through media, books, and conferences.
From those early days to the present, the Lord continues to guide their journey through the Holy Spirit and prophetic words. During our Jubilee Conference in 2023, Andrew Wommack prophesied that Duane Sheriff Ministries would “explode, so be prepared.”
Duane and Sue are experiencing the explosion and are excited to have you join the “fruit” coming forth from that word. Thank you for standing with us through your prayers and partnership. Together, we are preparing for the greatest days of ministry yet.
With gratitude,
Duane & Sue Sheriff
