Bishop Donny Banks of Victory Gospel Chapel helped change the trajectory of countless lives through his Spiritual Growth Center—a concept that went national.
SAN ANTONIO — In the heart of San Antonio’s historic east side, a tribute to a beloved bishop is brewing.
Across Montana Street from St. Philip’s College sits Victory Gospel Chapel. It’s where Bishop Donny Banks preached for nearly three decades.
When he passed away on Jan. 24, 2021, Banks left behind a legacy woven into the very fabric of the community.
Now, his church is working with the City of San Antonio to memorialize their beloved leader. Church leaders envision a new look for the Montana Street sign between South New Braunfels and South Walters Street. They hope to add “Bishop Donny Banks Memorial Way.”
It’s a tribute that will not only honor Banks’ memory, but serve as a lasting testament to his dedication.
The birth of Victory Gospel Chapel
“We didn’t have no funds. We came to God broke with a vision to help people,” said Bishop Banks’ wife, Pastor Jackie Banks.
It started with a house at the corner of Montana and Gevers on July 4, 1992.
“He would tell me this almost every day: ‘Jackie, I just want to spend my life mending broken people.’ That’s what he did,” said Jackie Banks.
Bishop Banks was a graduate of St. Philip’s College and a chef by trade. His dream was to become a pastor.
His journey began in that corner house.
“He wanted to help those that mama done did her best, daddy done did all he could, but there was still a solution and that solution is Jesus Christ,” said Jackie Banks.
She appeared on a radio show early on, telling the community about their mission and how they needed donations.
Beds, sheets, food and clothing came pouring in.
With more supplies, the Bankses welcomed even more people to their ministry and helped them heal.
“Anybody who wanted a changed life because some people don’t want to come off the corner. Bishop would always say, ‘People have got to want to change,'” said Banks.
Their corner house became overcrowded. They didn’t want to turn anyone away.
That’s when a woman named Lisa approached Mrs. Banks about helping out. Lisa returned three years later to build a two-story building behind where Victory Gospel Chapel stands today. The building became the Spiritual Growth Center.
Inside the Spiritual Growth Center, men and women can sleep, eat, shower, wash clothes and turn their lives around.
“After about six months if they’ve got it together, we’ll help them find jobs. Then they learn how to pay bills again, they’ll learn how to shop for groceries,” said Banks.
Saved by the Spiritual Growth Center
Victory Gospel Chapel welcomes everyone.
This especially includes residents of their Spiritual Growth Center, where 85% of people who seek help have moved on to lead healthy, fulfilling lives.
Many still attend church service at Victory Gospel Chapel. Some, like Brian Burleson and Andre Bowie, became leaders within the congregation.
Burleson, the senior presbyter, and Bowie, an adjutant elder, were saved together at the Spiritual Growth Center.
“I’ve done some things where I should have done life in the penitentiary to be dead,” said Burleson. “Bishop Donny Banks and Pastor Jackie Banks, to me, were the closest things I had on earth to Christ Jesus.”
Burleson and Elder met each other on the streets of San Antonio.
“We ran into each other, we ran the streets together, sold drugs, did drugs together,” said Bowie. “I had a lot of rebellion on me from living a life of gang banging, as well as dealing drugs and using the drugs. I became my best customer after a while, and God allowed me to go so low that I had no choice but to call out to Him.”
The work being done on the corner of Montana and Gevers became a force of the east side.
“I knew the position that I ended up in my life, I wasn’t who I was, but I didn’t know how to get myself back,” said Burleson. “Victory Gospel Chapel’s Spiritual Growth Center saved my life.”
“I realized that this is the place for me,” said Bowie. “This is what God wants me to be, and ever since then, he’s been using me in a mighty way.”
Banks’ vision expands
Nineteen years ago, a member of Victory Gospel Chapel, originally from Virginia, decided he wanted to bring the church to his home on the East Coast. Another Spiritual Growth Center followed.
Soon, Spiritual Growth Centers began blossoming across the United States.
“There’s drug addicts everywhere and all of them ain’t got to go to hell. All of them ain’t got to die in prison. All of them ain’t got to die overdosing. We can get them,” said Jackie Banks. “I take a woman of the night and give her a good path… and I watch her become a woman of light.”
Today, Victory Gospel Chapel has nine locations.
All that’s missing is a tribute to the man who started it all.
“I looked up at that sign [on the corner] and I said, ‘That sign needs to say Bishop Donny Banks!'” said Jackie. “He made a difference not just in this city, but in different parts of the world. If they only knew.”
After Bishop Banks’ passing, Pastor Jackie took the lead of Victory Gospel Chapel.
This week, the City of San Antonio’s Historic and Design Review Commission recommended the approval of the Memorial Way name designation. The matter will now move to the next step, which is another city committee meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
Church leaders believe, if all is approved by the city, they can celebrate the unveiling of Bishop Donny Banks Memorial Way in May—just in time for the bishop’s birthday.