Ministry Focus
Victoria has been leading short-term teams for over 15 years to various countries of the world. In November 2015, she was appointed as a Short-Term Teams Coordinator with Missions Door. Her role is to recruit, train and lead teams that support international church planting and building efforts, primarily in Central America. Victoria is passionate about seeing nationals respected and loved as equals, which is why she believes leading teams under the direction of nationals is so beneficial. She loves to watch different cultures work together and learn from each other, and she loves being a bridge between North American churches and churches in the majority world. For Victoria, it’s powerful to see God moving in people’s lives through these teams as they experience and learn from other cultures. She also serves as an advocate for children’s educational projects in Central America.
Faith Story
Victoria was born in Guatemala City, Guatemala. She accepted the Lord at the age of seven. Her entire life has been dedicated to ministry, helping her parents as they planted churches in Guatemala and Belize. In 1989, her entire family moved to Belize to plant a church in Orange Walk Town. Those three years were vital, as she was able to learn English. Her parents then decided to return to Guatemala and plant churches in Zone 18, a poor area well-known for crime and gangs. Victoria started working with kids in the neighborhoods where her parents were planting churches. The strategy was to develop a children’s program that would allow the De la Cruz family to evangelize to kids and their parents. Victoria’s ability to speak English and her desire to work with children led her to full time missionary work. In 2001, she started coordinating and leading teams to Honduras, Guatemala and Cambodia.
Family
Victoria is the daughter of Missions Door missionaries Otto and Rosa De la Cruz. Otto serves as a Guatemala Ministry Specialist.
Education
Victoria received her degree as a Bilingual Secretary and Sworn Translator.
WAYS TO SUPPORT
Victoria by making a financial donation using your credit or debit card.
Learn more about where this ministry happens
In colorful communities and along scenic highways, diverse people and landscapes span coast to coast
Iconic American traditions include Thanksgiving dinner, jazz music and the Super Bowl. They meld with eclectic examples of multicultural heritage: numerous local Chinatowns, family-owned taquerias and even cowboy boots, which originated among the nomadic Huns of eastern Europe.
The nation's landscape shows just as many contrasts — sandy beaches and rocky coastlines, open plains and vast deserts, rugged mountains and winding canyons, and abundant rivers and lakes.
The ideals of life and liberty that founded the United States have made the country one of the world's most prosperous, though not without dark chapters and present troubles. Crime, discrimination and ethics violations make regular headlines, and many people live below the national poverty level.
Families view education as essential to the pursuit of happiness, if not also a path to wealth and power for the most ambitious. Yet Americans also demonstrate a charitable spirit of generosity toward neighbors and nations in need.
Freedom of religion grants opportunity for all faiths, but Christianity holds particular influence in country's history and daily life.
Your participation with Missions Door supports ministry in the United States among college students, including many international students, in collaboration local churches. It also enables social outreach, church planting and leadership development in a wide variety of communities — among Native Americans and other cultural groups, and in urban and suburban settings where growing and changing demographics create new opportunities for the Gospel.
Cultural Snapshot
Aside from the Native American, Native Hawaiian and Native Alaskan populations, nearly all Americans and their ancestors immigrated to the United States.
Faith Fact
In a 2013 survey, 56% of Americans said that religion played a "very important role in their lives” — a larger number than any other wealthy nation.
Country Profile
Population: 320 million
Major Religions: 47% Protestant, 23% unaffiliated, 21% Catholic, 6% other
Languages: 82% English, 11% Spanish, various others
Literacy: 99%
Poverty: 16%
Ministry service area:
International
Ministry location:
, United States