Newsletters

Northshore Biblical Counseling

and Training Center

Ministry Update for May 2020

Dear Friends,

Although the COVID-19 pandemic has changed some of our plans for this year, I wanted to give you an update on what’s already happened this year.

Woodhaven Baptist Church in Ocean Springs, MS isn’t a large church, but the people there have big hearts. We had about a dozen people attend the biblical counseling training course there. I taught the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship’s (IBCD) Care and Discipleship Course over three weekends in January through March. Three people said they wanted to pursue ACBC certification, so I’m looking forward to having more biblical counselors in Mississippi!

In March, just before all the travel restrictions started being implemented, I was able to teach Introduction to Biblical Counseling for Prison Inmates at Taylor Correctional Institution in Perry, FL. It’s a week-long course and we had 47 inmates attend. This course is always very enjoyable since the inmates are enthusiastic and on Friday, we get to conduct role play where we spend the day having one inmate counselor another through a given scenario. They do a pretty good job!

I’m also very grateful for the generosity of IBCD. After I teach at a prison, IBCD will send the prison chaplain a complete set of their training videos and Observation videos. There are two chaplains there – one at the main prison and one at the Annex – and they both want to incorporate the biblical counseling material as part of their regular programs.

Our trip to Madagascar, which was scheduled for the end of April, was cancelled due to the pandemic, so we’re hoping to go there in early November to teach Module 1 of Overseas Instruction in Counseling Church Leadership Training program.

Locally, I continue to counsel regularly via Skype and Zoom and I’m very excited to have two people currently in Phase 3 of ACBC’s certification process right here in our area. Additionally, we have three more people who are completing Phase 2 this month and a fourth person who should be completing Phase 2 soon after. All four will be starting Phase 3 this summer. For years, Elizabeth and I have been the only ACBC counselors in our area, and now, within a year to 18 months, we’ll have six more!

So, we continue to press on and we’ll see what the Lord does with our pandemic situation in the future. In the meantime, we strive to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him (Col 1:10).

As always, feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!

· E-mail: capt.ducks@gmail.com

· Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org

· Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,

Don

Director, Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Northshore Biblical Counseling

and Training Center

Ministry Update for August 2107

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

It’s been a bit too long since our last update, so here are a number of events that have transpired since our last newsletter in December:

January and February were fairly quiet, spending most of our time at home. The good thing about that is that I get to counsel more consistently, getting to spend time with people both in our own church and many folks from other churches as well.

In March, I had the privilege of teaching a two-day seminar on marriage and parenting at Columbia Correctional Institution (CCI) in Lake City, Florida. We had 25 inmates attend the seminar and they were enthusiastic and appreciative. It’s always rewarding to get to teach those in prison who have either become believers, or who have renewed their commitment to Christ after falling into grievous sin, and now have a desire to help fellow inmates.

Prayers would be appreciated regarding future ministry at this prison. During the upcoming ACBC Conference in October, I’ll be meeting with Dr. Ernie Baker who heads the counseling ministry at First Baptist Church Jacksonville. FBC Jax is only an hour away from CCI while I live seven hours away. We’ll be discussing the possibility of counselors from their ministry teaching on a regular basis at the prison. Whenever I go there, the inmates always ask for more. While I still plan to go there annually for an extended seminar (I’m schedule to teach a week-long course in January), my prayer is that teachers from FBC Jax can go there on a regular basis to offer more consistent biblical counseling training.

In April, we headed to Europe to teach with Overseas Instruction in Counseling (OIC). We completed Module 4 in Syke, Germany during which time we heard some wonderful and encouraging testimonies from many of the students who completed the course (Module 4 is the final Module of the Church Leadership Training program). We were also able to fit in a “Luther Tour,” visiting the major sites where Martin Luther lived, wrote and taught. Given the fact that 2017 is the 500th anniversary of the Reformation, this was particularly meaningful.

Students holding their graduation certificates

After our time in Germany, we moved on to Montreuil, France, which is just east of Paris. There, we taught Module 3 which addresses specific issues in biblical counseling (depression, anger, sexual sin, anxiety, etc.).

Once again, we heard some great testimonies of God at work through biblical counseling, since one of the Projects for Growth after Module 2 was for our students to counsel at least five sessions. As with everywhere we go, we enjoyed warm hospitality and rich fellowship with the believers in France.

Our group in Montreuil, France

In July, we started a thirteen-week Introduction to Biblical Counseling course at First Baptist Church Slidell. We’re using the Care and Discipleship Certification course developed by the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship (IBCD) which meets the academic requirement for certification with ACBC.

We were very encouraged at the response – we have 35 people in the class and continue to get more inquiries almost weekly. We were also encouraged by the fact that there are groups from two churches who want to start a biblical counseling ministry at their church, and I’ll soon be speaking with the leadership of one of these churches about how to start this process.

First night of the IBCD Course at FBC Slidell

Throughout the year, I was also supervising three people who are in their “supervised counseling” phase for ACBC certification. This is part of my requirement to become an ACBC Fellow and I will have completed all the requirements in just another week or two. As more people become interested in becoming certified as biblical counselors, this will allow me to help with that process, particularly for people here on the Gulf Coast.

In October, we travel to Jacksonville, Florida for the annual ACBC conference and for the OIC Missionary Training Conference which will be held immediately following. We’re seeing quite a bit of interest and are praying for more teachers to bring biblical counseling training to churches around the world.

In November, we return to Montreuil, France to teach Module 4 and OIC’s Executive Director, Wayne Vanderwier has asked me to also help teach Module 3 in Amman, Jordan. That will most likely be a one-time event, but will be a new location and a new culture for me.

Specific prayer requests:

1. A fruitful teaching time at Columbia Correctional Institution in January 2018.

2. Wisdom as we plan two new Church Leadership Training (CLT) programs in Leipzig and Erlangen, Germany to begin in April 2018.

3. God’s leading regarding a possible one-day seminar, also in April, as a prelude to a new CLT program in Toulouse, France.

4. Success in recruiting new associate teachers. We have more churches who want us to come and teach than we can go to right now. My prayer is that God would provide more biblical counseling teachers to join us in Western Europe.

Financial needs:

1. An additional $1,000 for extra airfare and expenses for the trip to Amman, Jordan.

We’re very grateful for your financial support since we can’t do this without it. Above all, though, we covet your prayers. It’s God who is at work and I’m thankful that he chooses to use the foolish and the weak (like me!) because we can boast in the Lord! (1 Cor 1:26-31). And God does much through prayer: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Cor 1:11)

Feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!

· E-mail: capt.ducks@gmail.com

· Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org

· Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,

Don

Director,

Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Contact Us

Don Roy, Director
Phone: (608)492-4223

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Northshore Biblical Counseling

and Training Center

Ministry Update for December 2106

Dear Friends and Colleagues,

The last six months were as busy as the first six! In May, I graduated from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with my Doctor of Ministry in Biblical Counseling. It was a lot of work, but the entire process was certainly enriching and rewarding.

In the summer, I had the privilege of teaching an Introduction to Biblical Counseling course to a wonderful group at Jefferson Baptist Church in Baton Rouge. We did it over a three month period, teaching on a Friday night and all-day Saturday. Several people are continuing their work towards certification with ACBC.

Our Fall ministry trip with Overseas Instruction in Counseling continued the work we’ve been doing over the last year. We’re teaching a four-module Church Leadership Program and taught Module 3 in both Amsterdam, Netherlands and Syke, Germany. Module 3 is titled Biblical Counseling: How Do You Do It More Effectively? In this module, we learn more about when and where to counsel, but the main thrust is discussing how to counsel specific issues such as depression, anger, biblical peacemaking along with several others. As always, the response was enthusiastic, especially since the students are now beginning to counsel others as part of the course curriculum.

In France, I had the opportunity to share about OIC’s work with the staff of LifeAgape, a ministry in Evry France that evangelizes to the Muslim world. Seven of the staff members of LifeAgape are part of the ongoing course in Paris. After that trip, it was back to Paris for Module 2 – Biblical Counseling: How Do You Do It? This module covers the methodology of biblical counseling and after the module is over, the students are expected to start counseling others.

While OIC is a ten year old missions agency, we only started to assign area Directors in the past three years (I’ve been with OIC for two years). As we expand, our Executive Director, Wayne Vanderwier realized that we need to develop procedural manuals to help directors, associate teachers, and partner churches in the countries in which we teach. So at the end of November, Wayne gathered the Directors for Ukraine, the Philippines, Japan, and Western Europe for a few days to work on those manuals. We accomplished a lot and once we get these in print, it will be a great help whenever we enter a new area to conduct our Church Leadership Training.

Next year promises to remain busy. Specific prayer requests for the upcoming year are:

1. Wisdom regarding the location of our subsequent Church Leadership Training program. We complete Module 4 in Amsterdam and Syke in April 2017, so we’re starting to make plans now for where we will teach in October 2017.

2. Success in recruiting new associate teachers. We have more churches who want us to come and teach than we can go to right now. My prayer is that God would provide more biblical counseling teachers to join us in Western Europe.

3. More doors to open with our prison ministry and wisdom regarding where to go. Teaching in prisons requires travel so there’s obviously more time and expense involved. I need God’s wisdom to set priorities regarding my time and His money.

Feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!

· E-mail: capt.ducks@gmail.com

· Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org

· Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,

Don

Director,

Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Northshore Biblical Counseling
and Training Center

Ministry Summary for 2015

Dear Friends and Supporters,

It’s been a busy year! We’re grateful that God has seen fit to use us in a small way for the furtherance of the Kingdom. Using our four areas of ministry as a framework, here’s what happened this year:

1. Biblical Counseling for Our Local Church and Community.

This area is pretty straight-forward. We’ve been counseling at First Baptist Church Slidell, spending time with people who are part of our church, with some who worship elsewhere, and with some from our community who have yet to become part of the community of faith.

2. Biblical Counseling Training to Individuals and Churches.

I taught IBCD’s Care and Discipleship Course on Tuesday nights from September through early November. This course fulfills the academic requirement towards certification with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors. We had fifteen people attend and five are committed to work towards ACBC certification. After the first of the year, we’ll continue working with this group to help them through the ACBC exams and we’ll watch the observation videos together.
Another course is scheduled to start on February 21st.

3. Teach Biblical Counseling to Christian Inmates in Prisons.

Conducted a one-day Biblical Counseling Seminar at Blackwater River Correctional Institute in July. Had 30 in attendance, some of whom had gone through the week-long course about 18 months earlier and some of whom are watching IBCD’s DVD series, which we donated to the prison.
Spent a week at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City Florida in August and again in September. Taught a total of 24 inmates who learned how to counsel other prison inmates. The last day consists of role-playing which is both instructive and fun!

4. Teach Biblical Counseling to Pastors and Church Leaders Overseas.

In March, we were part of the Overseas Instruction in Counseling (OIC) teaching team for a one-day Introduction to Biblical Counseling Seminar in Amsterdam. We had 55 people from 21 churches attending.
In November, we were again part of the OIC team in Amsterdam and taught the three-day Module 1 of OIC’s four module program.
After Amsterdam, we went to Paris to teach the one-day Intro Seminar. The horrific terrorist attacks in Paris occurred the night before we were scheduled to teach the seminar. Despite the shock of the attacks, our hosts decided that we should go ahead with the seminar. We had a small group, but enough to determine that we will continue with the full modular program.

Also in November, we taught Module 1 to a group of 60 people in Syke, Germany (just south of Bremen).

Other events this year included speaking about biblical counseling during one of our church association’s seminar programs and as part of a leadership training program at a local church.

In October, we attended the annual ACBC conference which was held at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. The focus of this year’s conference was how to counsel those who are struggling with same-sex attraction. Heard some excellent speakers and obtained some valuable resources from a solid biblical perspective.

This year, NBCTC registered as a 501(c)3 charitable organization making all donations tax deductible. We also formed a Board of Directors to provide accountability and direction. If you’d like to help support us, please visit our website to donate via PayPal or by check mailed to the address listed on the website.

What about next year? I have no doubt it’ll be just as full! As mentioned earlier, I’m teaching a Biblical Counseling course at our church in the Spring and in April we’re headed back to Amsterdam and Syke to teach Module 2 and to Paris to teach Module 1. We return again in November to all three locations to continue the modular program.

As always, we’re very grateful for your financial support since we can’t do this without it. Above all, though, we covet your prayers. It’s God who is at work and I’m thankful that he chooses to use the foolish and the weak (like me!) because we can boast in the Lord! (1 Cor 1:26-31). And God does much through prayer: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Cor 1:11)

Feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!

E-mail: biblicalcounseling@fbcslidell.org
Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org
Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,

Don

Director,

Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Northshore Biblical Counseling
and Training Center

Ministry Update for June 2015

Dear Friends and Supporters,

You just never know where God will lead over time. When I left my job at the end of 2011 in order to enroll in seminary and spend more time counseling, we never envisioned the direction in which we are now going. Prison ministry was not on my radar, nor was overseas missions work, but both of these have become a major focus of what we do.

Here’s a summary of what we’ve been doing so far this year and what’s on the horizon:

• Developed a course to teach prison inmates how to biblically counsel fellow inmates. This has been a fairly major effort and I have been blessed with the help of several people (other ACBC counselors and prison chaplains) who reviewed the course and offered many helpful suggestions (not to mention correcting the many typos!) Along with this, I continue to work on my Doctor of Ministry project paper. I’m still on target to graduate in May 2016 (Lord willing!).

• In March, we were part of the Overseas Instruction in Counseling (OIC) teaching team for a one-day Introduction to Biblical Counseling Seminar in Amsterdam. We had 55 people from 21 churches attending and the response was enthusiastic.

• In May, our association sponsored a seminar on Mental Health and the Church. I was asked to conduct a breakout session entitled Scripture Speaks to Mental Health where I addressed the way we can biblically counsel those who are struggling with cognitive and emotional issues.

• During the week of August 3-8, I will teach the Biblical Counseling course I developed to 20 inmates at Columbia Correctional Institution. Our goal is to equip the men to biblically counsel other inmates in the prison. I had the privilege of teaching at that same prison for two weeks last year and look forward to meeting a new group of students.

• November is when we head overseas again to teach. I’m now OIC’s Director for Western Europe and we’ll be teaching the first of four Modules in the Netherlands (Nov 11-14) and in Syke, Germany (Nov 18-21). Module 2 will be sometime in the Spring of 2016.

• As part of our November trip, I’ll be teaching the one-day Introduction to Biblical Counseling Seminar on Saturday, Nov 14 in Paris. Also, some churches in England are asking us to come, so we’re looking at the possibility of adding them to our schedule in 2016.

• Our desire is also to train other Biblical Counselors in our local area. We continue to work with a church in Mississippi where I taught a course last year and they have a number of people who are working their way through the exams to become certified by the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC). We’re also planning to teach a course at our church in Slidell staring in January 2016.

• We continue to counsel locally through our church, spending time with people who are both part of our church and from other churches as well. It’s always rewarding to see God at work in people’s lives as we search the Scripture together and apply it to individual lives.

In terms of fund raising, we’re hoping to raise annual support of $7,000 a year. This would cover the cost of overseas travel. Once we arrive to the teaching site, the host church provides meals, lodging and transportation. It will also cover the cost of the prison ministry, which includes, travel, lodging, and the materials we give to the inmates (workbooks) and to the prison library (Biblical Counseling videos and books). If you’d like to donate, please visit our website (www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org) to donate via PayPal or go to www.GoFundMe.org/RoysOIC.

Feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!
• E-mail: capt.ducks@gmail.com
• Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org
• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,
Don
Director,
Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Ministry Update for January 2015

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Along with our recent relocation, comes a change in the way we are processing donations. The main expense of our ministry is teaching overseas twice a year. So, for those who would like to support us financially, we’re asking that you send donations to Overseas Instruction in Counseling (OIC) and simply designate the money for the Roys. Any contributions made are tax deductible.

You can mail a check to OIC at this address:

Overseas Instruction in Counseling

P.O. Box 17566

Louisville, KY 40217

Or you can simply go online to www.discoveroic.org and select the “Donate Now” box on the right side of the welcome page. When you select the box, the page will bring you to a form. Under “Program,” select “Other” and you can type in “For the Roys” in the comments box.

Our next trip is only two months away as we’ll be holding a Biblical Counseling Seminar on Saturday, March 21st in Amsterdam. Almost 200 invitations to this event have been sent by our sponsoring church in Amsterdam. We’re praying for a good turnout of pastors and church leaders throughout Holland who will then commit to coming back for a four-day seminar every six months for the next two, and possible three years.

As stated on OIC’s website, “biblical counseling is simply the ministry of graciously applying the truths of the Bible to the challenges of life. We believe and teach that the Bible speaks authoritatively to every issue of life.” We’re excited to be of God’s work in Holland as church leaders desire to be better equipped to counsel biblically.

As always, we’ve very grateful for your financial support since we can’t do this without it. Above all, though, we covet your prayers. It’s God who is at work and I’m thankful that he chooses to use the foolish and the weak (like me!) because we can boast in the Lord! (1 Cor 1:26-31). And God does much through prayer: “You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.” (2 Cor 1:11)

Feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!

• E-mail: capt.ducks@gmail.com

• Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org

• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,

Don

Director, Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center

Ministry Summary for 2014

December 8, 2014

Dear Friends and Supporters,

This year marks the first full year of NBCTC’s existence. Though it’s only been 12 months, a lot has happened in this short period of time. It’s exciting to see what God has been doing and where things are headed in the upcoming year.

The major events of 2014 included:

• A trip to Amsterdam and Budapest with Overseas Instruction in Counseling (OIC).

o Headed by Dr. Wayne Vanderwier, this ministry brings Biblical Counseling training to pastors in countries around the globe. I will be heading the program being established in Amsterdam. Elizabeth and I traveled to Word of Life Hungary (near Budapest) to observe Wayne teach, which is part of our training as part-time missionaries with OIC.

• Taught the Biblical Counseling course at Audubon Drive Bible Church (ADBC) in Laurel, MS.

o Using material from the Institute for Biblical Counseling and Discipleship (IBCD), 25 people attended the course. ADBC is planning to start a Biblical Counseling center to serve their community in Laurel. I’m still working with them to help a number of people work their way through certification with the Association of Certified Biblical Counselors (ACBC).

• Taught the Biblical Counseling course at Columbia Correctional Institution in Lake City, FL.

o Taught for two weeks at the prison, again, using IBCD’s material. Taught the first half of the course to two different groups who were extremely excited about the material. Some of the men showed an interest in pursuing IBCD’s Care and Discipleship Certification, so I mailed additional material to the prison a month later.

• Attended the ACBC Conference at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, CA.

o This year’s conference theme was The Gospel and Mental Illness. Attended by over 2,000 people, it was a wonderful way to learn while also getting to fellowship with many like-minded believers.

• Attended classes at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in January and July as I continue to work on a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) in Biblical Counseling.

• Counseled regularly in Lacombe and Slidell, LA.

One major event occurred recently that will shape the future of the ministry. In October, we started the process of moving from FBC Lacombe, LA to FBC Slidell, LA. We decided to move after much thought and prayer in order to be located much closer to our home and to be part of a work in the community in which we live. Elizabeth and I have been members of FBC Lacombe for over four years. FBC Lacombe is a warm and loving congregation led by an extremely wise and caring shepherd (who’s also a superb expositor of the Word of God). It’s a bittersweet move as we are very grateful for the teaching, support, and care we have received while at Lacombe, but yet look forward to having a ministry much closer to home.

With that in mind, upcoming events for 2015 include:

• Travel to Amsterdam with OIC in March and October.

o The March trip is for a one-day Biblical Counseling seminar for pastors and church leaders. This seminar will outline the upcoming training, which will be given over the next two years (four one-week modules presented every six months). During the October trip, we will present Module 1. Over 200 invitations have been sent for the March seminar.

• Continue to work with Audubon Drive Bible Church to establish a Biblical Counseling Center.

• Start a program at FBC Slidell to train additional counselors.

o The leadership at FBC Slidell is enthused about establishing a robust Biblical Counseling center both to serve the church and to reach the local community.

• Teach Biblical Counseling at Columbia Correctional Institution, tentatively scheduled for April.

o My D.Min. project is to develop and teach a Biblical Counseling course tailored for prison inmates, so there will be lots of work leading up to this session. I’ll be tailoring the material I currently have to include topics that are particularly relevant to inmates, then teaching the new material to this group. Lots of work, but I’m very excited about it. Teaching in prisons is exceptionally rewarding as these men are always enthusiastic about the material. They rarely hear “practical theology” (a term I often use for Biblical Counseling), which is how to apply Scripture to their current situation and relationships.

• Attend class at Southern Seminary in January, followed by lots of writing as I work on my D.Min. project throughout the rest of the year.

• Regular weekly counseling at FBC Slidell.

Our major expenses are the trips to Amsterdam (we have to pay for our own transportation) and the prison ministry (we provide all the workbooks and leave them with reference books and DVD’s from IBCD), so if you’d like to help support us, please see our website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org.

Please continue to pray for us!

• That our trips to Amsterdam will be fruitful and effective for the Kingdom.

• For steady progress in establishing counseling centers at ADBC and FBC Slidell.

• That the inmates who attend would be used by God to counsel their fellow inmates.

• That the Holy Spirit will help those we counsel to be changed by God’s Word.

• That I get all my work done in order to graduate in May 2016.

We are always grateful for your continued financial support, but more than anything else, we covet your prayers!! It is only through God’s might and wisdom that we can accomplish anything. I am always comforted by 1 Corinthians 1:26-31, for I always feel foolish and weak regarding my own ability to counsel others, but my confidence is in Christ alone and my boast in God alone. We have seen Him work in the lives of many people, and are excited to be part of it.

Feel free to give me a shout at any time for any reason!

• E-mail: capt.ducks@gmail.com

• Website: www.northshorebiblicalcounseling.org

• Facebook: www.Facebook.com/nbctc

For God’s Glory,

Don

Director, Northshore Biblical Counseling and Training Center