Our Board
Dave Bender
Counselor and pastor, Dave Bender, directs all aspects of The Counseling Center at Bay City, Green Bay, WI. This includes marriage counseling, various other kinds of counseling, counselor assignments, and the training and supervision of our counselors.
He’s been working with teenagers, families, and marriages in California and Wisconsin since 1985 (in Green Bay since 1990).
He has completed two master’s degrees and has taken a particular interest in his life and studies in understanding the “why” of human behavior through the lens of the Bible. This understanding of the real underlying reasons for behaviors is critical in helping people.
Another way of saying this is, “What’s the deepest problem here?” Or, “What is this person struggling with at the very core of his or her being?” Knowing why people do what they do is critical to providing a solution.
Dave’s background:
- Master’s degree in biblical counseling
- Master’s degree in pastoral ministry
- CCEF School of Biblical Counseling
- BS, Maranatha Baptist University
- Family Pastor, Bay City Baptist Church, Green Bay, WI (baycity.org)
- Counseling Center Director at Bay
- City Baptist (counselingbc.org)
- Managing Director of The Three
- Desires Seminar (threedesires.org)
Dave offers his professional insight as a biblical counselor for the parent looking for the right counseling program.
John Ballard
John lives in North Carolina where he has been a member of Westover Church for 15 years. He and his wife, Beth, have been actively involved in the next generation student ministries for more than 15 years. They have served in the student ministry for years as teachers on Sunday morning, VBS during the summer, and AWANA small group leaders. John has a heart for knowing God’s word and communicating that to others. John and Beth have two college aged sons. One of their sons attended Victory as a student, introducing the Ballards to Victory Academy for the first time.
John shares his journey to find a counseling residence center for his son to encourage parents who are now walking the same path.
Steve Schroeder
Pastor Steve Schroeder, BA, MA, DEdMin
In 1983 Pastor Steve Schroeder was ordained to the gospel ministry. For fifteen years, Pastor Steve founded and led Victory Homes for Boys, (now Victory Academy) pointing boys and their families to biblical answers. For twenty years, from 1998-2019, Pastor Steve worked with his dad, Pastor Bill Schroeder, to start and establish a church in Naperville, Illinois. They led the church through a merge with another church in town for God’s glory and purpose. In 2018, Pastor Steve and his wife Bobbi moved to Jakarta, Indonesia where he was called by Jakarta International Baptist Church to be their pastor. In Jakarta, there have been many opportunities for Pastor Steve and his wife Bobbi to serve God’s kingdom.
Jeremiah 15:16 has been Pastor Steve’s life verse as he has sought like Jeremiah did to eat the word of God so that he could clearly communicate God’s word to God’s people. Faith comes by hearing the word of God alone. Preaching and teaching God’s word has been the primary focus of Pastor Steve’s ministry.
In the last 41 years of marriage, Pastor Steve and Bobbi had six children of their own and now have 17 grandchildren.
