October 2017 Ministry Report

Dear CBCM Partner,

God is at work. That is true whether you or I can see evidence of His handiwork or not. It is special though to be an eyewitness to fruit bearing when you or I are putting forth effort to work in accord with Him isn’t it? When that happens it gives us cause to give thanks to God and praise His name to those around us right?

So let me tell you how God is working through Calvary Biblical Counseling Ministry (CBCM) recently.

Wendy Horning continues to counsel ladies weekly with a range of topics. Her goal as is our ministry goal is to address issues through biblical principles at the heart level. She is very gifted speaking the truth with love to those she counsels. And I would say her counsel is mostly heeded and she is good results. Her weekly load averages about 4 counselees.

I counsel men and couples. Because of my experience of seeing teen boys and grown men struggle with being sexually pure, I along with Mike Stump have begun a group for men who have had or are having struggles staying sexually pure. The struggle may be different for each man in the way impurity is manifested but the common thread is they cannot shake the grip it has on their life. We offer help according to Galatians 6:1.

This is a closed meeting for men only. It is only for those desiring their own personal relationship with Jesus Christ, because we believe that is our only lasting source of hope and freedom from any life dominating sins or addictions.

The facilitator along with the Bible will utilize Crossroads – “a step-by-step biblical guide away from addiction” by Ed Welch.

The group has met for five weeks now. Five men came to the initial meeting. Prayers are being answered and victories are being shared weekly. Three other men just this past week said they were planning on attending the next session. Mike Stump leads the group. He does a great job with much godly passion as he has experienced God’s transforming grace.

My prayer as director is that TRANSFORMED will become the model we use for creating groups for other life dominating sins like pornography (alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, gambling, etc.). Please pray for the advancement of this ministry.

Recently some guys from our church got together at the Burrows’ pond near Hydetown for a day to have fellowship, eat meat, and enjoy some guy things. Granddads, dads, and sons 8 and older attended. Pastor Tim and I are burdened to fight sexual purity issues proactively, not just reactively. So we took time throughout the day to address the topic of manhood with them. I spoke with the whole group about the need for the church to lead dads to be godly men who would raise their sons to be godly men too. I also talked with the dads in generalities of the need to have “the talk” with their sons. We also put the book Time for the Talk by Steve Zollos as a guide into their hands.

I have been invited to talk with a church staff about practical ways they can implement biblical counsel to their efforts for helping the increased numbers of hurting within their church. I am doing that in November. They also are considering adding CBCM to their budget this next year for monthly support.

Several from our church and others from the area have begun the process of becoming a certified biblical counselor as a result of CBCM. It is happening. A culture in NW PA is beginning to take shape that believes and practices the principle that God’s Word is sufficient to meet all our needs. Pray for God to build this ministry.

If you support CBCM with prayer and or financially believe me when I say the efforts are bearing fruit in ways beyond just singular counseling cases. NW PA is gaining a biblical counseling presence thanks to you.

Praise be to God for great things He has done,

Doug Messerall