- Who We Are: Victory Academy for Boys is the home of a group of God-loving, discipleship-professionals dedicated to strengthening families in crisis with the truths of Scripture. Rest assured that we can help your family because we'll provide you and your son invaluable training grounded firmly in God's Truth. We will also model that Truth in Love so as to lead him by example. With these parameters in place (truth in love), we will equip your son with the ability to Change his thinking in a Christ-honoring way. In addition, our academy faculty will help get your son back on track academically through our dynamic, interactive educational program.
"Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ."
Ephesians 4:15Where We Live: Victory is safely nestled on 120 beautiful acres in the north woods of Wisconsin. Not only is it rustic and inviting, but it's also a safe haven from the spiritual attacks your son is experiencing from today's culture, his hurtful relationships, and accessible sin. Our location also gives us great opportunities to teach your son about God's creation, hard work, and Christ-honoring fun. On campus we have a two workshops, a fire-side conference room, two boys' homes with over 11,000 square feet of combined living space, and three staff homes. There's also plenty to keep your son busy.How We Work: Our program is unique in that we function less like an institution and everything like a family. Your son will join our house family and become a working part of that group. Along with morning devotions, meal preparation, clean-up, game time, homework, and laundry, your son will learn how to thrive within a Christ-honoring home. It's within that context that the Residence Counselors (House Dads) will disciple your son, providing consistent, godly Truth and modeling it in love so your son will have the resources to change. - Formal CounselingOur goal in counseling is to help individuals grow in their understanding of themselves and lead them to a place of a stronger relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ through the teaching and application of Scripture.
We believe that a living relationship with Christ is the key to interpreting life correctly and living life with the blessing of God (even through tough and difficult circumstances). We use a Nouthetic approach to our Biblical Counseling, which is a “come along side and lovingly confront with truth” approach (Romans 15:14). We utilize biblical material from both The Association of Certified Biblical Counselors and The Christian Counseling Education Foundation. We recognize that the Bible answers all the questions about what a godly life is and how to live in a way that pleases God (2 Timothy 3:16).
We also recognize that the brain is a very complex organ that impacts our interpretation of life and our responses to life situations. We believe that a medical exam where physiological tests are done in an effort to understand the impact of the physical body on the emotions/feelings can be a helpful tool in both understanding the problems and bringing the symptoms under control so that the spiritual needs of the person can be addressed.
While we appreciate solid research in psychiatry and psychology, we put biblical teaching above man’s reasoning when it comes to heart issues and the resulting behaviors. A student may exhibit behaviors classified as symptoms of ADD, ADHD, or ODD, and there may well be a physiological issue that provokes those behaviors, but if those behaviors are sin issues, we will be constantly holding the student responsible for making those sinful choices. Each week your son will have a Discipleship Meeting one-on-one with his Residence Counselor to discuss where he's growing and where he needs to grow. An Individual Growth Plan is developed for the following week, and at the next Discipleship Meeting that plan is evaluated and adjusted.Informal CounselingInformal Counseling is conducted with the same guiding philosophy as our formal counseling, but instead of occurring at scheduled time during the week, Informal Counseling is the daily and moment-by-moment evangelism and discipleship that sets Victory Academy apart from other programs.
The only expected part of life-on-life ministry is that it happens at unexpected times. For this reason, our staff is trained to:- "Be ready in season and out of season" to "reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching" (II Timothy 4:2).
- "Always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect" (I Peter 3:15).
DevotionsOver the course of the year the boys will study the following subjects during morning devotions.- The Book of Genesis
- The Book of Ecclesiastes
- The Book of Proverbs
- A Self-Study through the Psalms
- Respect
- Obedience
- Responsibility
- Love
- Honesty
- Self-Control
- Diligence
- Teachability
- Gratitude
- Youth Sunday School (If the boy is not on Level for this privilege, he attends the adult Sunday school class.)
- Sunday Morning Service
- Sunday Evening Service
- Wednesday Evening Youth Group (If the boy is not on Level for this privilege, he attends the adult Wednesday service.)
- All-Church Programs
- Youth Activities ((If the boy is not on Level for this privilege, he does not attend.)
- Why Bible? This study lays a foundation for why Victory Academy is "decidedly Christian" and why we put so much importance on the Bible.
- Who Am I? This series helps the boys understand why they do what they do.
- How Do I Respond to Truth? This study builds on the previous topic by helping the boys better comprehend why they accept or reject Truth.
- Who Are My Friends? We cover this topic right before Christmas break so as to prepare the students to think correctly about their peers.
- What's Wrong With . . . ? This series investigates three important topics: "What's Wrong with My Music?" "What's Wrong with My Language?" "What's Wrong with My Good Works?"
- What is Worship? God created us to worship something, and we all do it, but what are we worshipping? This series helps the boys understand the nature, value, focus, and consequences of their worship.
- What is God's Will? This study teaches the guys what God really wants for their lives and gives them some helpful direction concerning their future occupations.
- What Do You See in the Mirror? By this time in the year, many of the boys are far more interested in God's will for their lives. To this end, this study teaches the guys what it is to truly be Christ-like.
- What Now? The final Intensive Week is a three-day study of the book of Nehemiah. This series helps prepare the boys for the amazing job God has for them when they return home.
- Autumn Orientation -- We spend five days camping on "the back forty" and studying the Merest Christianity. This series teaches the guys why they do what they do and equips them for genuine change.
- Backpacking Trip -- We spend a few days backpacking along the Pictured Rocks on the southern shore of Lake Superior. The spiritual emphasis of this trip changes from year to year depending on who is leads it.
- Ski Retreat -- Camp Chetek invites our guys to enjoy a three day retreat skiing and studying the Bible. The spiritual topic of this retreat changes from year to year.
- Snowshoe Retreat -- This retreat involves awesome snow activities and cozy cabins with no electricity or running water. The emphasis of this trip is the "Source of Our Satisfaction." We spend a lot of it discussing sexuality and purity.
- Sprummer -- Our final retreat of the year rotates from year to year but has included fishing, caving, canoeing, rock climbing, and mountain biking and focuses on how each of the students can live a life of Integrity.