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The Harvest is Plenty
- Cristyn Bergen
- Feb 21
- 6 min read
It has been two months since the start of the Winter Semester! Campus Ministry has been a joy to step into again, even while learning the balancing act of being a mother and minister.
Brad and I have been blessed by a former Exec leader who has graduated and offered to look after Luke on Wednesdays. On Fridays, Brad takes Luke on pastoral visits, allowing me to be on campus. With the help of my parents in the evenings and weekends, I have stepped fully back into ministry and feel more like we are thriving than I expected!
Here are some highlights of campus minsitry from the last two months.
I have been working on a project to understand what it means to disciple Gen Z well. This has involved sitting with students, asking about their discipleship journey with Jesus, and hearing their stories. It has been an encouraging project, teaching me how deeply social media and mental health have impacted this generation and how counter-cultural these students have chosen to live to follow Jesus.
We recently took students to Nesslake Bible Camp for an event called the "Wingding." The goal is to provide a day of rest away from campus. We nearly reached our limit of 50 students this year, with 43 students joining us. It was a wonderful day of community and fun.
The Exec Team will be starting a book called "Leading with a Limp" by Dan Allendar, which looks at how our character and faith impact our leadership.
We have started weekly prayer on Wednesday mornings with the students.
The Exec Team will be starting a book called, Leading with a Limp by Dan Allendar that looks at how our character and faith has an impact on our leadership.
High School Ministry in Prince George
IVCF in the North works primarily with students at UNBC. However, did you know IVCF also works in high schools to help equip students to share their faith with their peers? They do this by running lunchtime clubs, either through Alpha or short Bible studies.
One of our goals as an organization is to grow our high school ministry in BC. We have been approaching this goal with prayer. Who would have thought God would use our partnership with the local church, seeds laid down by previous Exec Teams at UNBC, and a movement through His Spirit to launch a high school Exec and Bible studies in the high schools around Prince George!
I have been chatting and partnering with Nolan, the Youth Pastor from West Wood, who was under a previous Exec Team when Derek had the Campus Minister role. Originally, I wanted to hear his story about how IVCF had impacted his life, his discipleship, and what it was about Exec that became a turning point in his faith. That conversation evolved into him thinking about how he could impact the youth at his church with the same practical tools that he had been equipped with through Exec at UNBC.
Shortly after, he talked to our high school lead, Vanessa, and approached some of his youth with the idea of creating a high school Exec team and running Bible studies in different high schools around Prince George.
In just two months, these teens have already gathered, approached teachers, and scouted out spaces to host Bible studies for their non-Christian friends. Some students are ready to launch next week! Others are still looking for teachers to help them and provide a space to run these studies.
WHAT AN ANSWER TO PRAYER!
I recently met with these Exec members, and we have been dreaming and discussing how to step into the momentum that God has given us while prayerfully laying a good foundation for this new branch of ministry in Prince George.
We are currently in the beginning steps of running a Scripture Camp for teens at the beginning of April, as well as planning to take students down to Thetis Island for our Scripture Camp in the book of Luke.
Since starting my ministry four years ago, I have been praying for more help to reach students in the North. I am well aware of my limitations as an individual and now as a mother in ministry. I have also been praying for an IVCF high school ministry to start in Prince George. Originally, I entered ministry with a passion for reaching teens with the Gospel but was pleasantly surprised when the Lord led me to walk alongside university students. However, I have continued to pray for the teens in the North and have reached out to youth groups to tell them about IVCF whenever I can to help with their transition between High-school and University.
A part of my prayer has been that the Lord would bring more workers to the Harvest. IT IS PLENTIFUL IN THE NORTH.
In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says this,
"35 And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; 38 therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.” Matthew 9:35 - 38
Evening of Prayer
All of this activity on campus and in high schools has been exciting! However, I feel more convicted than ever to bring these matters to the Lord of the harvest in prayer. Right now, campus ministry feels like a bubbling kettle on the brink of whistling.
This is why, on March 22nd, I will be running a prayer night at Garden City Church (Zion Lutheran Church in Prince George) at 7:00 PM to pray about these matters and seek God's wisdom for stepping into the momentum He is growing here in the North.
We recently did an evening of prayer with the students in January and started a weekly prayer on campus on Wednesday. Our prayers involve sharing our dreams with God for our hopes on campus. They are small and big. But as we pray, I can't help but shake we are supposed to be asking for even more. (And, as a side note, this time of weekly prayer has even opened up the opportunity to share the Gospel! We currently have a girl attending who has never prayed before and is curious about Jesus.)
If you are free that evening and you are in Prince George, mark the date down in your calendar! I would love for the local church to gather around these things, to pray for the students on campus and for the students in the High-Schools and pray to the Lord of the harvest that he would send more workers!
Prayer Requests
Until then, please pray for us! I believe that things have only been going as well as they have been because of our support team. I have recently started a Whatsapp prayer group. Currently it has, my mother-in-law, brother-in-law and hustband. I would love more people, although I am thankful for my wonderful families faithful prayers. If you would like to join send me an email with your whatsapp number!
Pray for our financials. I have a goal of getting to 100% of both Brad and my support for the year as we wrote in our year-end report. It is hard to focus on fundraising and campus ministry at times so I have taken to pray and ask the Lord for provision. And, he has been answering! (I think there's a theme here in this update). However, we still have a long way to go to get to 100%.
Pray for us as we prepare for Scripture Camp invitations and fundraising.
Pray for students who are struggling with mental health. This Saturday Brad will be leading a celebration of life for a UNBC student who took his life. Pray for him and myself as we step into deep grief with this students loved oves and the faculaty who are grieving at UNBC.
Pray for the Exec Team as they work through Leading with a Limp. This book deeply impacted me and my leadership and I am praying that it will do the same for the students.
Pray as we think through recuriting for next year's Exec.
Pray for this new High-School ministry in Prince George and this Scripture Camp for teens!
One of my favourite verses is Luke 12:32, "“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
As we have done our best to be faithful in our minsitry and obey in love, I have seen God has come alongside and answer prayer after prayer. We pray the Our Father prayer often in our home and I'll end with this prayer, "May his Kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven." in the life of you our dear friends and supporters.
We have new prayer cards coming out along with our 2024 donor gift!
Thank you. We could not do this work without your help.
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