GENERAL
As of October 2019, a Canada-wide census of college students in the churches showed that there were 427 college students, of whom over 50% grew up in the church life. The campus work all across Canada is not possible without the prayers and support of all the serving ones, caring families and the churches. May the Lord grow in the college students, that they will function in the normal church life, attend the full-time training, according to the Lord’s leading and eventually be pillars and useful vessels to our Lord for the building up of His Body and hastening of His return.
The work among the college students is separated into Western and Eastern Canada. Western Canada generally refers to the region comprising the 4 Western provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba. Eastern Canada generally refers to the region comprising the 4 Atlantic provinces of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the 2 Central provinces of Ontario and Quebec.
A list of the campus clubs in this area and information on various events can be found on our website: christianstudentsoncampus.ca
Eastern Canada
History
Since 2008, there has been a renewal of the college work among the churches in Eastern Canada. Serving ones in this area have regular conference calls for mutual support, fellowship and learning. The campus work is in fellowship with the co-workers and leading brothers in Canada and following the vision, leading and burden of the college work in North America.
Scope of Labour
The full-timers, college serving ones and church members often participate and work alongside each other, not only in their own localities, but also in lending support to other localities. There are two teams in Eastern Canada, one in Toronto and one in Montreal. Saints serving in Montreal join with serving ones in Halifax and Ottawa to support them in their labour. Saints serving in Toronto coordinate with saints in Brampton, Hamilton, St. Catharines, Kitchener-Waterloo, Guelph, London, Windsor, and Kingston as well as other localities in Ontario.
Campus Activities
At the beginning of each school year in September, students are invited to attend campus events, such as student orientation, Clubs Day, Bible distributions and welcome dinners, followed by a college retreat where students are “gathered to the mountains” to gain a vision of Christ.
Throughout the school year, regular gatherings include weekly Bible studies, college meetings, ministry meetings and occasional outings. Students also pursue together in smaller groups and have the opportunity to join a spring college conference.
During the summer, students are encouraged to read with their companions and are presented with various events they can participate in. These include blending trips with other clubs in Canada, short-terming at the Full-time Training in Anaheim and attending an international Summer College Training, and internships. During these summer events, students can blend with other college students to see the vision of God’s economy and touch the reality of the Body of Christ.
The current shift to online learning has afforded Eastern Canada the opportunity to blend much more among the campuses. Starting from September 2020 we now have a weekly ministry meeting that includes university students from Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia.
Western Canada
A campus apprenticeship program was started in Austin, Texas with the goal of providing an excellent opportunity for the Full-Time Training in Anaheim graduates to join the campus team and learn to serve the Lord on a full-time basis. In April 2001, close to 30 leading brothers and serving ones from the churches in the Greater Vancouver area visited the church in Austin to fellowship concerning the campus work for several days.
In the fall of 2003, with all the churches in Western Canada in one accord, the first team of 12 brothers and sisters from the Vancouver area attended the campus apprenticeship program in Austin. They returned to Vancouver in December of that year to begin the campus work.
Currently the campus full-time team concentrates on two of the top universities in Western Canada, the University of British Columbia (UBC) which has over 49,000 (2013) students and Simon Fraser University (SFU) with 35,600 (2013) students.
All the campus events at UBC are being held by the club Christian Students on Campus with August and September being the most active months. Events include Freshman Connect / Orientation, Freshman BBQ, Imagine Day (student booth), sowing, Bible distribution, welcome dinner and Clubs Day. Close to 300 attended these events for the 2014 fall semester, with 57% first time new ones and 45% freshmen. Over 55% of the students have indicated interests in further contact.
The attendance at UBC’s weekly Bible studies has also been increasing over the years and is now consistently between 40 to 60 or more. There are weekly meetings specifically for the Chinese-speaking students, many of them from Mainland China. Students are coordinating with the full-time serving ones to participate in individual appointments with other students and small group Bible studies.
Besides campus events, several homes off campus are open during the week to welcome students to enjoy home cooked meals and enjoy the Lord in a home setting.
In Calgary, the major campus is the University of Calgary. With regular appointments and two weekly Bible studies, the campus work is primarily carried out by the students themselves with support from the other church members.