Cam and Josie Janzen - Campus Ministry
International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC)
When I, Cam, was around 10 or 11 I felt God calling me to an intercultural focus in life. I remember that night vividly. It was a very clear call. Not an audible voice but a clear thought that was definitely from God. I thought that meant I would one day move to another country, but God had other plans. I even tried to move internationally, but nothing worked out. Instead God started me off with serving international high school students while I was in college. I didn’t get the clue, so he sent family and I to Vancouver to serve in a Chinese church and it was there that I realized God had been and was calling me to serve in Canada as the world came to our doorstep. And so began our adventure of serving and loving international students on staff at International Student Ministries Canada (ISMC) full time.
Our vocational ministry start in Vancouver was nearly 20 years ago now and after serving on Simon Fraser and USask campuses I find myself in a national leadership position at ISMC and I am grateful for the faithful support and prayers of God’s people. Through your partnership we have seen 64 commitments to Christ in our various ministry locations in this university year alone.
Thank you for your continued support and your partnership in ministry. Please do reach out to us if you would like to partner with us in the Great COmmission. That’s not a typo. The Great Commission is a collaboration. We are in this together. We have 500,000+ international students from 184 different countries at Canadian universities to love through prayer, financial support of ministry partners and more.
In Him,
Cam & Josie Janzen
Update Jan 2024: Happy New Year! 2023 had many big moments in international student ministry and we expect more of God's unmatched grace and mercy in 2024. The ministry of ISMC has seen over 20 faith commitments happen this past semester, including a very recent decision to follow Christ over the holidays by someone who had been tangibly resisting the Spirit for some time. We praise God for his transformative work in the lives of these amazing young men and women - future leaders of homes, communities, marketplaces, and countries. Thank you for joining us in ministry by prayer, finances & words of encouragement!
Update Oct 2024: Hello Elim Church family, We have some significant changes and opportunities come our way since our last update to you all.
The first part of this update is that I have been enjoying a sabbatical for the past few months. ISMC gives our staff the opportunity to have a ministry sabbatical every seven years of full-time ministry and we are grateful to have had the opportunity to rest and spend time focused on spiritual, mental and physical rejuvenation. This opportunity came at a very fortunate time as just prior to stepping away on sabbatical I had been offered and accepted the primary leadership role at ISMC.
So beginning in October I will be stepping into the position of President at ISMC. This is a big move for me and your prayers for wisdom and godliness in leadership would be greatly appreciated. I am praying that through my steps of obedience the lives of international students and the lives of ISMC staff across Canada and internationally will be blessed and God’s name will be glorified.