Bio

Roger Berrington was born in Winnipeg and embraced Christ while a student at the University of Windsor at the age of eighteen through the influence of the Navigators campus ministries. A licensed Baptist minister, Roger has been involved extensively in local church and campus ministries leading the Navigator ministry at the University of Manitoba since 1988. He has served on the Navigators national campus leadership team for 15 years and was recently appointed National Campus Director for the Navigators of Canada. Roger loves birthing creative new ministry ventures and has been involved in piloting and pioneering ministry projects ranging from art exhibits to campus missions to concert production to church plants to film and other media projects. Roger is passionate about experiencing and communicating the gospel in non-religious ways and is committed to a continuous study of the life and teaching of Jesus. He has experience in partnering with many organizations, groups and people, is an active volunteer in his neighborhood and community and has participated in leadership groups of several ministries including his home church Grant Memorial. After graduating from the University of Manitoba, Roger pursued graduate training at Providence Seminary where he completed a Masters in Student Development.

Roger volunteers as the chaplain for the University of Manitoba Bison hockey team and is excited about the Bisons’ drive for the University Cup in 2006-07. He has provided leadership for the CMDS student ministry at the University of Manitoba since 1999 and oversees a variety of ministry initiatives with an active and adept student leadership team.

Roger enjoys classic rock, 2 cups of coffee each day, playing hockey and golf as well as cyclotouring and is looking to complete a number of cycle tour trips in the near future including the Kettle Valley Trail, Maah Daah Hey and the trip from Jasper to Banff.

Roger is married to Donna and they recently celebrated 20 years of Donna’s enduring Roger’s idiosyncrasies and peculiar combinations of interests. Roger is the father of three—Stephanie, Kirstin and Brent.

U of Manitoba Group Update

January, 2008

CMDS started out in fall 2007 with a vision of reaching more students on campus by launching some volunteer opportunities for people to get involved. Our opening BBQ attracted a record 200 students, praise God! They came to check us out, and hear about our plans for the year as well as testimonies from people about what CMDS has meant in their life.

Our weekly meeting started out small, with a focus on praying for the students on campus and gaining direction for the ministry. These groups have grown and have begun to include more Bible study. We are still praying for direction, a larger group of dedicated people, and greater involvement from Med Rehab and Dentistry students.

We have also held a monthly Dinner with Docs, where 15-30 students from mixed backgrounds have enjoyed the food, the hospitality, and the experiences and the wisdom of a Christian physician. We also put on a Christmas brunch graciously hosted by McDermot Ave. Baptist Church, with great food, and a speaker, Dr. Gerry Bowler (author of the “World Encyclopedia of Christmas” and “Biography of Santa Claus”), who did a tremendous job articulating the meaning of Christmas, to approximately 50 students in attendance.

Our volunteer outreach has enabled us to share Christ’s love with students on campus and in the city of Winnipeg. It has also brought about respect on campus for CMDS. We have gone to Winnipeg Harvest, Siloam Mission, and the Run and Read program with small groups. We have obtained campus-wide support in our “Operation Christmas Child” project, getting enough donations to ship 30 Christmas boxes to children overseas. We sold cookbooks and Little Traveller dolls to raise money for AIDS. The next exciting project was spear-headed by a Muslim student, who asked us to join with him to set up Christmas trees in the student centre as a drop-off location for donated toys and clothing. We continue to be surprised by the generosity of the students. They are starting to observe Christ in us and are asking questions about the essence of the Christian faith. Pray for guidance and opportunities to talk to more people about our motivation--Christ.

For the New Year, 2008, 13 of us are looking forward to the Western Canada Student Retreat in Calgary, thanks to some very generous donations. We will also be having continued weekly Bible studies and a monthly Dinner with Docs. We’ll be starting a study focusing on the essential beliefs of a Christian, one-on-one conversations about the faith, volunteering more at Winnipeg Harvest, Siloam Mission, Run and Read, and wherever else God opens doors. Please pray for guidance for the leaders, as well as in finding leaders for next year. Pray that hearts would be opened to the gospel and for the courage of the Christians on campus to share with their fellow students.

Ashley de Groot
Cheryl Peters
Roger Berrington
rogerb@navigators.ca

2006

Our Dinner with the Docs are going well. We have had one very successful one with about 20 students attending. Our monthly specialty lunches are being launched on October 31. As well, our lunchtime Bible studies with the topic “Questions, Stories and Hard Sayings: The Life Jesus Invites Us To Live” are going great with anywhere from 10-25 students attending regularly. In addition, there is a group of Navigator nurses who have started a Bible study on another campus, who want to join us for our CMDS special events.

The student leadership team is fantastic. Philip Bock, Purnima Rao and Kristine Christoph are doing a fantastic job.


A great start to say the least!

On Sept 7, we had our student launch for the medical campus ministry. I had asked you to pray for 75-100 students to come (and I must admit the “100” number was a real stretch for me. My faith paled in comparison to my three student leaders who were insistent on purchasing enough food for 100 guests). Well, lo and behold, we had, according to some conservative estimates, over 120 students there.

Now to give you some perspective 120 students represents over 25% of all the year 1 & 2 med students and those students enrolled in the med rehabilitation faculty. 25% of the campus student body came to our BBQ and heard one of the graduates share a brilliant message on the essence of what we try to do on campus. Friendship, Faith and a Foundation for Medical Practice were the key lessons. Since this BBQ, we have launched our mentoring program through our "Dinner with the Docs" events and our weekly Bible discussion group, where I am leading these students through a series I am putting together called “Questions, Stories and Hard Sayings: The Life Jesus Invites Us To Live.”


- Roger Berrington
rogerb@navigators.ca

"Special thanks go to Roger Berrington, our campus worker at the University of Manitoba, as well as the dedicated group of students who coordinated the Western Canada Conference, held in January 2006. It was completely sold out with 120 people in attendance."

To support CMDS' student ministry and Roger Berrington at U of Manitoba, and encourage medical and dental students to "Integrate Faith and Christian Ethics" into their professional practice, please click here to make a Staff Donation.