Michael and I have been attending church for the past few years and finally found something that we think works for our family and we are so overjoyed that we are regularly surrounded with loving people, who love to speak about and worship the name of our Lord.
Although our daughter is still young and our boys never took a liking to attending church with us on a regular basis, we have come to appreciate the Youth pastor at our church and I find her to truly be an “inspirationally inspiration” person in our local community!
Her name is Elizabeth Bjorling and here is a little about her:
Elizabeth grew up in West Central Illinois on a farm. She feels that she had an amazing childhood with loving and incredibly creative parents. She was super involved in high school and went on to earn her undergraduate degree from Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL. It was during her time at Olivet that she feels that she really began to discern what God was calling her to do! She went on to do an internship with inner city kids in Battle Creek, Michigan and God changed forever changed her heart. She began full time as the Youth and Children’s Minister at Savoy United Methodist Church caring for students ages 0-18 for 2 years and then God called to her to College Church of the Nazarene. She has served at College Church for the last 9.5 years as the Preteen and Jr. High Pastor with 5-8 grade students.
Here is the best part of her job and learning what an impact she has made on local and area youth:
Some of her favorite memories have been watching the transformation in the hearts and lives of our local youth as they encounter God’s love for the very first time! Each year she looks forward to creating environments and experiences for students to invite their friends to, helping them learn how to serve others by taking students and Parents on Mission Trips, retreating to encounter God with group of spiritually hungry students, creating cardboard villages for sleeping outside to raise money for the homeless, and having milkshakes with students and parents to talk about the big and small decisions in life! She also mentored 12 university students as interns each year, which means there are so many now out in the field serving Jesus on a full time basis and all over the world!
Accomplishments as Youth Pastor:
More than 35 students accepted Jesus every year! More than 50 rededicated their lives to him each year. And over 10 of them were baptized each year. In 9.5 years, that is a lot of students and parents who have made remarkable decisions and Elizabeth is so humbled to be part of each one!
Personal Accomplishments:
Wrote and published a curriculum for Preteens/ Jr. Highers called Wired for Word Action
Graduated with my masters in religion
Was ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene
Published several articles in Grace and Peace Magazine
Served undercover as a lunch monitor at Bourbonnais Upper Grade for 4 years
Wrote and published a curriculum for Preteens/ Jr. Highers called Wired for Word Action
Graduated with my masters in religion
Was ordained as an elder in the Church of the Nazarene
Published several articles in Grace and Peace Magazine
Served undercover as a lunch monitor at Bourbonnais Upper Grade for 4 years
Future Plans:
Elizabeth will be the Executive Director and primary speaker for HagahMinistries. Hagah is an exciting new ministry that will do one day conferences around the country for students focusing on helping them get into the word of God and devour it like a hungry lion! In addition, she will also be pursuing a Ph.D.
Favorite Scripture: According to the message “ But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel; “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You are mine. When you are in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you are in rough waters, you will not go down. When you are between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- Because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” Isaiah 43:1-4.
Elizabeth will be the Executive Director and primary speaker for HagahMinistries. Hagah is an exciting new ministry that will do one day conferences around the country for students focusing on helping them get into the word of God and devour it like a hungry lion! In addition, she will also be pursuing a Ph.D.
Favorite Scripture: According to the message “ But now, God’s Message, the God who made you in the first place, Jacob, the One who got you started, Israel; “Don’t be afraid, I’ve redeemed you. I’ve called your name. You are mine. When you are in over your head, I’ll be there with you. When you are in rough waters, you will not go down. When you are between a rock and a hard place, it won’t be a dead end- Because I am God, your personal God, the Holy of Israel, your Savior. I paid a huge price for you: all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in! That’s how much you mean to me! That’s how much I love you! I’d sell off the whole world to get you back, trade the creation just for you.” Isaiah 43:1-4.
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