MISSION CANADA CAMPUS ASSISTANT
Ministry Location: Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo, BC
Ministry Focus:      Campus Ministry

As a Vancouver Island University (VIU) alumnus and baseball player (2012-2017), Austin Penner has lived out the student athlete experience before coming to know Jesus Christ in faith. In 2021, after years of worldly striving and personal struggles, he hit an all-time low. And God moved mountains to bring Austin to Himself.

Since coming to faith, Austin has been called to minister to the scene he was once deeply immersed in - the party scene. With a desire to share the good news of a free and redeemed life in Christ, his heart is now geared toward his friends and young people in his context who are yet to truly encounter Jesus.

Austin is leaning into the work that God has already started in many lives in Nanaimo, BC. As the Red Frogs Coordinator at VIU, he trains and leads teams of volunteers as they hand out water and provide support at campus parties, as University Christian Ministries (UCM) responds to the needs on campus with Red Frogs - a ministry that provides a positive peer presence in alcohol-fuelled environments, educating young people on safe partying behaviours and promoting alcohol-free and/or diversionary activities that engage young people in these environments in an authentic way.

Deeply valuing the role of male mentorship in his own life, Austin is actively involved in discipling male leaders and students on campus. Alongside his UCM co-workers, he also helps disciple VIU students in small group settings and helps facilitate prayer meetings, while growing in his preaching skills to bring the word to students in larger gatherings on and off campus, and leading outreach efforts to students and young people who have yet to encounter Christ by networking and partnering with Nanaimo-based churches and groups.

Austin has a passion for music that's been expressed through playing drums, digital music production, DJing at various venues and promoting curated Spotify playlists. He also loves working with his hands - building, creating, and landscaping. With a deep passion for theology and a love for the Scriptures, Austin is working towards his Masters of Divinity degree to continue his pastoral calling.