Serving Ministries to Fulfill the Great Commission

January 22, 2014

How does Rod Bergen describe the role of Ministry Services at Power to Change?

He uses the analogy of the military. “It’s like in a battle, every army has supply lines making sure things are running properly. Our role is to provide the background support for the ministries so that they can focus on their work.”

Since joining the organization as the executive director of Ministry Services in June 2013, Bergen has essentially taken on a CFO role, overseeing the Finance, IT, and HR departments, as well as the resource centre. In the last six months as director, his main focus has been on improving the finance department overall and implementing some key initiatives in management.

Prior to Power to Change, Bergen spent 14 years working at the Jim Pattison Group as the managing director of Tax and Financial Analysis until 2012, and was the tax practice leader of Coopers & Lybrand (C&L) in B.C. before that. Since earning his commerce degree from U.B.C. in 1977, he qualified as a chartered accountant in 1979, winning the gold medal for B.C. In 2008, he was elected as a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of British Columbia (ICABC).

Bergen’s reputation as a well-known tax specialist and his vast experience in business, legal and personnel management place him in an ideal position to ensure that all ministries can focus on their work (and not on operational issues). Three overarching goals provide the foundation for his role as head of ministry services: cost-effectiveness, accountability, and good financial information and management.

“As an organization, we have a serious responsibility to be accountable, first to God, and then to our donors,” he says, referring also to the example of Paul. The Scripture verse on his email signature is taken from the apostle’s words in 2 Corinthians 8:20-21: “We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honourable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man.” He adds, “Stewardship is a big part of this role.”

Without proper management of ministry services, no ministry at Power to Change can stay one hundred percent focused on the vision of leading people to Christ and inspiring believers to share their faith. Bergen’s role ensures that the organization can have the support it needs to continue advancing God’s Kingdom and changing the spiritual direction of Canada.

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