Marita Haugland is the student board leader of Emmaus Psychology Association in Norway.
When did you trust Christ?
This happened gradually in secondary and high school, as I first came to believe that God is real and then came to understand more and more of the Gospel. I have always sought and wanted to stand up for truth, so it is also an essential part of my walk with God that I very early wanted to be a witness to others (amongst them my family, who are not believers). It was through a Christian meeting in 2016 that I had a spiritual experience and understood that I must let Jesus into my own heart and follow him myself, not just be a witness to others.
What have been the defining moments of your Christian walk?
I had a very inspiring grown-up leader in the youth club I was a part of throughout secondary and high school. Witnessing her own life walking closely with the Lord inspired me to want the same. After High School, I attended a Lutheran Bible School for two years, and the teachers and Bible classes there meant a lot to my faith, especially for the reliable answers they gave to critical questions I had. I then lived in South Africa for five months, part of an evangelical non-denominational church, where I was very inspired by the church's determination to make a difference in the local community. This inspired my view of how I wanted to shape my future career, and I decided to first study theology and then psychology, with a dream of reaching people in my own country struggling with mental health with the Gospel.
What do you hope to gain from participating?
I have heard a lot about the Forum and that it may be a place for me to find like-minded people. I have been feeling somewhat alone in my calling to build this network of Christian psychology students and practitioners, and it would be great to meet other people with visionary ideas and dreams to be a Christian voice in a secular world, even if it is in other fields than psychology.
What is your ministry?
I am the student board leader of Emmaus Psychology Association. We work to create a fellowship where Christian psychology students can meet to share their faith and discuss topics at the intersection of Christian faith and psychology. To be specific, we host prayer groups at the university and hold monthly seminars, inviting a Christian psychologist or someone trained in another topic relevant to us. My role as a leader is to lead student board meetings, carry the vision of what we do, bring ideas to the table, follow up with board members, and try to engage several students. I am also part of the prayer team in my church.
What is your leadership role or what were your past leadership roles?
I have held various leadership roles since I was 13, when I started on a worship team in my youth club. When I was 17 years old, I started working at my local church with the youth choir. My role was to oversee all administrative work and lead the choir fellowship's spiritual and social aspects. This was when I started giving sermons. Since 2018, I have worked in both paid and volunteer roles across various Christian youth clubs in Oslo. I have also been giving sermons and Bible classes on various occasions outside of church.
Why should someone invest in your ministry?
I do believe that this dream of Christian psychology that I am carrying is something that could have a big impact on society in the future, both for Christians who are struggling with mental health and want help from Christian professionals, and also as a voice of the good news of the Gospel towards the secular society. I do believe this is important as mental health is one of the biggest health and life quality issues in Norway and the Western world. I also feel like I have been carrying this dream on my own, and I realise more and more that I need support from others to move forward with it. I would be most grateful to receive a spot at this conference as a step in that direction.
