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An Intern’s Experience
Why Doing an Internship Is Awesome! |
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By Alex Weeks
Associate Youth Pastor First Church of God, St. Joseph, MI |
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I went to Mid-America Christian University to study ministry. I knew when I entered school that I wanted to be a youth pastor, and I knew I would learn a lot through the classes I attended. I am not just saying this; I genuinely loved my college classes. However, I think it is safe to say that any person who has done ministry for more than two days would agree that learning about ministry and applying what you’ve learned are two different things. Whether a person has attended a college or university, or has been thrown into a ministry situation with little to no training, real life will find a way of surprising and challenging you.
When I was finishing my sophomore year of college, a very wise man (my dad) encouraged me to seriously consider interning at a church that summer. He pointed me to the Intern Academy. It was early years for the Intern Academy, but it was a group of Church of God pastors who had joined together to create great internships and great community, working to empower the next generation of leaders rising up. I went through the application and interview process, and ended up at a larger church, serving under two youth pastors who had unique gifts, passions, and personalities. They led me through a summer of new friends, new challenges, and new perspectives. I read some books, I went on trips, I taught some Bible lessons, and I learned that ministry is unpredictable, challenging . . . and fun. I was taking the foundational knowledge I had received from school and was getting to apply it and see what it looked like in the real world.
I loved my internship so much, the next summer I looked for a different internship, at a different church, with a new coach with new gifts, passions, and personality. If my first summer was about connecting the dots of ministry, my second summer helped me discover what my personal flavor of ministry was. I planned the fundraisers, I took the kids to the beach, I drove the church van, and I learned that ministry was strategic and unstructured (all at the same time) . . . and exciting.
In college I was looking for men and women in ministry to pour into me and train me up to be a better leader. I was looking for churches that would be willing to let an inexperienced college student learn and try and fail at some of the tasks laid before me. I was looking for friendships with other interns my age, peers who I would be able to call one, or five, or twenty years down the road. The family I found through my internships includes some of my favorite memories with my favorite people.
If I had the opportunity to sit down with a current sophomore in college, looking for the same things I was looking for at that age, I would give the same advice my dad gave me— you need to do an internship. Based on my experience, these are the reasons why:
You get real life experience. I could read a book and learn how to write a lesson, but standing in front of a group of 85 living, breathing, smelly middle schoolers and trying to teach them about Revelation 5 is something that I would never have figured out in my “How to Teach the Bible” class.
You get profound mentorship. I was fortunate to have personal coaches in all my internships. These men and women could empower and encourage me because they saw me and knew me. To this day, I can call any of my coaches and know I would have the best sounding board for whatever questions or issues I’m working through.
You get out of your comfort zone. I was pretty intentional in looking for internships that were different than the church I grew up in. I was comfortable with what I knew; what I needed was to get out of my bubble and let God stretch me and grow me.
After I graduated from college, God took me to a new internship, in a new town, with a new church, which is a story in and of itself. This church is eventually where I landed long term, and I’m finishing my fifth year of ministry here this summer. I now sit in the coaching role, and get to speak into leaders rising up behind me. I pray that God uses me in the same way He used Gretchen, Eric, Austin, and Chris during my intern years.
Every place that I’ve been, God has opened my eyes to the people and challenges and beauties of these different communities. My internships shaped the leader I am today, and I am beyond grateful for the experiences I had. I carry the lessons with me, I cherish the relationships I formed, and I celebrate the fun I had in those summers during college. God led me to the exact places I needed to be . . . and it was so good.
John L. Green’s First Preaching Experience
EDITOR’S NOTE: Evangelist John L. Green was one of our early pioneer preachers. He was very instrumental in planting our Movement in the Northwest. His first experience, however, was not nearly as promising as that of H.M. Riggle (see p.7).
The brethren urged that I fill the pulpit, which I finally found courage to do. A good crowd was present. I arose and walked to the pulpit, opened by Bible, and was speechless. The pages of my Bible looked like Greek to me. I could not read a word. I decided my Bible was wrong side up. I turned it some three times. The sweat came out all over my body. I actually felt it going down over my body. All was silent except the low prayers of the brethren behind me: “God, help Brother Green.” Here the enemy was on his job. He accused me vehemently, telling me I was a fool and a failure and out of place, that God had left me, that I might know I was not called. Even there I prayed and said: “Dear Lord, you know I love you, have done all to your glory, and I do not believe you will take this way to show me that I am not to work for you.” I decided to stand right there until a victory came in my favor. I did and presently the pages became clear, the thoughts of the day returned, and for fifteen or twenty minutes I spoke with perfect freedom, and a great joy filled my soul.
At the close of the meeting a businessman came forward, and taking me by the hand, said: “Young man, this is your first time to fill the pulpit, is it not?” To which I replied, “Yes, sir.” He then said: “I am not a Christian, but I believe in Christianity, and I want to encourage you to keep on. I got lots of good out of your talk. There is something good in you. Don’t be discouraged over your embarrassment.”
This and words of encouragement from others were a great help . . .yet my struggles were not over.
--Pioneer Evangelists of the Church of God in the Pacific Northwest (self-published, n.d.) 73-74
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