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Ministry Internship Program Resource Guide

CALLED TO SERVICE
Summer 2012 

            The Ministry Internship Program introduces interns to the rigors of church organization and planning in a way that helps them think theologically about the ecclesiastical planning and programming process and promotes their own understanding of their call to service. Wilton Baptist Church will foster a safe and meaningful environment where this is possible by assisting each intern with a Lay Advisory Group and a Pastoral Supervisor. The Pastoral Supervisor is Rev. Jason Coker, Pastor of Wilton Baptist Church.

            The purpose of the Lay Advisory Group (LAG) is to promote a deeper understanding between lay ministries and pastoral ministries and the relationship that exists between the two. LAG provides the interns with a lay person’s perspective of congregational life. As a rule, the Pastoral Supervisor does not attend these meetings, in order that the interns may freely develop their own style of functioning with the LAG. The LAG will consist of three entities: the Lay Mentoring Team, a Host Family and a Faith Partner.

A Lay Mentoring Team, composed of four to six people selected by the pastor, will be assembled for each intern. They will meet periodically with the intern to review the progress of the intern and the internship. While they are not responsible for evaluating the intern or the internship, they may offer important feedback to both the intern and program leadership. Topics of conversation may include the workings of the church from a layperson’s point-of-view; how staff, committees and deacons function in relation to one another; and what church members expect of pastors and staff. The team will offer the intern encouragement as the intern progresses through and prepares to exit the internship.

Each intern will be assigned a Host Family, which will exercise a ministry of hospitality to the intern throughout the internship. They will host the intern in their home as soon as the intern enters the internship, and will continue with periodic shared meals, community cultural or sporting activities, or any number of creative means of encouragement. After occasions in which the intern leads the congregation in a public rite, such as preaching or communion, the host family will give encouragement and feedback to the intern.

A Faith Partner will support the intern primarily through prayer and regular communication. Faith partners will act under a covenant of confidentiality with the intern. Concerns for the intern’s personal and professional life will be addressed in the context of Christian friendship.

            The Ministry Internship Program (MIP) recognizes the multifarious responsibilities that ministry imposes upon ministers. With that understanding, there are various tasks that are included in MIP. These tasks encompass critical readings of assigned texts, critical written responses to these readings, leading organizational efforts for church events, attending weekly supervisory meetings, visiting local mission partners, writing short essays about local mission partners, attending mission trips, attending meetings with LAG, etc.

There will be five assigned texts for MIP that will be provided for each intern. These texts will help interns learn (1) about their personal strengths, (2) about youth ministry methods, (3) about ecclesiastical organization, (4) about issues regarding church growth and (5) about the future dimension of congregational ministry. Interns will write a 2-3 page reflection on selected texts.

Interns will help volunteers plan and execute certain church activities such as, but not limited to, Vacation Bible School, Youth Mission Camp, the Mississippi Delta Mission Trip, etc.

Interns will meet with the Pastoral Supervisor for supervision meetings one hour weekly.

Interns will visit Wilton Baptist Church’s local and regional mission partners that include Graffiti Ministries in New York City; the Jericho Partnership in Danbury, CT; and Wilton Social Services in Wilton, CT. After visiting these mission partners, interns may write a 1-2 page description of each mission partner with specific reference to the rationale and plan of execution for each organization.

Interns will attend and help organize the church-wide summer mission trip to the Mississippi Delta.

Interns will meet periodically with their LAG.

Interns will also participate in planning various church activities for children, youth and adults.

Interns will prepare and deliver at least two sermons.

All tasks will be supervised by the Pastoral Supervisor.

DeVries, Mark. Family-Based Youth Ministry: Reaching the Been-There, Done-That Generation. Downers Grove, Ill.; InterVarsity Press, 1994.

Callahan, Kennon L. Small-Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths and Health for Your Congregation. San Francisco; Jossey-Bass, 2000.

Mann, Alice. The In-Between Church: Navigating Size Transitions in Congregations. Alban Institute Publication, 1998.

Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church: Reinventing the Congregation for a New Mission Frontier. Alban Institute Publication, 1991.

Winseman, Albert L., Donald O. Clifton, and Curt Liesveld. Living Your Strengths: Discover Your God-Given Talents and Inspire Your Community. New York; Gallup Press, 2004.