Investment in Next Generation Church

Yesterday we had a conversation as a staff about interns and whether or not to have them, how they would work and what it would look like…overall it was encouraging to hear that the staff was all for them. It’s funny to look back at who’s been an intern over the past few years and how we’ve succeeded and failed investing in the next generation of church ministers. For me it’s been rewarding to know that a large part of the students who have interned in our church moved onto some type of ministry after college whether that’s here in Nativity or at some other parish in some other state. And I could end right there and say it was all because we knew what we were doing, but I’m not sure we always did. We did invest in them somewhat giving them books to read, giving them real responsibilities, but in the end it wasn’t as organized as I would like it to be…so what should an internship look like?
I’m not exactly sure, but the best way I can describe it is an organizations ability to invest in others to carry on their mission. It’s taking our values, principles, lessons and vision and inspiring the next generation of church workers to do what we couldn’t and to take what we’ve done to a whole new level.
This past year I’ve heard ministers come up to me letting me know that their are students in our programs and congregation who are interested in church ministry, I would love to be able to bring them along, connect with them while they are in college and help them make that interest into a career. Many of the staff here has found themselves in church ministry, but I want teenagers to look at it as a viable, successful and fulfilling option. So to make that happen I just pray that we allow ourselves to be open to God’s guidance in building an engaging internship, that we look at the values, principles, lessons and vision that we have and discover a method that will build up the next generation. I don’t know what you all think but I can’t wait to see what the next generation looks like.