Why Your Ministry Needs Interns

We could always use more help. Volunteers are great but they have full-time lives. Then there is hiring more employees, but the budget doesn’t always allow for it. If you are in that in between another area to consider are INTERNSHIPS.

Investing in an internship at your church or ministry is worth checking out. It’s not only a way of expanding your capacity in the short term but an opportunity to set you up for success in the future because an internship is a:

LEARNING TOOL FOR YOUR CURRENT STAFF

It’s an opportunity to invest in someone and share with them what you know and don’t know. When you realize you don’t know something it should compel you to learn the answer. To help you move in that direction encourage your interns to ask questions like:

• Why do we run things this way?
• Who reports to who on this project?
• Have you ever done it a little differently?

Their questions might be challenging but they’ll force you to dig deeper into your strategies. You’ll see where you need to grow and where you need to invest further into your ministry.

BOOST FOR YOUR STAFF CULTURE

Anytime someone new joins a team it will change the dynamics. Even though interns are temporary they can bring in a missing dynamic that can create healing, humor or an extra boost of energy.

Make sure your interns get to know other people on your staff even if they have nothing to do with your department. This can be done by:

• Inviting them to join staff for lunch or in meetings.
• Encourage your coworkers to ask the intern questions about their schooling, background, etc.
• Invite the intern to shadow your coworkers for a few days.

The more they feel a part of the community the further they’ll invest themselves.

FRESH PERSPECTIVE THAT WILL BRING FRESH IDEAS

Your interns won’t be worn down by the day to day tasks that come with working in a church. They’ll be more open-minded and willing to try something new.

Don’t dismiss any ideas you might deem as inexperienced sharing. Take time to ask yourself, “Is there more to what they are saying?”

If they give you an idea have them flesh it out. Even if you know it leads to a dead-end have them explore it more. Failure is okay as long as there is learning from it.

BENEFIT TO MORE THAN JUST YOUR LOCAL CHURCH

An intern will help you out in the long run. It’s through an internship that you will discover future employees. It’s through an internship where your church will solve old problems with new ideas.

And, you’ll also bless other churches with your investment. While you might not hire that intern you can give another church a future employee with experience.

Before you decide to start an intern experience make sure you know the answer to the following questions:

• Do we want a full time or part time intern?
• Is this a paid, free or college credit program?
• What’s the duration of the program?
• What areas in my church or ministry will need one?

For more on building an internship look at other churches or organizations that have internship programs. Reach out to local universities and see what their programs look like.

Look at best practices and see what will work for you. Another great resource to building an internship program can be found in this article from NACE (National Association of College Employers) HERE.

Investing in interns is an investment into the church’s future. While the short term gain is certainly is a blessing the long term benefits are priceless.