OK, if you really thought I was going to list 2,948 reasons to have summer interns for your student ministry at your church, your crazy. But, I’ll give you three! There are thousands of great reasons to have summer interns for your teenagers. Before I became a youth minister I was blessed to intern for four straight years at three different churches. I learned so much during that time from some of the best! I’ll be forever grateful to men like Howard Todd, Johnny Markham & Lee Milam. Not only did I learn how to become a better youth minister from these guys, but I also learned how to love, teach & train interns.
This is my 16th summer having interns as a part of our student ministry. I’m not sure how many interns have come through our ministry. But this part of our ministry is one of my favorite things about being a youth minister. So, here’s just three reasons why I love it so much & I think it’s one of the most important things a church can do…
1. Interns Help Students Catch a Vision for what it Looks Like to Love & Follow Jesus.
I always look to hire interns that have one central quality above all the rest — they have to love Jesus & have a real relationship with Him. If they deeply love Jesus then they will model what it means to be a follower of Jesus to your students. And they’re close enough in age that your students will see them, want to be like them & realize that they can love & follow Jesus too.
2. The Local Church is Investing in the Kingdom of God.
Not every intern will go into ministry professionally. They’re not all called to do that. But most if not all will give their lives to serving the local church in significant ways. And I love churches that have the vision & the desire to bless the larger kingdom of God by investing in the lives of interns. It’s an investment that has a huge payoff for the church!
3. Interns bring energy & life into your ministry.
One thing that I love about hiring college students is that they bring a ton of life & energy to the party! I love their creativity & their desire to do whatever it takes over the course of the summer to reach teenagers for the sake of Christ. These guys & girls are always gifted relationally & can come in & reach those hard to reach students. Just by hiring them you’ve expanded your ability to reach more students. I’m often reminded that Jesus preached to the masses, had 12 disciples, 3 of whom were in the inner circle & 1 he “loved.” Sometimes youth ministers are expected to be super close & relationally deep with 20, 30, 50, 100+ students. But let’s be honest. That’s impossible. Jesus didn’t even do that! But by pouring into a group of interns you can quickly expand your reach! And they’ll reach different students because of their gifts, talents, likes, dislikes, etc. It’s just one way to expand our reach & touch more lives for the sake of Christ.
BONUS:
Given the right circumstances you get the chance to mentor these young men & women not just for the summer… but for the foreseeable future. And it’s a relationship that’s full of mutual blessings for years to come! One of my favorite things is keeping up with former interns. These guys & girls have gone on to do amazing things for God. Some are still in ministry. And it’s awesome to have a front row seat to seeing God at work in them & through them for the glory of His name!
ONE MORE THING!
This summer we’ve been blessed with two of the best interns! Krista Jenkins & Brent Hall have been rockstars in my book! I’ll be eternally grateful for the gift of serving with them these past ten weeks! And Jana Frankum, who interned for us three years ago came back this summer to serve us & bless our group in a tremendous way! I’m eternally in her debt as well! I love being a part of ministry teams like this. I really believe the best ministry is born out of this kind of community. And I’m blessed beyond measure to have been a part of this community!
Those are just a few reasons why I love summer interns. How about you? I bet together we could name all 2,948 reasons to have summer interns!
