4 Essential Components of an Effective Church Internship

An effective church internship program can be invaluable in developing young leaders and energizing the congregation.

By Darrel Girardier

Growing and developing future church ministry leaders can be a daunting task. Yet, there are ways for churches to build a pipeline of leaders who can expand the ministry and create a more robust culture. One of those ways is building an internship program.

An effective church internship program can be invaluable in developing young leaders and energizing the congregation. There are four essential components of forming an effective internship program.

1. Established mentoring relationships

Think back to when you started in ministry. Who were the people who had an impact on you? Who were the people who helped shape how you do ministry? When you begin thinking back, you can recognize people who poured into you and helped you become who you are.

One of the critical components of any successful internship program is an established mentoring relationship between the intern and minister. This relationship is more than just dispensing timely wisdom. It’s about building regular communication that offers guidance and support as they navigate their role and receive feedback on their progress.

Use regular check-ins to understand the intern’s interests, questions, and concerns while offering feedback and guidance. Encourage them to ask questions and get involved in many aspects of the church to help create a sense of what ministry looks like. Be bold and show them the ups and downs of ministry. You must provide them with a realistic portrait of your role and other church staff’s roles.

“Much time and effort should be invested in educating interns on the philosophy behind the ministry so they can understand the ‘how’ and the ‘why’ behind the church's ministry.” — @DGirardier Share on X

It’s important to remember that this relationship between a minister and an intern will differ from normal employee relationships. Therefore, much time and effort should be invested in educating interns on the philosophy behind the ministry so they can understand the “how” and the “why” behind the church’s ministry. The church internship should not feel like a typical 9-5 position; it should feel like an education.

2. On-the-job skill set training

This brings us to another significant component of an internship program, which is on-the-job training. On-the-job training is a valuable way to help interns learn new skills and gain practical experience that is hard to replicate in a seminary classroom setting. Now, when you’re developing training for an intern, it’s essential to work with the intern to assess their current level of abilities, identify their strengths and weaknesses, and then determine what specific skills the church can provide training for to help them build upon those abilities.

Assessing their current skill set will allow you to provide individualized training for each intern’s needs and interests that will help them grow personally and give them a realistic sense of how they can improve.

“On-the-job training is a valuable way to help interns learn new skills and gain practical experience that is hard to replicate in a seminary classroom setting.” — @DGirardier Share on X

Remember, this training doesn’t necessarily have to come from the direct supervisor. You’ll often want to bring in outside domain experts to help your interns develop their skills. This training could be done through virtual mentors, online classes, or finding additional leaders in your congregation who have experience in the areas where your intern needs help.

You can also further enhance this training by providing clear goals and expectations for improvements. This makes the internship even more attractive to existing and future interns because they can quickly identify what skills they will walk away with after the internship has ended.

3. A timeframe for maximum value and growth

When setting goals for your internship program, you must also incorporate a well-thought-out timeline for the program. Outlining specific, measurable goals and checkpoints on a timetable will guide the intern and develop a clear path for their growth. A well-structured roadmap for their internship entices the intern to strive for more and motivates them to achieve each target on the timeline set. This timeline also allows the intern and the church to better manage expectations and gauge progress.

An additional benefit of establishing a timeline is that it clarifies for your interns that this is a temporary position. You’ll need to remind your intern their current situation doesn’t guarantee future employment at the end of the internship. This timeline will help make the end of the internship a healthy process and remind the intern to plan for life afterward.

4. Integration into church culture

One strategic benefit of internships is creating a pipeline of future church leaders who understand and are bought into your church’s culture. One pain point that churches feel is onboarding new staff and going through the period where new staff members try to adjust to the culture. Depending on the church’s culture, this adjustment can take months or even years.

“One strategic benefit of internships is creating a pipeline of future church leaders who understand and are bought into your church's culture.” — @DGirardier Share on X

However, if new staff come from an internship program, you can often cut that adjustment period considerably. Why? Because if an intern has spent their formative ministry years learning the “why” and “how” of ministry directly from your church, they’ll quickly pick up on how to do ministry in a way that fits with your church’s DNA. This abbreviated onboarding also helps the church maintain momentum on crucial ministry goals.

In addition, by having a new staff member who’s already bought into the mission and vision of your church, you do not have to deal with staff who want to reinvent the way the church does ministry. Instead, this sideways energy can now be devoted to advancing the church’s ministry.

Building for kingdom impact

As you can see, investing in an internship program can benefit the church and interns. By establishing solid relationships with mentors, providing valuable skills training, setting measurable goals, and integrating interns into the church’s culture, you’ll create a pipeline of future leaders eager to serve the church. When done correctly, it can be a fulfilling and rewarding experience for both the intern and the church as this program grows with the potential to build for kingdom impact.

For permission to republish this article, contact Marissa Postell Sullivan.