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Ministerial InternshipIntroduction There are some things you just can't learn from a book. And some things best learned by being there and doing it. 'Ministry Internship' is a focused practicum, a chance to learn from your pastor's experiences. and develop pracical and necessary skills for pastoral ministry that you will draw upon throughout your career. "Ministry Internship" is one of the 25 courses required for ordination on the Washington DC District. However, in contrast to your 'regular' coursework, 'MI' takes one year to complete. In brief, you engage in an intentional mentoring relationship with your pastor, work out skill development goals, keep a journal, report on your growth and meet at least monthly with your pastor/mentor. All of this is explained in detail in the workbook for the course, the 'Ministry Internship' Notebook published by Nazarene Publishing House. When Do I Start? Once you have completed ten cources in the course of study, you should contact Rev. Todd Risser (Shippensburg Nazarene: 717-530-1632 or 717- 532-7450, (T.A.Risser@juno.com). You will recieve a registration sheet, the 'MI' notebook, and you pastor will be contacted, as well. What is the cost? 'Ministry Internship' has the same course cost as all other WBI Classes. SOME THOUGHTS AND QUOTATIONS ON THE VALUE OF BEING MENTORED R. Robert Cueni: "I have been very fortunate. Some outstanding people have shown me the ways of ministry. Their lessons and examples have saved me the pain of learning everything by trial and error. One should never assume, however, that competence in ministry comes naturally or quickly. The satisfaction resulting from effectively performing pastoral duties is not automatically bestowed with every seminary diploma. Conversations, particularly among less experienced clergy, reveal widespread dissatisfaction. ...Rather than feeling confident about what they do, they feel overwhelmed. ...they have lower levels of work satisfactions and a higher sense of personal and professional loneliness. Whereas more experienced clergy report fulfillment in ministry, younger clergy report being overwhelmed by the complexities of the pastoral role. ...Although the majority of clergy accomplish this crucial transition, they do it by a process of trial and error. For years they practice ministry as the walking wounded. Eventually they learn from shooting themselves in the foot and begin to practice local church ministry in more satisfying ways. In hopes of shortcutting some of the pain inherent in that haphazard process... (What Ministers Can't learn in Seminary: A Survival Guide for the Parish Ministry; Abingdon:1988.) Eugene Peterson: "...some climbers set out on their own. They bushwack through the underbrush, laboriously figure out each difficulty on the mountain with guidebook, map, compass, and a lot of trial and error. These climbers also gain the summit, but the accidents and fatalities among them are far more frequent. On the lower slopes of the mountain, it never occurred to me to have a guide. But about halfway up the mountain, alarmed at how many maimed and dead bodies of other pastors I was seeing, I became frightened. Aware of the danger of the enterprise and my own ignorance of the mountain, I decided that I must have a skilled guide..." Jerry Porter: "Having capable, motivated pastoral candidates assures us success in multiplying congregations. Without these workers our church planting strategies are a royal waste of time. 21st century Barnabas pastors are empowering the next generation of missional leaders and assisting them to plant the new congregations."
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