Summer Interning with the Student Ministry at Topeka Bible Church

The summer ministry experience of a lifetime!

Are you ready to impact and influence the lives of students?
Are you prepared to build discipleship relationships that last?
Are you interested in planning and carrying out life-changing events and trips?
Can you think of at least 10 games you can play with bananas and panty hose?

If so, then interning with TBC may be just the place for you!

Purpose
Our goal is to adequately prepare our summer interns for a lifetime of relational, discipleship-based ministry with students. We aim to train and prepare you through experience in three key areas:
1) Relational ministry
2) Programming and event planning
3) Logistics and daily administration of a church ministry area.

We accomplish our goals by means of a 10-week paid internship. Each summer, our 6 interns live in Topeka, attend Topeka Bible Church, and spend all summer serving in the student ministry department. They split their weekly time between office time (planning, meeting, etc.), relational time (hanging out with Jr. and Sr. High students), and actual events (activity nights, Bible studies, and out-of-town trips/retreats).

Schedule
The 10-week internship runs from the end of May to the beginning of August. We will begin May 24th with team-building and creative planning for the summer, followed by getting familiar with the job (and perhaps Topeka) and the office before our first major events of the summer. We will continue until our summer closes with final intern meetings by August 3-4th.

The weekly schedule consists of 3 office days, 2 enforced days off, and 3-5 activity nights/days a week. This is a default week. Many other weeks of the summer we are traveling on trips and retreats.

Summer 2012:
June 4-8 - Summer Sizzle (in-town high velocity event)
June 19-23 - Sr. High Camp in OK
July 9-11 - Jr. High Rampage (2 night retreat in Kansas City)
July 17-24 - Sr. High Missions Trip (will require passport)

Expectations

• Interns are expected to follow the weekly schedule and observe our office hours and event calendar. Our schedule is rigorous: even our time away from the office is often "on-time." Thus many interns find the idea of a 2nd part-time job to be difficult or impossible.

• Interns are expected to point-man creative planning and carrying out of selected events over the summer. You will have to be in charge of many games and events. This will usually be done as a team of interns working together, but occasionally you will have to solo lead.

• Interns are also given various opportunities for spiritual leadership and direction. Each intern usually has an entire evening of our summer-long Bible study to lead. Regular small group Bible study leading is to be expected. You should be prepared to challenge yourself in the area of devotional preparation and public speaking.

• Interns are expected to make their passion and drive for the summer sharing the love of Christ with teenagers. Ultimately, this summer is not about you, your limitations or capabilities, your dating life, or your humiliation (which will often happen). Are you prepared to make this summer about the students, getting to know them, and loving them more than you love yourself?

The Process
So this sounds great and all, but you want more info, right? If you any questions or would like to talk further about working with our students, contact Scott DeSanders, the pastor of Student Ministries. Or call at 785-234-5545.

We will have a questionnaire for you to fill out electronically and email back to us.

Beyond that, we just want to get to know you, ask about your background, and what strengths and skills you might bring to the table of our team.

We would love to ask and answer questions with any potential summer interns through the Fall semester. By the Spring we will start talking more seriously and narrowing our field. We plan to have our final decisions made by early March.

Thank you for prayerfully considering this amazing summer experience! We look forward to hearing from you!