McKinleyville Baptist Church Pastoral Internship Program
The purpose of the McKinleyville Baptist Pastoral Internship Program is to glorify God through the practical and theological training of future pastors. The internship program is not intended to build and staff ministries within our own church (though we are not necessarily opposed to this in God’s providence). Rather, the program has in view the training of pastors for the sake of the larger Church and the Kingdom of God.
The program is designed to introduce the intern to gospel-centered, pastoral ministry within the context of the local church. We seek to provide an opportunity for future pastors and church leaders to reflect on how the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the whole council of God affect the nature of the church and pastoral ministry.
Interns will be exposed to what it means to serve the local church, not according to the latest cultural waves or church growth fades, but according to all that the Bible says about our life together. Interns can expect to gain a practical understanding of the role of God’s Word in preaching and teaching, the centrality of the gospel for pastoral ministry, the characteristics of covenant church membership, and the dynamics of the church’s mission in the local community.
Qualifications: Candidates for the Pastoral Internship Program must be members of MBC. In most cases, they shall have completed their undergraduate degree, shall be at least 21 years of age, and be enrolled in a seminary approved by the Senior Pastor. Since the program is designed to train future pastors, the program is open only to male candidates.
Length of commitment: The internship program is a one-year commitment that can begin anytime during the calendar year pending approval of the Senior Pastor and Board of Deacons. The intern will receive formal reviews by the Senior Pastor after 5 months and 10 months. The internship is renewable each year after the 10-month period, for no more than 3 years, pending the approval of the Senior Pastor and Board of Deacons.
Renumeration: The Pastoral Internship Program is a voluntary program with no guaranteed pay. It is the view of the leadership at MBC that the program shall sufficiently benefit the intern in many ways (e.g., growth in knowledge, experience in and exposure to pastoral ministry) to help launch the future pastor into ministry. However, the leadership at MBC may choose to provide financial assistance to the intern as God prospers the church.
Time commitment: The weekly commitment for the internship program shall be no less than 5 hours per week.
Specific Requirements:
The intern shall be discipled by the Senior Pastor. He shall meet bi-weekly with the Senior Pastor.
He shall be assigned books, sermons and/or lectures to be discussed with the Senior Pastor. If the intern is taking seminary courses, his reading and assignments will primarily consist of his class content. This will assist the intern in processing and applying what he is learning.
He shall partner with the Senior Pastor and Board of Deacons to help care for the flock at MBC.
He shall strive to meet bi-weekly (alternate weeks of meeting with the Senior Pastor) with members at MBC, as well as other local pastors, ministry leaders, and missionaries. He shall work with the Senior Pastor to schedule these meetings and determine their purpose.
He shall periodically attend deacon’s meetings.
He shall help plan, prepare, and run the Sunday services.
He shall be given opportunities to teach/preach in various contexts such as Sunday School, Sunday services, Fellowship Groups, ACS Chapels, Youth Group, Nursing Homes, Rescue Mission etc.
He shall serve where needed in general administration and church events.
He shall be an active member of a Fellowship Group.