The Grace Fellowship Church Fall 2021 Pastoral Internship

Grace Fellowship Church is now accepting applications to our second pastoral internship. Unlike our first class (held over five months through the brunt of the COVID-19 lockdowns), this session will run from September 13, 2021 to December 6, 2021. We are accepting two interns for this 12 week session and applications must be submitted by July 31, 2021. Accepted applicants will be notified by August 13, 2021.

Interns are required to meet on site at Grace Fellowship Church on Monday mornings, plus Tuesday through Friday workdays (9-5). In addition, interns are required to attend all the public meetings of Grace Fellowship Church and other evening and weekend meetings connected to their internship as assigned (hospital visits, counselling sessions, etc). 

The internship includes personal mentoring plus ministry involvement and exposure. However, the brunt of the internship consists in assigned readings in the areas of pastoral ministry, spiritual development, Baptist church life (ecclesiology) and Bible proclamation (preaching). The interns will submit a written paper each week interacting with these readings. These papers form the basis of a weekly group discussion on the topics assigned. 

Applicants should be men who have or are nearly completed seminary training and intend to pursue full-time pastoral ministry. They will demonstrate good leadership skills, a wide and warm-hearted Christian love for others and a zeal for the people of God. Existing pastors looking for a useful sabbatical program might also consider applying. There are no age restrictions. 

Applicants have until July 31, 2021 to apply.

More Details:

• The interns will meet on Monday mornings (9AM-1PM) with the staff elders of Grace Fellowship Church to review the previous Sunday gatherings, work through a particular text together, consider various pastoral situations and discuss their reading from the previous week. These sessions are led by Pastor Martin. 

• Interns will join the staff meeting on Tuesday mornings, as well as the regular Elders' Meetings, as observers. 

• On Friday afternoons, the interns will meet with the staff elders for the weekly sermon preview, service previews and final preparation for Sunday.

• Much of the other office time through the week will be devoted to reading and writing. Weekly papers must by submitted by 5PM each Friday. 

• Interns are expected to apply for membership at Grace Fellowship Church (if not members already) and attend all services of the church. They will also be invited to attend certain other meetings as observers

• Each intern will be assigned certain ministry leaders or members of the church to interview and learn from. 

• Each intern will be remunerated (a stipend paid out over the course of the internship) and supplied with books for the assigned readings. 

More details can be sought by contacting Pastor Steve Kim. 

The Blank Card

He would have turned 21 today. Assuming I had remembered, he would be opening a blank birthday card from me in his dorm room. 

It started when he was around 14 years old. Back then I used to write every kid in the church on their birthday. Just a little note to tell them I loved them and prayed for them and to urge them to believe the Gospel and trust in Christ. He had gotten a bunch of those in his life, but that year I sent the best one of all. 

Somehow I ended up slipping a blank note into the pre-addressed envelope. It was the nothing card. It could not have gone to a better kid. 

He was sharpening his sarcasm skills at a young age and when he got it and figured out what his lame pastor had done, he thought it was hilarious. So, he said nothing, waited a few months until my birthday, then mailed it back to me. Envelope and all! Thus began a little tradition. That card travelled a lot of miles back and forth over the years. You should have seen his beaming smile the Sunday morning after my birthday. Prankster. 

It is hard for me to write about him. People likely don't realize how attached a pastor becomes to the souls under his care. I had prayed for him regularly for many years. Seen him converted. Watched him spread his wings and step out of boyhood into manhood. He had served our church as an intern, coming back from seminary a new man — we all saw it — growing in his confidence as he dutifully took on hard things. We loved having him around. We were seeing a future ministry taking shape before our eyes. As one of the sisters here said, “He was one of the sons of the church.”

I thought about posting a picture I took of him the summer he was our intern. But, I think I will keep that one for me. In some ways it captures him. Occasionally he would arrive at the church building before any of us got there in the morning. He never used the bench. He just sprawled out that lanky frame on the sidewalk as he read a book. Funny how one little picture can capture so much of a person and yet so little.

Even now it is hard for me to believe he is gone. I was a part of all the things that must go on when a member passes away, but there are days I have to ask myself if it really happened. Like his dad, he was doing everything in life at double speed. Finishing seminary early. Engaged to be married early. Living like a man early. I suppose he even got to glory early, too. 

And for that we should be happy. Of course we are. But life under the sun is a confusing place. As much as we wait patiently for our future reality, we still have to get up in the morning. And this morning when I got up, I was thinking about him. I miss him. Not as much as his family or his fiancé, but he had a place in my heart, too. The son of my friend. A son of the church. A son in the ministry. 

If he was here he would be smirking as he opened my card. He would have known what was in it long beforehand. How much greater was his joy when he opened his eyes and saw the Lord? Certainly he knew beforehand what was coming. But now He sees. And that is the joy that will never end. 

So, I think I will finally fill in that card... 

Happy birthday, Nicky. I miss you. 

Announcement: The Grace Fellowship Church Pastoral Internship

Grace Fellowship Church is pleased to announce we are opening our pastoral internship starting on February 1, 2021. Details are below, including a link to the application page. 

We were preparing to launch this program right when Covid hit. It does not appear much will be changing in the very near future, so rather than wait for that, we have adapted our original plan to fit our new circumstances. Truth be told, we think these new circumstances have sharpened our vision for the internship. 

We will be accepting two interns for this initial run. They will need to be available on Monday mornings and Friday afternoons (February through June, 2021), as well as having several more hours during the week to work from home. The internship will focus primarily on Baptist church life (ecclesiology) and Bible proclamation (preaching). We have long held that the strength of a church starts with her pulpit. 

Applicants should be men who have or are nearly completed seminary training and intend to pursue full-time pastoral ministry. They will demonstrate good leadership skills, a warm-hearted Christian love for others and a zeal for the people of God. 

Applicants have until January 20, 2021 to apply. Interns will be chosen by the Grace Fellowship Church elders and notified by January 24, 2021.

Details:

• The interns will meet on Monday mornings (9AM-1PM) with the staff elders of Grace Fellowship Church to review the previous Sunday gatherings, work through a particular text together, discuss various pastoral situations and discuss their reading from the previous week. These sessions are led by Pastor Martin. 
• On Friday afternoons, the interns will meet with the staff elders for our weekly sermon preview, service previews and personal mentoring with Pastor Kim. Some of their office time on Fridays will be devoted to reading and writing. Weekly papers must by submitted by 5PM each Friday. 
• Interns are expected to apply for membership at Grace Fellowship Church (if not members already) and attend all services of the church. They will also be invited to attend certain other meetings as observers and be assigned to interview certain ministry leaders or members of the church. 
• Each intern will be remunerated (a stipend of $2900 paid out over the course of the internship) and supplied with books for the assigned readings (approximate value of $300). 
• Besides the time in office, each intern should expect anywhere from 2-10 hours of reading/writing time (depending on one’s speed at these things). 

More details can be sought by contacting Pastor Steve Kim. 

APPLY HERE