Collegiate Youth Ministry Internship

Woodhaven Baptist Church in Cary/Apex, NC is seeking a collegiate intern in the summer of 2025 to support an on-going summer internship program for high school age youth. This is a guided growth experience that will contribute to the understanding of contemporary issues in church life, Christian education, and youth ministry. The collegiate intern could be able to receive university academic credit. Receiving academic internship credit is optional and dependent on the individual’s school policies.

BACKGROUND:  
In response to the Growing Young …Together initiative a summer internship program has been conducted for Woodhaven youth ages 15-18 for the past six years. The success of this program has led to the desire to continue the program for Woodhaven youth and engage a collegiate intern as the Team Leader. The dates for the collegiate internship are May 12 or 19 through August 6 (dates are negotiable based on the personal needs of the selected intern). The “Growing Young” initiative being undertaken by many congregations can be better understood by ordering the book “Growing Young: Six Essential Strategies to Help Young People Discover and Love Your Church.”

This developmental internship experience will focus on:

• Spiritual development through building relationships for support, coaching, and mentoring.
• Personal development through self-assessment of skills, abilities, and interests; communications/confidence building, personal time management, leadership, and workforce competencies.
• Service/Mission projects on the campus of Woodhaven and the external community will focus on the teachings and behaviors of Jesus, and on teamwork and intergenerational friendships and mentoring!

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES:
In cooperation with Woodhaven Staff and program coordinator, the collegiate intern will support the implementation of children/youth focused programs already scheduled for the summer. Examples may include one youth missions camp or conference, Vacation Bible School and other planned church activities organized by current church leaders. Sunday church participation is not required, but the intern may choose to gain experience by attending a staff meeting, participating in a worship service, etc.
Assist in the high school intern/family orientation information session.
Assist in organizing a 2-week (3 days per week) core internship for 4-5 Woodhaven teens that includes a balance of personal development, workforce preparation, missions and community service activities, and spiritual exploration and development. Dates for this experience are June 17-19 and June 24-26. These activities will engage resource people to assist in program delivery. Daily or weekly “themes” will serve the purpose of nurturing relationships, teamwork, leadership skills, and spiritual development. The intern will coordinate with the lay leader volunteer program coordinator to plan the curriculum exercises and logistics, building upon prior year successes and the strengths and interests of the collegiate intern.

Participate in the planning and implementation of 2-3 local summer activities under the leadership of Woodhaven staff with the purpose of nurturing relationships, teamwork, leadership skills, and the spiritual development of youth, as well as receiving valuable coaching/mentoring from Woodhaven ministerial staff. These can be flexible depending upon the interests and skill sets of the intern.

Work hours and days off are flexible as negotiated with administrative staff during the hiring process and throughout the summer. Church hours are typically Monday- Thursday 9 a.m.- 5 p.m.

Coach/guide each high school intern to complete an independent project that is negotiated based on an assessment of their knowledge, skills, abilities, and interests.
 
QUALIFICATIONS:

• Preference for upper level 4-year college or university student or graduate level Christian Education or Divinity Student
• Past participation and/or leadership in the youth program of a faith-based organization or other positive youth development focused organizations
• Currently in a strong, growing spiritual journey congruent with the philosophies, beliefs, and practices of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of NC
• Engaging personality and willingness to be a positive influence on youth and children

Compensation: Negotiable based on experience, qualifications, and work schedule. The maximum funds available for the stipend are $4000, paid for in three installments. (Adjustments to this stipend will be negotiated at the time of hiring, based on the schedule needs of the intern candidate and church staff).

Relationships: The success of the collegiate intern experience will be fostered by the maintenance of effective relationships and communications with Woodhaven staff, the internship coordinator, volunteers, high school participants/families and community resource people.

Administrative/HR contact is Associate Pastor, Youth and Young Adults. Programmatic contact for “Leadership Intensive” is internship volunteer coordinator.

To discuss this role please contact:
Volunteer Program Coordinator: Mike Davis 919 219-4666       ddiversifiedllc@gmail.com
Ministerial staff contact: Brian Lockamy 919 605-4112              brian@woodhaven.org

Application:
Apply anytime no later than April 15, 2025, by emailing letter of interest and an updated resume to:  Brian Lockamy at:   brian@woodhaven.org