The Christ Church Chester voluntary internship scheme is designed to give you experience of Christian ministry and leadership in the context of parish church life.
Our internship is designed to give young people the opportunity to explore God’s calling on their lives through volunteering in leadership and ministry at Christ Church. Whilst it is open to anyone, the program is aimed at students who are currently in their last year of study who would appreciate a chance to take 10 months out after university. Over the last 10 years we have seen 16 young people impacted through being on the program, and we look forward to working with those whom God is calling to join us each September.
What do Interns do?
In general, the time with the church is split into three parts:
- One third spent on assisting in general ministry at Christ Church where we work to place them with teams and give them opportunities to preach and lead worship to broaden their ministry experience.
- One third spent on training – we have worked with a number of different training partners, including St Mellitus College North West based in Liverpool, the Light Project based in Chester and the University of Chester. We would look to provide this training and learning as part of a worshiping community of other interns and those working for churches. The year also includes other opportunities for training, such as the Willow Creek leadership conference with our leadership team, being part of our leadership team and being mentored by Christ Church clergy and leaders, with a team away day at the start of the year.
- The final third is spent on a few specialist areas of ministry or projects where they are given a significant leadership role. Our interns are usually heavily involved with our student ministry but, depending on capacity, there may also be another area of ministry they might like to develop or experience, agreed with ourselves. It could include evangelism such as an Alpha course, children’s or youth ministry, worship leading, community work such as working with our drop in cafe for homeless and vulnerable people, or it could be a project new to Christ Church which they feel a particular call to.
Funding:
Depending on resources, we expect our interns to work up to 3 days part-time in the local area (e.g. working in a shop or café etc.), and be part-time with us for 3 days including Sunday morning. It is a voluntary role and, hence, our interns are responsible for funding the year through part time work. The church will, however, assist by contributing £250 per month towards accommodation costs and meet the cost of travel and all training through the year.
More Information:
If you’re interested in finding out more about the program, or for a current application park, please contact our administrator, Carys Addison, at admin@christchurchchester.com