From Small Town to God’s Bigger Plan

Each year, the Institute for Christian Thought and Practice sends ministry students who have just finished their junior year of college on a seven-month, full-time, full-semester college credit internship called PRIME. PRIME stands for “Practical Research and Immersion in Ministry Effectiveness.” Current students and alumni of our ministry degree programs agree: PRIME is life-changing.

I had the opportunity to serve as the youth and arise intern at Irving Bible Church in Irving, Texas, located in the Dallas Fort Worth Metroplex. As someone who grew up in rural Michigan, I tried to avoid going to a big city in Texas for seven months as a 21-year-old. I told God “no” and tried to run like Jonah did when God told him to go to Ninevah.

When I actually got there, I had a lot of peace that this was where God intended for me to be, and that while there, I would grow as a young adult who is called to ministry. The staff members at Irving Bible Church never treated me as just an intern but saw me as a co-laborer in the harvest.

One of my favorite memories was the mission trip that the youth group took to the Navajo Nation reservation in New Mexico and Arizona. We got to serve people who did not believe the same things we do as evangelical Christians. Every night, we would debrief the day and  worship the Lord together. Through these moments, I was able to see the students authentically worship and pray for each other. It was the turning point in my internship where I realized that it was going to be hard leaving because of how special it was.

I grew in my self-confidence and my ability to lead in any way that God wants me to. Before PRIME, I would compare myself to people in my classes who were gifted teachers and more outgoing than me. I wasn’t comfortable in my own skin because I felt like I needed to be like everyone else, even though that wasn’t what God wanted for me. I am both relational and organizational, and God helped me see that my mix of gifts is unique to me and valuable to Him. Before PRIME, I never saw myself that way.

If you are interested in growing into the ministry leader that God created you to be, the Institute for Christian Thought and Practice offers the PRIME internship to students studying youth ministries, special needs ministry, children’s ministry, missions, or worship leadership.

Learn More about PRIME at Huntington >