Leading the Church of the Future

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 we call 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 sat down with Blake Mast and asked, “How did your perspective regarding ministry change through PRIME?” He responded,

“The way that you do ‘church’ in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and Huntington, Indiana, is way different than the way you do ‘church’ in a big, technologically advanced, liberal city like Denver. It is way different.”

Blake experienced ministry at a large church to be different than the way that he grew up. LIFEGATE is a contemporary, highly technological church that is also rooted in tradition. They record their own music but have liturgical elements placed throughout the entire service, showing the process of 2,000 years of ministry across the globe. Blake stated, “The way that you do ministry depends on the type of people that you’re trying to reach,” and LIFEGATE emphasizes this through their ministry.

He also had the unique experience of being given a lot of responsibility as soon as he got to Denver since one of the men on staff was on paternity leave. He was thrown into the deep end of someone else’s job who was an executive pastor. This challenge pushed Blake to grow significantly in his organizational abilities. He had the opportunity to organize a series of events called Summer Nights, which took place every Sunday evening in June and July. On those summer evenings, they came together as a church body and invited the community for food, music, and games. Blake’s role involved connecting the church body with community partners and bringing others into the church who might not know God.

If you are interested in having an opportunity to lead in a ministry setting, the Institute of 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 >