I feel like we are constantly thinking of the pros and cons to many things in life, in whatever situation we are in. Even if you aren’t, I’d encourage you to start.
“What’s next?” is always a question you get asked as you leave or enter into your last year of college. I remember this question would always annoy me, because I honestly did not know – and that’s ok. All I knew is that I wanted to spend at least a year in ministry, and then eventually find a job in marketing in the entertainment industry.
Went to Epic Conference my last year of college, and had no clue Epic had opportunities to serve with them even after college. I went to this Intern lunch to learn more about the opportunities, but honestly for the free lunch 😉 I was so hesitant to having conversations with people about serving with Epic after I graduate, because 1) I didn’t want to be swayed and recruited to interning, and 2) I wasn’t sure what others would think of me, especially my family, since they paid my way through college.
I remember praying about this opportunity that weekend at conference, but thought to myself “This is crazy, I can’t believe I’m considering this!” But when they presented the opportunity, the verse “the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few”, really resonated with me. So I told God that weekend, that he could use me as one of his workers out there, but just for a year. So I wrote out the pros and cons to doing an internship. Pros – being used by God, investing just one year. Cons – raising support/ finances, what my family would think of me.
Long story short, I ended up interning in Hawaii for 2 years (even though that was not an option for internship locations at the time), but I had a huge heart for Hawaii, as my family was there.
You look at my pros and cons to when I first decided to intern, to now understanding all that I’ve learned from being an intern or part-time field staff for many years…the pros and cons now are another story.
Yes, you’ll be used by God, and it’s just one year, and you can always do whatever it is you want after that year, but there’s so much more to doing any internship with Epic. One of the biggest pros for me was I learned my strengths and areas of growth personally and professionally. When you’re interning with Epic, you actually get to partake in so many jobs/ areas of professional development that you would never think of. You have the opportunity to speak in public at a weekly meeting (presenting, communication), lead a small group (leadership), disciple students (mentorship), lead events/retreats/conferences (directing projects), evangelism (engaging in conversation), leading your student leaders (organization), leading summer mission trips (responsibility), working on a staff team (relational, communication), raising support with ministry partners (relational, social maturity). All of these opportunities are actually things you can bring into a workplace one day. You will gain so much experience, in so many different areas, as well as learn about yourself through it all — Things you like, things you dislike, things that give you joy and life, things that drain you. I don’t think I would have been able to gain experience in all of these opportunities/ jobs if it weren’t for my internship with Epic.
For me, I never really knew that I strived in the area of planning — specifically event planning. I love planning events and being behind the scenes with logistics, organizing tasks, and delegating. I would have never known that until I was presented with the opportunity/ asked to be apart of leading an Epic Conference, as an intern. Odd you might think, but today, that is one of my strengths that I have grown in so much, it gives me life and joy to organize things for others, so others can focus on whatever it is they need to.
I want to encourage you (no, not necessarily to intern with Epic), but I want to encourage you to ask your intern or staff this week on what their experience has been like as an intern…ask them what they have learned, gained, or benefited from interning with Epic?