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THE START:
The idea was born a couple years back in 2023 while Pastor Nick Clark previously served as the pastor of Wilmington First Baptist Church.
Burdened for small, declining churches, Pastor Nick saw an opportunity. What if small churches heavily invested in the development of future ministry leaders by offering ministry experience they'd likely never get in a large church?
He saw that ministry students interning at large churches had minimal opportunities to: preach, lead teams, participate in planning, balance multiple roles, etc. At the small churches? They were desperate for young people who eagerly want to get involved. Interns at these churches could put their classroom learning into practice immediately and gain invaluable ministry experience.
DEVELOPMENT:
Pastor Nick brought the idea of launching an internship program at Wilmington First Baptist (a church of 20) to the leadership in the Summer of 2023. His hope was that after an Introductory Internship, the church might be able to get a CU ministry student to commit to a paid long-term internship. God provided their first intern for the Fall Semester of 2023. While he didn't recommit, Pastor Nick stayed hopeful.
At the following Cedarville Involvement Fair in 2024, WFBC got 2 interns who stayed through the Fall & Spring Semesters (2024-2025). An unexpected opportunity became possible and they ended up offering one of those interns a residential internship for the following school year (2025-2026). It was a huge blessing as Pastor Nick was called to pastor a church in Xenia mid year of 2026, and WFBC still had an increasingly experienced intern to help keep things running during their pastoral search. Incredibly, WFBC was able to find and vote in a new pastor within 5 months time! God is good.
THE GOAL:
The initiative's goal is to address the increasing deficit of future church leaders by encouraging and equipping healthy servant leaders for the Church.
There is a huge opportunity for both churches and for ministry students!