Oak Park Baptist Pastoral & Ministry Internships
At Oak Park Baptist Church (OPBC) we want our internships to provide men and women aspiring to full-time Christian ministry with the biblical foundations for service in the local church. With this overall aim, we want to come alongside your ministry preparations in the following three ways:
- Complementing your theological education
- Exposing you to everyday church life
- Mentoring you through relationship
We have two internships to assist in your ministry preparation: (1) Pastoral and (2) Christian Ministry.
The Pastoral Internship seeks to raise up men who are committed to the Baptist Tradition; Reformational principles for worship; the Exposition of God’s word, Evangelical engagement of the world with the gospel, and a classical model of Pastoral ministry.
The Christian Ministry Internship is for those not pursuing Pastoral ministry, but who still aspire to other types of service within the local church. We want to give you practical experience in either music ministry, family ministry, or church administration.
Eligible Participants
While our internships are designed to complement those in seminary or Bible college, we will make accommodations for those not pursuing formal education. In this case, we would expect interns to pursue theological study through our in-house discipleship classes.
If not already a member of OPBC, each intern is expected to join the church prior to entrance into either internship program.
Compensation
- Required books and materials
- Any incurred ministry expenses.
- Staff/Elder Retreat & Conference (Spring Only)
Applying
The application process will open back up in early 2022. For more information please contact the church office.
Structure and Expectations
Along with being a model church member*, each semester will consist of the following expectations:
- Weekly mentoring session (Mondays from 8:00 AM – 9:15 AM)
- Weekly staff meetings (Mondays from 9:30 AM – 10:30 AM)
- Assist in general office administration
- Serve within one of our mid-week ministries (i.e. Children, Students, Worship, Men’s, Evangelism, Visitation) and on Sunday mornings (ushers/welcome, music, media, children, students, or adults)
- Quarterly leaders’ meetings with Elders, Deacons and Team Leaders (Wednesday evenings at 8:15 PM).
- Engage in an ongoing discipleship relationship.
- Regular reading and short writing assignments.
- Yearly Elder/Staff Retreat and Conference (e.g. Together 4 the Gospel, Gospel Coalition, etc…).
- Corporate church events (i.e. Family Business meetings, Fall Festival, VBS, etc…).
*A model church member is one who is fully integrated into the life of OPBC by participating in corporate worship, a community group, discipleship classes, and the mission of the church.