FAQs

1. What is the Isaiah Project?

2. Who are the Interns of the Isaiah Project?

3. What does an Isaiah Project Intern do?

4. How long does the internship last?

5. Am I paid for the internship?

6. Who decides who gets an Intern?

The Ministry Exploration Team will take that into account when they review your application, but we want to place an intern with the Nurturing Congregation and the mentor they feel the intern will learn the most at, which might not necessarily be your home church or community. Though this might be frustrating at first, we really want to place you where your gifts and abilities will best be developed, encouraged, and nurtured. Placing an intern is a Spirit-led decision that is prayerfully made by all parties involved and in consideration of the needs of the host Nurturing Congregation and the intern’s gifts.

It is the expectation of the Ministry Exploration Team that an Isaiah Project Intern will be supervised/mentored by either an Elder or a Deacon. The mentors are required to attend a one day Isaiah Project Intern Mentoring Training Event which will be held in April/May prior to the internship. Interns will also attend this event.

An Isaiah Project Intern is expected to be given the opportunity to experience ministry in a variety of ways. During the ten (10) weeks, eleven (11) Sundays you are there, you will be given the chance to preach, teach, and take part in pastoral care, evangelism, and administrative duties. Because of all the experiences you will be having, it will be necessary for you to meet with your mentor/supervisor on a regular basis to reflect upon what you are learning and what is happening as you serve the specific church for the summer. Since ministry is not just an office job, you will also need to be available for some evenings if there are church events occurring. All-in-all you will be expected to work an average of forty (40) hours a week doing a mixture of various tasks that are discussed with and assigned by your supervisor/mentor. It should also be said that the Isaiah Project internship is a full-time summer position like any other job commitment and an intern is expected to refrain from working another job.

Complete the application form for either the College Internship or the Seminary Internship. It will automatically be forwarded to the Ministry Exploration Team for consideration. The application should be submitted for consideration by March 1st.

Call the Office of Ministerial Services at the Annual Conference office at 800-530-7236 or 502-425-3884.

The Isaiah Project is a program designed by the Ministry Exploration Team of the Board of Ordained Ministry. The Isaiah Project has three goals: To challenge local congregations in the Kentucky Annual Conference to assist in the development of young church leaders, to identify and recruit young people (college and seminary age students) for ministry in the Kentucky Annual Conference and to help college and seminary age students develop their call to ministry through an experiential service opportunity in a local church.

Nurturing Congregations are congregations who are partnering with the Board of Ordained Ministry in their attempt to develop young leaders for our Church.

There are several levels of involvement one can have to become a Nurturing Congregation partner. First commit to pray for those God is calling into leadership and ministry. Second, have an Invitation to Ministry Sunday during September. Third, use the resources provided through the Isaiah Project to be deliberate in finding ways to identify and recruit young people into ministry from your local congregation. Finally, partner with us by having an Isaiah Project intern serve in your local congregation.

The interns are United Methodist young people who are at least in the summer after their first year in college. They may be college students who want to explore what God is calling them to do in a deeper way. They may be seminary students who are looking for a place to gain experience in a local church setting or seminary students who are looking to see if the Kentucky Annual Conference is the place where God is calling them to live out their ministry.

One thing the Ministry Exploration team has been clear about is their desire that the interns have a broad based experience. This person is not a summer youth or children’s minister. The expectation is that the intern will have an opportunity to preach at least once during the internship. S/he should also have responsibilities for teaching a class of some sort. Preaching, teaching, administration, pastoral care, and evangelism should all be a part of the internship. Opportunity to assist in performing the sacraments is also encouraged.

There are two options for the length of hosting an intern. They are a summer internship and a school-year internship. The most common will be a summer internship and that is open to college students and seminary students. The summer internship lasts for ten (10) weeks and includes eleven (11) Sundays. It is the understanding that these will be forty (40) hour weeks during the internship. The school-year internship is open only to seminary students who are in need of field education credit. The hours and length of this internship will depend upon the seminaries requirements which could change. Please let us know if you would be interested in taking a school-year intern and we will work with you and the seminary student to get that set up.

The Ministry Exploration team of the Board of Ordained ministry will review the applications and match interns and nurturing congregations.

It is the expectation of the Ministry Exploration team that this person will be supervised by either an Elder or a Deacon. These persons are required to attend a one day Isaiah Project Intern Mentoring training event which will be held in April/May prior to the internship.

The Board of Ordained Ministry in its desire to partner with Nurturing Congregations has committed a large portion of its available programming money to this program. It is their desire to provide a $2,000 partnership grant to local churches that have an intern. A local church would be responsible for the rest of the salary for the internship, (college and seminary interns; BOM $2,000, local church $2,000). In the case where the student was from out of the area and unable to live at home, the local church would be responsible for providing housing, (this could not be in the pastor’s home) and any travel reimbursement done for church purposes. It is also expected that the local congregation would develop a three person team (could be SPRC members) to meet periodically with the intern just to give feedback and make certain that s/he is included in the church community.

Our website offers many resources for congregations, including links to places to apply for grants and other information. We encourage you to visit our website at www.isaiahprojectumc.com for more information and resources.

Go to www.isaiahprojectumc.com and complete the application form that you will find there. It will automatically be forwarded to the Ministry Exploration team for consideration. The deadline for requesting an intern for the summer is March 1st.

Call the Office of Ministerial Services at the Annual Conference office at 800-530-7236 or 502-425-3884.

The Isaiah Project is a program designed by the Ministry Exploration Team of the Board of Ordained Ministry. The Isaiah Project has three goals: To challenge local congregations in the Kentucky Annual Conference to assist in the development of young church leaders, to identify and recruit young people (college and seminary age students) for ministry in the Kentucky Annual Conference and to help college and seminary age students develop their call to ministry through an experiential service opportunity in a local church.

An Isaiah Project Partner is an institution or ministry setting that provides opportunities for a young person to hear God’s call and claim or where that call and claim can be further explored and defined. College campuses, camping/retreat centers, seminaries are primary as our desired partners.

Allowing visits/promotion by BOM members/representatives on camp to discuss call: Encourage deans of camps to do a call to ministry talk/invitation during the week; Designate a staff to be in contact with Ministerial Services Office and Isaiah Project representatives to communicate information about persons who have expressed an interest in ministry; Submit names of summer staff to Isaiah Project Team for prayer and support; Identify to Isaiah Project Team staff members who are considering some deeper call to ministry.

• Invite BOM members/representatives and Isaiah Project team members to speak on campus and at other events;
• Utilize diversity of forms of communication to nurture a culture of call: Chapel Services, Retreats, Personal conversations, Blogs, Bible studies, Special events focused on discerning call, Regular discussion on involvement in local congregation, Missional opportunities/trips, etc.
• Encourage student participation in and willingness to host Exploration type events
• Identify to Isaiah Project team students who have expressed interest in call
• Familiarize themselves with Ordination process and requirements especially Candidacy
• Posting information about Isaiah Project on community message board, other visible places of Foundation/campus
• Name to students the gift and graces for ministry Chaplain/Director sees in that individual
• Invite former Isaiah Project Interns who are on your campus to speak to group
• Partner with local congregations for ministry opportunities for students
• Work with Isaiah Project Representatives to nurture call in students who have been identified as wrestling with a call
• Encourage students who are experiencing a call to consider Isaiah project internship
• Provide Isaiah Project team contact information on designated College/Wesley Foundation representative, this is the contact person who can best assist in all areas of partnership with seminary
• Provide leaders, when asked, for mentor/intern training around specialized topics

• Allow BOM/Isaiah Project representatives to: visit campus, have lunch/dinner, speak in chapel and/or classes
• Post information about Isaiah Project Internships on community message board, other visible places of campus
• Provide field education credit for Isaiah Project internship
• Partner with Isaiah Project to help fund student field education experience
• Encourage students to consider Isaiah project internship
• Identify to Isaiah Project team UM students who are potential interns
• Provide Isaiah Project team contact information on designated Seminary representative, this is the contact person who can best assist in all areas of partnership with seminary
• Provide leaders, when asked, for mentor/intern training around specialized topics

The interns are United Methodist young people who are at least in the summer after their first year in college. They may be college students who want to explore what God is calling them to do in a deeper way. They may be seminary students who are looking for a place to gain experience in a local church setting or seminary students who are looking to see if the Kentucky Annual Conference is the place where God is calling them to live out their ministry.

One thing the Ministry Exploration team has been clear about is their desire that the interns have a broad based experience. This person is not a summer youth or children’s minister. The expectation is that the intern will have an opportunity to preach at least once during the internship. S/he should also have responsibilities for teaching a class of some sort. Preaching, teaching, administration, pastoral care, and evangelism should all be a part of the internship. Opportunity to assist in performing the sacraments is also encouraged.

There are two options for the length of hosting an intern. They are a summer internship and a school-year internship. The most common will be a summer internship and that is open to college students and seminary students. The summer internship lasts for ten (10) weeks and includes eleven (11) Sundays. It is the understanding that these will be forty (40) hour weeks during the internship. The school-year internship is open only to seminary students who are in need of field education credit. The hours and length of this internship will depend upon the seminaries requirements which could change. Please let us know if you would be interested in a school-year internship and we will work with you to get that set up.

Yes, they are paid! The Board of Ordained ministry has committed a large portion of its programming budget to the Isaiah Project. They are partnering with Nurturing Congregations in order to offer as diverse experience as possible. College and Seminary interns for the summer will receive a salary of up to $4,000 for the ten (10) week period. If interns are appointed to a church where they are unable to live with family, housing will also be provided. They will also be reimbursed for any business travel expenses. For school-year interns we will work within the bounds of the student’s seminary as to salary, hours, etc.

Go to www.isaiahprojectumc.com and complete the application form that you will find there. It will automatically be forwarded to the Board of Ordained Ministry.

Call the Office of Ministerial Services at the Annual Conference office. 800-530-7236 or 502-425-3884.