TL552A-C Manual

Bethel Seminary San Diego

Internship in Professional Ministry
TL552A-C Pastoral Ministry Internship Components
Orientation and Training
Supervisory Sessions
   Session One: The Internship Agreement
   Session Two: Goals in Spiritual Formation
   Session Three Through Seven: Experiences in Ministry
   Session Eight: Progress in Spiritual Formation
Grading
The Lay Intern Committee

Click here for PDF copy of TL552A-C Student's Manual (hard copies handed out in class)

Click here for PDF copy of TL552A-C Supervisor's Manual (hard copies handed out at orientation)

Click here for PDF copy of TL552A-C LIC Manual (hard copies handed out at orientation)

INTERNSHIP IN PROFESSIONAL MINISTRY

Learning by doing is integral to many vocational tasks. The student internship is the counterpart of the practice teacher, the apprentice tradesman, or the medical resident.

The New Testament presents this effective model of training as Jesus “appointed twelve—designating them apostles—that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons.” (Mark 3:14-15) The disciples learned by watching Jesus in action as well as hearing him teach. Barnabas nurtured and encouraged Paul who in turn mentored Timothy and Titus while Barnabas was patiently mentoring John Mark toward renewal of a life of service for Christ.

The internship setting is the bridge from the seminary classroom into a life of ministry in the church or parachurch organization. With in this setting the pastor/supervisor will help the student intern confirm his/her call and giftedness for ministry and then grow in skill.

INTERNSHIP SETTING
By the time of the orientation sessions, the student and supervisor will have negotiated the internship setting with job expectations. The goal for 522A internships is that they be paid positions because a paid relationship allows the church to expect more of the intern, which in turn gives the intern a greater sense of responsibility.

SUPERVISED MINISTRY DISTINCTIVES

Supervised Ministry recognizes individuality. Various opportunities are available that will satisfy the requirements of the program and are appropriate to the needs of the students. The supervised ministry staff will work with each student to find the opportunities which will take into account individual backgrounds and goals. Alternatives to pastoral ministry or Christian Education internships are available.

Supervised Ministry provides the realism of "live ministry." The student will begin to encounter this aspect of the program in TL551 but more so in the professional internship. Anxiety can develop as the student confronts a myriad of responsibilities all of which seem to have top priority. Learning how to deal in Christian love with many demands and various personality types is essential in preparation for ministry.

Supervised Ministry is built on the educational principles of supervision and evaluation. The program incorporates a variety of experiences designed to allow the students to see how they are perceived by others. This includes group sessions with peers, individual sessions with professionally trained counselors, one-to-one supervision by mentors, input from committees of lay persons, standardized testing, and interaction with faculty and supervised ministry personnel. This means that only ministry accomplished under approved supervision is acceptable for fulfilling TL551 and 552A-C requirements. When a student has had extensive past experience in ministry (ten years or more) or is in fulltime ministry (with five years previous experience) while enrolled at Bethel Seminary, alternate programs can be arranged with the Director of Supervised Ministry.

Supervised Ministry balances classroom work with ministry experiences. Inherent in all Christian vocations is the need for balance between the practice of ministry and the demands of study. It is part of the students' preparation to learn to handle this tension and develop appropriate balance. The program permits considerable freedom in scheduling major time commitments in coordination with other seminary requirements.

Supervised Ministry provides credible experience for future placement. A ministerial career does not begin with graduation; it begins during seminary. Encouragement is given toward denominational networking, building a respectable résumé, and using logic in career progression. Notices of internship opportunities are place on the Bethel website (www.bethel.edu/seminary_academics/gensem/placement/) and in the Supervised Ministry office. To simulate the realities of ministry the student is to take the initiative in seeking an internship. Referral for career placement is also managed through the Supervised Ministry office. Seniors will receive orientation to the process.

Supervised Ministry encourages spouse involvement in the ministry settings. For married students supervised ministry placement often has implication for the spouse and children. While there may be some disruption of the former church ties and expectations are placed on the family, the supervised ministry assignments can also be a valuable learning time. Student spouses are strongly encouraged to participate in some of the interaction sessions with the pastor/supervisor and in the ministry when possible.

Disabilities. Any student who because of a disability may require some special arrangements to meet course requirements should contact the instructor or the Access Coordinator for the Bethel Office of Disability Services by the second class period to discuss reasonable accommodations. Please see the Student Handbook, p. 22.

TL522A PASTORAL MINISTRY INTERNSHIP COMPONENTS

GETTING STARTED
General Orientation for 522A provides an overview of the requirements and guidance in finding a position. Although the student has the responsibility for finding an internship setting, the seminary staff wishes to be as helpful as possible. Ministry opportunities may be found by:

Consulting the notebook in the Supervised Ministry office or the Bethel Seminary website at: http://www.bethel.edu/seminary_academics/gensem/placement/CA.htm.
Inquiring of fellow students, pastor friends or denomination officials.
Talking with supervised ministry staff members.

The student usually takes the initiative in approaching the church or agency about a position and should be prepared at the first interview to discuss the general requirements of this unit. Before the ministry setting is finalized, it must be approved in principle by the director of supervised ministry who will need to see a tentative job description.

The Accreditation of Pastor/Supervisor
The Association of Theological Schools (ATS) guidelines for accredited supervised ministry programs require the training of field supervisors. The training assures that those who supervise Bethel Seminary students have a common understanding of their role, and that they have been sensitized to the unique role and function of the pastor/supervisor. Training in supervision in no way denies the experience and competency of the pastors involved, but seeks to channel those competencies into activities and relationships that have been seen to be most useful to students learning ministry. There are three levels of training involved in Bethel’s Field Education program.

1) Orientation for TL522A Pastor/Supervisors
A minimal training involvement has been deemed to be sufficient for those who supervise 522A field education experiences. The goal of the training is to inform new pastor/supervisors of the expectations of our program and to discuss the differences between the supervisor’s role as employer and the unique role of supervisor/mentor.

522A supervisor training usually involves a two-hour session.

2) Training for 522A Pastor/Supervisors
The goals in 522A pastor/supervisor training are to inform pastor/supervisors of the expectations of our program, to explore biblical models of supervision, to help the pastor/supervisor to become aware of his/her style of supervision, to train the supervisor in sensitivity to issues that often arise in internships and ways to deal with those issues productively. This is often done at the orientation meeting and/or subsequent individual or small group conferences. This training should take place within the first two months of the internship.

3) Continuing Education for Trained Pastor/Supervisors
Pastor/Supervisors should look for books and magazine articles regarding mentoring and study the biblical examples of mentoring. The pastor/supervisor is requested to contact the Director of Supervised Ministry one month before the completion of the student’s internship to evaluate together the effectiveness of the program.

ORIENTATION AND TRAINING

After a ministry setting has been found and approved, orientation sessions are scheduled for the student, the supervisor, and the lay intern committee.

THE SUPERVISORY SESSIONS

Each session with the supervisor involves a discussion of a previously prepared paper, following this plan:

Make a schedule for supervisory sessions at the beginning of the internship, allowing one hour for each session.
Submit the required report to the supervisor at least 24 hours before each session.
Discuss the report with the supervisor and have him/her sign it and make notations in margins.
Return the typed double-spaced two-page paper to the supervised ministry office promptly.

SESSION ONE: THE INTERNSHIP AGREEMENT (See "522A Forms-Internship Agreement")

List the responsibilities in the job description.
For each, state program objective(s) to carry out that responsibility.
List specific actions planned to meet each objective.
Establish criteria to measure the success of the specific activity.
The idea is to show how the internship goals specifically agreed to by all parties will be met.

SESSION TWO: GOALS IN SPIRITUAL FORMATION (See "Samples - Sample Goals...")
Answer the following questions:

Who are the people and what are the books and experiences that direct my spiritual growth?
What are the greatest difficulties I encounter in my walk with God?
What disciplines of spiritual formation could I begin to develop during this internship?

SESSIONS THREE THROUGH SEVEN: EXPERIENCES IN MINISTRY

(See "Samples - Sample Experience...")

These reports chronicle the development of the student as a ministering person. The following questions may be considered in writing these experience reports. When referring to persons in each report, initials rather than names should be used to ensure confidentiality.

Write a short description of how the experience took place. Who initiated the meeting? When did it happen, and where?
Tell what happened and why this experience was significant to you. Was yours or another's problem or need in focus?
Why was this experience in ministry? Were you able to help someone? Or were you helped? Briefly explain how these things happened.
In retrospect, would you have handled the situation differently? How? Did your own personality or feelings affect your response in the given situation? (Personal maturation)
Were theological issues raised? How did you deal with them? (Theological integration)
Have you a better understanding of your need for greater spiritual reserves? How did you experience the presence of God in this situation? (Spiritual formation)
What kind of ministry skills did you need most in this experience? (Skill development)

SESSION EIGHT: PROGRESS IN SPIRITUAL FORMATION (See "Samples - Sample Progress...")
This session should deal with the way in which the student has been able to maintain spiritual discipline during the course of the internship and the needs of spiritual development which have surfaced. Reference to the first spiritual formation paper would be helpful.

REFLECTION PEER GROUPS
During the course of the eight-month internship period, two opportunities will be provided for the students to share their ministry experiences with each other in groups of five or six. This interaction will be based on the written experience in ministry reports. Times and places are listed on the calendar and reminders will be placed in student boxes. Attendance at and participation in these two sessions constitute 10% of the 522A grade. Sign-up sheets for the groups will be at the supervised ministry desk. (Special arrangements will be made for summer internship reflection groups).

Grading

The final grade for 522A will be based upon the evaluation of the pastor/supervisor and lay intern committee, and participation in the peer reflection sessions

Supervisor Evaluation 45 points
Lay Intern Committee 45 points
Reflection Groups 10 points

________

100 points

The final grade will be recorded as “pass” or “fail”.

FINAL EVALUATIONS

At the end of the internship the pastor/supervisor and the student will fill out the evaluation forms on (See "522A Forms - Supervisor Evaluation") and share them with each other. Both forms are then to be signed and turned in to the supervised ministry office. If, in the judgment the pastor/supervisor or church, the job performance is routinely poor and/or few internship goals are being met, the director of supervised ministry should be notified as early as possible for the purpose of intervention or reassignment. The pastor/supervisor is responsible for initiating this process. A failing grade is automatic in the case of dismissal for insubordination or immorality. The lay intern committee final evaluation is also due at the end of the internship.

THE LAY INTERN COMMITTEE

This committee of four to six persons is formed at the beginning of the internship. Its purpose is to help the student understand a view of ministry that is unique to the congregation, to offer prayer support, encouragement, and constructive observations of the student's work. The student may ask persons to be a part of this committee, or, in an unfamiliar ministry setting he/she may ask the pastor/supervisor for suggestions. The form, "Have You Been Asked to be on a Lay Intern Committee," (see "Lay Intern Committee") may be copied and given to prospective members. The pastor does not meet with this committee, and it should be a separate group, not an already existing board or committee. Its agenda should concern the internship only. A training session for the student, spouse, and the committee is provided near the beginning of the internship.

The work of the committee should follow this plan. At the first meeting:

appoint a chairperson and someone to keep records of the committee's work.
set up a calendar of meeting locations, dates, and times (four to six).
develop at least five learning goals

Some goals to be considered might be:

personal spiritual life development: prayer, devotional time, etc. social skills: comfort level with others, compassion, etc.
care for self and family: balancing work/school/family demands, etc.
leadership skills: dealing with conflict, decision making, organization, etc.
personal character development: humility, dealing with procrastination, etc.
an issue presented in an "Experience in Ministry" paper
other areas listed on the final evaluation form or on the TL551 Evaluation, "Issues For Evaluation in the Supervisory Experience".

Both the committee and student suggest topics for discussion and then select five or more to be included on the agendas for the meetings. At the fifth meeting the committee meets alone to evaluate the intern's progress. Each member submits an evaluation form (see 522A Manual pp. 24-26 or Lay Intern Committee Evaluation). Then the committee creates a composite evaluation (representing the overall rating of the intern by the committee as a whole). At the sixth meeting the committee shares the evaluation with the student. The committee chairperson submits only one evaluation (the composite evaluation) to the supervised ministry office.

OFF CAMPUS SERMONS
The introductory preaching course, PR101, should be taken during the first year of seminary coursework. After completing this, the student may begin submitting reports on six sermons to be preached off campus.

There are two evaluation forms for each sermon

Use six distinct sermons.
Ask different observers to critique each sermon.
One evaluation should be completed by the 522A pastor/supervisor.
The spouse of a married student is encouraged to complete one evaluation.
Ask the observer to critique the message and give him/her an evaluation form before the sermon is preached.
Have the form completed the same day the sermon is preached.
Submit all of the forms to the Office of Supervised Ministry one week after each sermon is preached.

The student is to complete the sermon evaluation requirement during the 522A internship or, at the latest, one month prior to the end of the internship.

MIDDLER ASSESSMENTS
These assessments are offered during the winter quarter only and should be taken while 522A is in progress. The assessment instruments will measure students' perceptions about their family of origin and relational issues. Private consultations with counselors provide personal enlightenment and also demonstrate an instrument which can be used in future ministry.

Pastors/Supervisors please click here to continue with program information.

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