A Summer Internship Insider with Jacen Stoffer
Written By: Jacen Stoffer
“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”
I cannot think of a better way to describe this summer. I have enjoyed my time at Westerville Christian Church so very much. Never have I thought of what I was doing as work, rather I relished the opportunity to learn and grow and serve in new ways. The past few months have gone by all too quickly for me, yet in such a seemingly short time I have changed so much and become better equipped to serve God in the future.
In late May of this year, I started a 10 week internship at WCC under Miss Becky, primarily working in the upper elementary and middle school ministries. This was an age group that I had not been involved much in before, so it opened up a new opportunity for me. For the majority of my internship, I have been able to teach the 4th and 5th grade class on Sunday mornings and through that have gained good experience for my future career of teaching Theology and Bible classes. I have loved getting to know the kids in my class and seeing God work in their lives, even going so far as seeing two of them baptized at summer camp last week.
Another part of my internship that I have thoroughly enjoyed was the active role that I was able to play in the ministry. There is sometimes a stereotype of an intern just being given pointless tasks to keep them busy. Though I would be happy to do whatever I could to help, Mrs. Medley made an intentional point of giving me important jobs that would challenge me. Some of these included giving a campfire talk in front of over a hundred people at camp, designing and leading the Middle School Lead Team Bible Study, creating summer Bible Reading challenges for students, leading communion and prayer from on stage during Sunday service, and much more.
Perhaps the highlight of my summer at WCC was getting to volunteer at Vacation Bible School and Summer Camps. VBS was a great time getting to play a role in the daily skit as well as helping wherever I could and assisting with “VBS After Dark” for the teenage volunteers. I also did two weeks of back-to-back camp at Round Lake Christian Camp. Both weeks were certainly tiring, but provided me with so many chances to pour into the kids that I was leading as well as bring me closer to God.
One way that I have seen myself grow over the course of this summer has been becoming more comfortable teaching large groups of people. As someone who wants to one day be teaching at a Christian college or church, I needed practice for this. Through numerous different opportunities this summer, I went from someone who was barely able to think on a stage to being fully able to talk without much fear whatsoever. I have seen myself grow spiritually with a renewed love for God and confirmation that I want to spend my life in Christian ministry. I have also seen myself grow socially and have made many good friends of all ages during my time at WCC over the course of this summer.
I truly thank God for all the amazing experiences that I have had during my internship this summer and wish that I could start it all over again. As I head off to college in less than a month, I look forward to building off of all that I have learned and all the ways that I have grown and using them for the glory of God and furthering His kingdom. Thank you WCC for your support and encouragement this summer! It has meant so much to me.
A big THANK YOU to WCC Intern, Jacen Stoffer for sharing your time and talents with Westerville Christian! We are collecting a love offering. If you want to give towards his love offering, click here and choose “Intern Love Offering” as the fund.