Sometimes our interns can teach us all about how to have a good time at Annual Conference.

The Elisha and Samuel internships create opportunities to experience life in ministry for young adults discerning their call. It is a ten-week internship where each intern is placed with a host church and pastoral mentor. The experience is tailored to each intern’s desired ministerial
context and can include opportunities to:

• Preach and plan worship
• Lead Bible studies
• Work with administration
• Provide pastoral care
• Be involved in social justice and/or outreach ministry
• Discover and develop strengths in ministry settings
   

The internships are focused on intentionally creating a culture of call within the Dakotas Conference. From the past two years of Elisha internships, five interns have either started seminary in 2018 or will be starting in the Fall of 2019 and one intern is serving as a Global Mission Fellow. The internship played a vital role in the discernment of call leading them to seminary and ministry.

At the orientation, the interns and their pastoral mentors gathered to get to know each other over dinner. Internes learned about the desired learning outcomes, plan for the summer, and develop goals based on what the intern would like to learn. They also heard from former Elisha Interns about their experiences, what was helpful, and how it prepared them for their current ministry settings. “Best practices” from past interns were shared with the mentors to provide the best experience possible for the interns while they are away from home.