MiT
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The Priority of the Gospel
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How the Gospel is carried forward
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus,2 and what you have heard
from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others
also.
2 Timothy 2:1-2
Reproduce reproducers!
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An internship (as proposed) prepares people for Gospel centred,
disciple making, word ministry
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An internship begins the process of theological study rooted in
ministry.
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An internship helps the person learn ministry skills – especially people
skills
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An internship teaches humility – helping the intern be aware of
weaknesses and strengths and to depend on God
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An internship helps the church and the person discern if they are
suited to doing this in a long term or are better off being well trained
leaders who earn a living outside.
(adapted from ‘Passing the Baton’)
MiT provides 2 years of intensive on the job training with time to learn from
success and mistakes.
This prepares interns for a lifetime of Gospel ministry and helps them, and
the church, discern if they are suited to doing this in a long term, full time,
paid capacity.
Funded interns are given an living allowance/ scholarship. They raise half
themselves and the cathedral raises the other half.
It is a work in progress as we transition from:
 a one pastor training model to a team training model
 informal model to formal model
 training men to training men and women
Most of our ideas are learnt and adapted from the MTS model in Australia.
You can read all about it on www.mts.com.au
Historically:
 2005:
 2005-2013:
 2014-2015:
1st Intern from UK
Total of 7 interns trained
MiT formalised and funded
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The heart of training is personal and
relational. Ministry is primarily ‘caught’ not
‘taught’.
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But some things are still taught!
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So MiT seeks to combine informal and formal
training - with a map and a checklist as
guides to make sure we are covering what we
need to.
One to ones: one off and regular
Small group leading (including Kidschurch)
Projects
Evangelism
Pastoral care – including welcoming, chasing,
following up newcomers etc.
 Occasional preaching, leading @ church/events
 Mundane tasks
 Ideal: Find one area of ministry for them to own
 Feedback!
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Weekly Bible study with staff team
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Weekly or fortnightly formal meeting with mentor
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Weekly staff training
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Weekly intern/student training session (topic from ‘map’)
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Theological training courses (Equip: Th.C or Th.L)
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Ministry skills courses (in-house, CCEF, CEP)
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Conferences and seminars (like this!)
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Informal input opportunities in the team: using the village to
bring up a child
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Weekly formal training meeting with mentor including reading the
Bible, prayer, reflecting on the week gone by, reviewing and planning
ministry, reviewing and planning formal training. (Local church pastor)
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Outsourced formal training:
 Theological courses (Equip)
 Ministry Skills courses: Centre for Expository Preaching (CEP), Equip,
Christian Counseling Education Foundation (CCEF).
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Informally: keep looking for opportunities to train! Life to life! Eat
together – bring them home. Take them with you on home/hospital
visits, preaching trips, denominational meetings etc. (Local church
pastor).
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Occasional: Conferences and seminars (like this!)
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You can’t model godliness
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You don’t have confidence in the Gospel and the Bible
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You can’t get church and family support
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You are going to mistreat your intern.
Love your intern!
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You are not prepared to make the effort to train
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You or your church just wants cheap labour
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You can’t afford to give the time to it
On the other hand, can you afford not to?
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Keep looking for potential interns. This means identifying and
training lots of people for ministry in your congregation and then
looking to see which ones have the character and potential to be
trained further. Always prioritise character!
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Read ‘Passing the Baton’ by Colin Marshall
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Check out the MTS Website: www.mts.com.au . Also UK
apprenticeships: ninethirtyeight.org
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Find out about:
 CEP Course starting in the second half of 2016
 Equip Courses
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Happy to chat 