New Intern
Orientation Guide

Table of Contents

-A Letter From the Staff...... 3

-Your Commitment to the Staff and the Church...... 4

-Our Commitment to You...... 6

-The Work Flow

  • Conduct...... 7
  • h2o Sundays...... 7
  • LifeGroup...... 7
  • Campus Outreach and Evangelism...... 8
  • PIT/WIT...... 8
  • Management Times...... 8
  • Specific Job Roles...... 8
  • Flexibility...... 8
  • Taking a Sabbath Rest...... 9
  • Discipleship…………………………………………………………………………………………….9
  • (Intern Job Description Template)...... 10

-The Office...... 11

-Using Church Funds...... 12

-Web Resources...... 13

-Emergency Contact Information...... 14

-Your Finance Options as an Intern

  • Unpaid Internship...... 15
  • Paid Internship Through Support-Raising
  • Raising Support Through h2o...... 15-16

-Appendix A. – Support-Raising...... 17

-Appendix B. – Self-Proprietor Tax Information...... 24

We’re glad you’re here.

We are so excited that you have chosen to join our family and team as an intern! We know that new situations and job roles can be stressful and overwhelming at times, but we hope that this manual will help provide some peace by providing some details about the inner workings of h2o, along with some bits of advice to help you enjoy and thrive in your intern experience.

We want you to know that we’re here to help. We want your internship with h2o to be the best possible, and to give you a taste of vocational ministry. As you are starting your internship, you may find yourself going a hundred miles an hour, getting caught up in all the awesome things that God is doing around you, with you, and through you. Or, you may find that it’s not exactly what you expected. Either way, if you need help with anything, please ask for it! The pastors and staff are here to be your family – to encourage you, to explain things to you, and to walk the path of ministry with you. We hope that this manual will help answer a lot of your questions, but if you have others, please ask another staff member or a pastor. We want this experience to encourage you, train you, and give you a glimpse of what full-time ministry looks like.

Lastly, thank you! We feel completely blessed to have you helping out with the church; you are a true answer to prayers. As you will soon see, there is a ton of work and effort that goes into running h2o, making it what it is, and moving it forward to continue to reach students here at BGSU. With each new school year comes nine whole months worth of opportunities to work hard and reach BGSU for Christ. With this, your help is so valuable to us. Thanks again for your help and we are so excited to work with you!

Your Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

The Staff Team

Your Commitment to the Staff and the Church

Before we delve into your specific expectations and job roles, here’s what we expect you to commit to as an h2o intern:

Section 1: Commitment to Mission/Vision of h2o Church:

  • College Church: One thing that has remained consistent about h2o BG over the last 25 years is that we have always been a college-focused church. While we do reach out to the community at large with our CityGroups, our focus has always been the campus of Bowling Green State University. We have always believed, and continue to believe, that reaching college students with the Gospel is one of the most strategic ways to change the world for Christ. People come to college from all over the nation and all over the world with the hope and expectation to grow and learn in many different aspects of life. However, studies by the Barna Group show that most students “put Christianity on the shelf” during their college years. Thus, we believe our calling is two-fold. One, we seek to connect with students who already have a relationship with Christ, solidify that relationship outside of their parents’ house, and get them serving the Kingdom. Two, we seek to introduce Christ to those who do not know Him. Whether the students at h2o are continuing a relationship with Christ started at home, or have met Him here at college, we then in essence get to send equipped missionaries for Christ all over the nation and world when they graduate. What an opportunity!
  • Church Planting: Being a college-focused church, we have a sending component built into our church. Our congregation is consistently made up of young, transient, and often adventurous men and women. We believe the best way to glorify God with the church He has given us is to have a continual focus on planting churches, specifically college-focused churches. If we have to make a decision between growing our congregation larger or planting a new church, we will pursue church planting if we have the leadership and servants to do so. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus says, “Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." In order to fulfill the Great Commission that Jesus has charged us with, we must have a strategic way of going and making disciples. We believe that church planting is the small way God has given us to be part of His plan to redeem the world for Christ.

Section 2: Commitment to Team and Leadership of h2o

  • To be under the authority of a Manager: In 1 Peter 2:13, the Apostle Peter says, “Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men...” h2o interns are all under authority and kept accountable for their work and hours. All h2o interns are appointed a Manager that helps them fulfill the requirements of their internship.
  • To be under the authority of the Pastoral Team: In 1 Peter 5:1-5, the Apostle Peter says, "Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care...." In addition to a Manager, h2o interns are lead and held accountable by h2o’s team of pastors. As h2o’s Pastoral Team leads the church, it seeks counsel and input from its staff, interns, and congregation. Ultimately, h2o looks to the pastors to lead the church. Although consensus among h2o’s pastors, staff, interns, and congregation is the goal, the Pastoral Team will not always be able to or desire to please everyone. As such, a unity under the pastors' direction is key for staff, interns, and all members of h2o.
  • Biblical Conflict Resolution: Living out Matthew 18, Jesus’ guide to discipline and conflict resolution, is crucial for the people of God. This includes pastors, supervisors, staff, other interns, and church members. A great tool of the enemy is to divide our church, especially our staff and interns. God tells us in Matthew 18:15, "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you." For the glory of God in this church, we must be committed to Biblical conflict resolution. We all benefit and grow from sharpening one another. Proverbs 27:17 affirms, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." Our young church needs to have healthy disagreements and loving relationship. Dealing with hurts and differences in a timely and healthy manner is a requirement for staff and interns. Harbored negative feelings, unresolved hurt, gossip, or judging from a distance will not be acceptable. This motivates all of us to not only be good teammates with, but also faithful Christ-followers in all of our present and future relationships.

Section 3: Commitment to Personal Growth and Professional Development

  • Personal Devotion to Christ: Before anything else, it goes without question that all of us should be fully devoted to Christ. Our schedules should have time blocked out for prayer, worship, and/or reading of the Word, as well asanything else we need to mature in our relationship with the Lord.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:1-2
“Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”— 2 Peter 1:2-11

  • Character Development/Accountability: In addition to our personal spiritual devotion to Christ, it is vitally important for us as God’s servants to be challenged by other men and women who will be committed to our growth as Christians. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.” Management meetings will certainly have an element of this to them, but our desire for you is to have other relationships (with staff members, interns, and others) that will encourage this discipline. Without consistent, intimate fellowship with others that are pursuing the Lord, we can feel disconnected from the body of Christ. In Galatians 6:1-2 Paul tells us, “Brothers, if someone is caught in a sin, you who are spiritual should restore him gently. But watch yourself, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

Our Commitment to You

As a staff team, we commit to live out 1 Peter 5—

  • Seeking God and qualified counsel for the direction and vision of the church: As we seek to “be shepherds of God's flock that is under [our] care" (1 Peter 5:1-5), we desire to pray, seek God, and seek counsel to make godly decisions for you and for our whole church.
  • Leading in pluralitywith the team of pastors and campus directors that the church appoints: “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety” (Proverbs 11:14). Not only do we commit to lead as a team, but we commit to stay in contact with Collegiate Church Network (CCN) and h2o Network (h2oN) directors and pastors. These national leaders and pastors from around the state and nation give us counsel, encouragement, and accountability that allow us to make wise choices decisions for the church.
  • Humbly listening to concerns and problems that interns have with our leadership or church decisions: "...not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock" (1 Peter 5:3). As leaders, we are not immune to weakness and errors, so we humbly seek to grow together with you and desire to hear concerns that you have. We want to hear about problems and work together to find solutions. Ultimately, we are here to serve. "Be shepherds of God's flock...not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve” (1 Peter 5:2).
  • Create a healthy working environment for our staff, interns, and student leaders: We desire to create a healthy, godly working environment for all of our church leaders. We care about your spiritual, emotional, relational, and financial needs. We commit to helping you in all of these areas to the best of our ability. We also recognize that there are times in many of our lives where outside input is needed in a more specialized form. Therefore, if an intern desires professional counseling and needs assistance financially or practically, we commit to helping in these ways.

The Work Flow

CONDUCT

As an h2o Intern, we expect you to:

  • Life a life in accordance with your identity in Christ
  • Live and do ministry in accordance with the h2o Vision and Statement of Faith
  • Show signs of growth in your Christian walk
  • Pursue accountability and discipleship relationships with pastors, staff, interns, and others.
  • Submit to the authority of your Manager
  • Submit to pastoral authority
  • Commit to Biblical conflict resolution and church discipline (Matthew 18) if necessary
  • Be at all h2o events at the appointed time, unless a request to miss is made and granted by your manager
  • Attend weekly staff meetings
  • Be flexible and able to complete work without direct supervision
  • Take part in h2o Sundays, LifeGroups, scheduled events, and perform other job roles
  • Maintain good standing with Bowling Green State University (if you are a student)

A significant lapse in any of these areas may cause the h2o staff to consider ending your internship.

h2o SUNDAYS

h2o Sunday services are one of the main events in the life of h2o Church, held at 11:00 and 5:45 in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union Ballroom. The manpower needed to get a Sunday service up and running is massive! h2o interns will be responsible for acting as a support member for some aspect of Sundays—Production, Media, Décor, Prayer, Setup, or Greeting. What you do on Sunday will be determined by you and your manager based on both need and gifting. When you are asked to be there will depend on your support role, but will be between 8-10AM.

.

LIFEGROUPS

As an h2o intern, one of your primary responsibilities is to help plan, lead, and facilitate a LifeGroup. LifeGroups are the life blood of our church—there students engage with the teaching they heard on Sunday and apply it to their lives, while welcoming in both Christians and non-Christians alike. We expect most interns to step up to a leadership role in their LifeGroup, leading their LifeGroup Core, developing activities and discussion questions, and facilitating LifeGroups. You will be expected conduct a LifeGroup planning meeting once per week with your Core, and to arrive at your LifeGroup venue at 8:30PM each Thursday, ready to start at 9. There is $100 in funding available per semester for yourLifeGroup; funds are accessed via reimbursement (see Finance section for more details).

CAMPUS OUTREACH AND EVANGELISM

We seek to have all leaders in h2o have a heart to reach those who do not know Christ. This can happen on a variety of levels from very informal to more formal. We want to equip you to share your faith and then see you grow in your desire to share Jesus with others.

A key responsibility of some interns (especially those who are also Student Missionaries with NAMB) will be to engage students with the Gospel of Christ each week. Campus Outreach takes place weekly usually on Tuesday and Thursday. Students meet together in the Union’s Falcon’s Nest across from Outtakes. They pray together, pair off, and engage students in the Union and around campus in spiritual conversations. Interns will be expected to participate in at least one Campus Outreach time per week in a supporting leadership role, and may be expected to lead Campus Outreach times.

PIT/WIT

On the first and third Thursday’s of the month the male leaders of h2o meet for PIT (Pastors in Training), the second and forth Thursday’s of the month the women leaders of h2o meet for WIT (Women in Training). This time is specifically designed to raise up leaders and build into you as an individual, with a special emphasis on theological training, ministry skills, and character development. We see this as a very valuable time and all interns are required to attend these equipping times. Coming to this bi-weekly meeting is required and you must seek approval of your supervisor before missing.

MANAGEMENT TIMES

Management times are a key time for helping you to have a successful internship. This time will serve to make sure you are understanding and functioning well in your specific role and help you to connect with other interns and staff. Coming to this bi-weekly meeting is required and you must seek approval of your supervisor before missing. It is important for you to be on time and to be prepared, both to give input and to keep track of roles and responsibilities you have for upcoming responsibilities.