PM/CE/MU/MI3192-011H. McCoy

JUNIOR INTERNSHIP

Course Syllabus

Zion Bible College

PM/CE/MU/MI3192-01, 1 Credit

Spring Semester, 2011

Internship Times: To Be Arranged

Rev. Heath McCoy, Instructor

Academy Hall #131

Office Phone: 978-478-3455

Office Hours: Thursday, 1:30 – 2:30

COURSE DESCRIPTION

The Junior Internship Program is designed to acquaint students with the responsibilities and functions of church ministry. The Internship will serve to bridge theory and knowledge with practical experience to enhance the learning of each student. This initial course gives the pastor/supervisor the opportunity of discussing aspects of preparation and church work and includes subject matter such as the call of God, philosophy of ministry, administration, governance, and the functions of a minister.

DEFINITION OF PASTOR/SUPERVISOR

A pastor/supervisor is an individual who by virtue of their office or responsibility, experience, and ability is entrusted with the oversight of Zion Bible College students as they participate in a ministry-oriented Christian Service assignment.

COURSE OBJECTIVES

The Student will…

  1. Discuss the call of God with the senior pastor and to highlight events and benchmarks that validate that call.
  2. Apply one’s personal gifts and visions of God under the supervision of a pastor/ supervisor of an established church.
  3. Be acquainted with the comprehensive scope of ministry.
  4. Be provided with a knowledge of the mechanisms of administration in the local assembly.
  5. Examine sermon effectiveness and to review foundational patterns of sermon preparation for developing an effective sermon delivery.
  6. Define a philosophy of ministry upon which one would build a solid future.
  7. Examine the role of the pastor in light of functions such as weddings, funerals, dedications, board meetings, communion, and counseling.
  8. Examine the financial structure and to review budgets of the local assembly.

GOALS OF JUNIOR INTERNSHIP

  1. Discern the student’s calling and ministry
  2. Develop an operating theology which under girds the student’s practical ministry.
  3. Improve competency in skills necessary for practical ministry.
  4. Commitment to student spiritual formation
  5. Expression of student faith in service to Christ, the church, and the world.

CREDIT HOURS

Each student will receive one credit for full experience during the semester.

STRUCTURE

Ministry assignments should be realistic in terms of the student’s time committed to the internship. Sunday morning and one additional service are required of all students. This is the normative expectation of each Zion Student. The additional credit is given of the hands-on experience and additional involvement in the church. The pastoral conference, ministry performance, and written reflection, in addition to their church responsibilities, in part and create a learning environment.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE STUDENT

  1. The student must demonstrate an attitude of servant hood, eager to learn.
  2. Must fulfill their responsibilities each week during the academic year.
  3. Must participate in their weekly assignments for a minimum of fourteen (14) weeks each semester.
  4. Must report all absences to supervisor.
  5. Student must complete all attendance, evaluation and contract forms.
  6. Student will be responsible for all internship requirements outlined in the syllabus and Christian Service Manual.

RESPONSIBILITY OF THE FIELD SUPERVISOR

  1. Supervisor must complete Christian Service contract form.
  2. The student must be supervised in his/her responsibilities.
  3. The intern must meet a minimum of seven (7) hours each semester with the pastor to discuss the topics listed in the handouts and the students’ ministry experience.
  4. The supervisor should regularly interact with the intern, discussing responsibilities and problems.
  5. The supervisor will complete necessary evaluations of the intern, and submit them to the Christian Service Office by stated due dates.

INTERNSHIP REQUIREMENTS

  1. Attendance: Attending two (2) services per week at your internship church on a weekly basis is required. Submitting the required attendance forms into the Christian Service office or Box is also required weekly.
  1. Covenant:Complete and submit the Internship Covenant to the Christian Service Office by Monday, January 31st, 2011. Failure to turn in your covenant will affect the student’s “forms” grade.
  2. Check sheet: Meetings will be held with the pastor or a supervisor to discuss issues outlined on the Junior Internship Check sheet and can be found on pages 25-27 of the Christian Service Manual. Any assignments that were missed last semester should be completed this semester – for a total of at least twenty-eight (28) assignments for the year.

Checklist due to the Christian Service Office: Monday, April 18, 2011.

  • Development of a Godly Leader
  • Pastor invests personally in the intern. Shares vision, dream, calling, philosophy, philosophy of counseling. How they prepare, how they became.
  • Pastor will invest from his own life.
  • Casting vision
  • Articulating passion
  • Building relationship
  • Gives the student the opportunity to develop vision
  • Looks at student’s gifts
  • Helps the student understand his passions
  • The call of God
  • Sermon preparation and delivery
  • Planning the service
  • Philosophy on personal life issues
  • Church administration
  • Visitation
  • Board meetings
  • Weddings, baptismal services, funerals, and communion services
  • The pastor as confronter/counselor
  • Church finance
  • The pastor’s relationship to the Community
  • Ministerial ethics
  • Introduce and discuss with the intern to the following church departments, including mission statements, objectives, flow charts, budgets, personnel, policies and functions of each department:
  • The nursery
  • Christian education
  • Curriculum
  • Examine the age groups and their particular needs
  • Children’s Church
  • Legal responsibilities of church
  • Structure of service
  • Youth ministry
  • Legal responsibilities of church
  • The role of music in youth ministry
  • The importance of the Word
  • Means/methods of outreach to youth in community
  • Platform ministry
  • Discuss the necessary preparations
  • Who participates in platform ministry and why
  • Dress code
  • Music ministry
  • Discuss the issue of entertainment vs. worship
  • What is the prayer focus in music ministry?
  • The pastor’s role in directing the music service
  • Missions
  • Missions committee (how often do they meet?) and role
  • Church participation in world-wide missions
  • How many missionaries does the church support?
  • Do you have a mission’s convention?
  • Business meetings
  • Comment on members’ participation in meetings
  • Frequency of meeting and agenda
  • Role of department reports, budgets, and vision-casting in the meeting
  • Deacon/Board meetings
  • The role of the pastor in meeting (as chairperson)
  • Structure of church Board
  • Qualifications for deacons/board members
  • Frequency of meetings
  • Church issues dealt with in meetings
  • Vision-casting in meeting
  • The Board as problem-solvers

* This is not an exhaustive list, but is strongly recommended, and may be enhanced by the pastor to address questions asked by intern(s) about various departments and ministries.

  1. Journal:The journal given to the student at the beginning of the fall semester should be completed during the spring semester. This journal kept by the student will document church experiences including discussions with the pastor, associate pastors, and key administrators (general information – do not include confidential information or information that the Christian Service department is not privy to know.) This will give the opportunity to dialogue and to document step-by-step the process of learning. This journal is a reflection tool designed to assist you in historically looking at your church experience and to identify your strengths and weaknesses in the whole process.
  2. Due Monday, April 18th, 2011.
  3. Meet with Christian Service Director:If questions or issues arise throughout your internship you are encouraged to meet with the Christian Service Director.
  4. Reflection Paper:The latter part of the semester, each student will give careful consideration to their involvement in the Internship Program and will write a reflection paper (3-5 pages) which addresses the following:
  5. State the church mission statement and pastor’s philosophy of ministry.
  6. Discuss the important lessons gleaned from your observations of the church structure, and comment on the pastor as a manager.
  7. Develop your own philosophy of teamwork.
  8. Address how teamwork assists the local church in effectiveness.
  9. Examine the level of communication between the pastor and departments.
  10. What role does organization figure into the overall success of a local ministry?
  11. How do the departments assist the church in its overall mission?

Due Date: Monday, April 18, 2011 to the Christian Service Office.

  1. Self- Evaluation: Each student will complete a semester-end evaluation of their learning experience which includes an in-depth review of their learning and the benefits. This will be distributed to your box near the end of the semester. Failure to turn in your self evaluation will affect the student’s “forms” grade. Due Date: Monday, April 18, 2011.

GRADING CRITERIA

Pastor’s Evaluation…………………50%

Written Work……………………….50%

Reflection Paper……..20%

Journal……………….20%

Forms………………...10%

Attendance (see Student Handbook)

Total……………………………………100%

POLICIES

Assignments: All assignments are due by 5:00 P.M. to the Christian Service Office (Academy 133) on the date due. All others will be considered late. Assignments should be written in Turabian format.

All late assignments are to be turned into the instructor’s office, not placed in campus mail. There are no exceptions to this policy unless mandated by the office of the Academic Dean.

Extension Policy:Extensions will only be granted for the following four reasons: 1) hospitalization for illness. A doctor’s note confirming such is required; 2) extended serious illness that prevents a student from attending class. This requires a doctor’s note and signature of verification from the student’s Resident Director; 3) funerals or family emergencies granted as an approved absence by the Academic Dean and Dean of Students; 4) school-approved activities.

If the student meets one of these exceptions, a “Request for Extension Form” must be filled out one week in advance of the due date. The form can be obtained from the Office of Admissions or the Office of the Academic Dean. The “Request for Extension” form should then be presented by the student to the Office of the Academic Dean for the Dean’s signature. The Dean’s office will forward the form to the Office of Admissions and Records and the student will receive a copy. The Student is to turn in all approved extension work to the professor by the due date indicated on the extension form. Failure to turn in a paper or project by the due date will result in a grade of “0” for the paper or project.

Late Paper Policy: Assignments received after 5:00 P.M. the day the paper is due will receive an automatic point deduction of five (5) points. For each twenty-four hour period (including Saturdays, Sundays and school breaks) that the paper is not turned in, there will be a forfeiture of five (5) points from the total points. If the paper is not submitted within five twenty-four hour periods after the due date and time, an automatic score of zero (0) will be entered for the grade with no chance of making up the paper. If a hard copy cannot be presented in person by the specified time and hour, an email copy may be submitted by the deadline for verification of completion with a hard copy following.

Plagiarism: A student who submits written material as his/her own work which has been copied in whole or in part from another person’s work without acknowledgement is guilty of plagiarism. Material, whether published or unpublished, copied from anotherwriter, must be identified by the use of quotation marks and documentation with specific citation of the source. Paraphrased material must likewise be attributed to the origin author.

Copying another student’s paper, with or without permission, or using his/her ideas with only minimal reworking, is plagiarism, as is the copying from printed books and magazines without giving credit to the original source. Any student who submits a plagiarized paper or who permits another person to copy his/her work is subject to any of the following actions: a grade of “zero” or “F” for the work, failure in or expulsion from the class, being reported for further disciplinary action.

Cheating: A student who engages in dishonest behavior such as: using unauthorized notes or material when taking an examination, copying answers to examination questions, or engaging in securing unauthorized copies of examination questions (including aiding another person in doing so), is subject to the action or penalty indicated above. Copying another person’s class work and/or homework and submitting it as one’s own, or having another person perform an assignment and submitting it as having originated from themselves personally is guilty of plagiarism—which is cheating. Such students will therefore be subject to the above discipline. Faculty members are to submit all such caseson the appropriate “Plagiarism Form” to the Office of the Dean of Academics.

Spring/2011