Director of Ministry Field Experience

In 2019, Dr. Mark Walker, Chair of the Christian Ministries Department and Vice-President for Ministerial Development, asked me to assume a new position that would bring clarity, focus and streamlining of the required internships within the Christian Ministries Department.

This new position allows me to network with churches and para-church ministries at the local, national and international levels, providing students with more opportunities for internships that perhaps existed in the past. There are several terms that would be helpful for you to understand about my new position:

Lab Church: these are a small group of churches that we are designating as “best practices” churches. We will be encouraging all incoming/returning students to plug into a church soon in their academic journey at Lee, but this group of churches will be highlighted. It is our hope that students will plug in quickly, become a part of that congregation’s life and perhaps lead to a full internship with them.

Internship churches/ministries: these are not necessarily “Lab Churches”, but do represent other possibilities for students. This list includes traditional church-based internships locally, nationally and internationally as well as the growing area of non-traditional internship possibilities. These include working with para-church organizations like CRU to juvenile justice centers to Boys/Girls Clubs, and similar organizations. The list is growing!

Volunteering: this is simply working with a local congregation without necessarily an internship in view. Churches need you, your experience, your growing education. Get plugged in, Soon!!!