Internship Sites and Supervisors
Since 1935 North Park Theological Seminary has had an extensive internship program as a part of its graduate degrees in ministry. The participation of local churches, nonprofit organizations, and the Evangelical Covenant Church denomination in providing placement opportunities for our interns is invaluable.
Primarily, Field Education is designed to to serve Christ and the church by helping to provide competent and compassionate ministers. Internships are guided learning experiences for students, bringing opportunities for growth and learning that don’t exist in seminary classrooms. The student intern is a learner, seeking to develop integration between theory and practice, and learning by doing. Field Education gives further content to studies, develops interpersonal maturity, provides practice in communication, insights into organization and procedure, and enables the student to discover weaknesses while strengthening a sense of Christian vocation.
Field Education is also an opportunity for the church or organization (including pastors, staff, and lay leaders) to invest in pastoral formation of students as well as their own spiritual growth and formation. Such an investment will include time to mentor and evaluate the student, providing a context that meets the student’s learning goals and objectives as well as diverse opportunities for the student to learn by doing. The student will need quality time with supervisors and lay members to reflect together on his or her learning. It is hoped that students will do well in their ministry setting, and will learn though their mistakes as well as their successes.
It is also important that interning students do not incur excessive financial burdens in order to complete their Field Education requirements. Some of your church or organization responsibilities to the student are:
- Provide a stipend that does not go below minimum wages (could include the cost of Field Education fees)
- Transportation (i.e. automobile and/or mileage)
- Housing (could include the cost of moving)
Please note: Funds to support town and country churches who desire to host interns are available through the .
Although North Park Theological Seminary does not appoint internship settings to students, completing the form assists us in matching the needs of the student and the church or organization. Feel free to complete and forward the form to the . Once a student becomes an intern at your church or organization, more information will follow to help you navigate the internship process and to nurture a fulfilling internship experience.
Our hope is that you will join us to serve the church in a way that allows students to flourish through a guided practical learning experience, growing in their gifts, their sense of call to ministry, and their pastoral identity. We count it as a wonderful privilege to consider you a partner in this ministry and genuinely enjoy an opportunity to prepare students to serve the Church.