What are the responsibilities and job description for the Church for the Church Shepherding Internship position at Wheaton Bible Church?
Shepherding Intern – Church for the Church
Summer Interns: Status: Full-Time (40 hours/week), May 26-August 13, 2026
Fall Interns: Status: Part-Time (20 hour/week)
We exist to love God, love one another, love our neighbors, and love the nations.
Purpose: The Church for the Church Shepherding Internship is a 12-week immersive ministry experience designed to develop, challenge, and grow Shepherding Interns through hands-on ministry and reflective learning.
Goals: The Church for the Church Shepherding Internship has three goals:
- help future shepherds actively explore their calling to ministry,
- foster the development of healthy habits for longevity in ministry, and
- immerse Shepherding Interns in the culture of a gospel-centered, intercultural, missions-mobilizing local church.
Opportunities:
Ministry Experience
We believe the best way to actively explore your calling to ministry is to experience for yourself what it means to serve and shepherd in a local church context. Here are some examples of how you will do that in this Shepherding Internship:
- All Shepherding Interns will participate in weekly ministry according to the rhythms of your designated ministry team.
- Shepherding Interns will collaborate with their designated ministry team to continue to develop healthy serving teams.
- Each Shepherding Intern will have an opportunity to teach or lead in different settings as applicable to your designated ministry team.
- Each Shepherding Intern will gain real ministry experience and ownership over the course of their 12 weeks with us. Opportunities will be different depending on your designated ministry team but our commitment to you is to engage you in meaningful ministry experience.
Development
We believe that longevity in ministry is a result of healthy spiritual practices and consistent learning habits that increase dependence on the Holy Spirit. Here are some examples of how we plan to cultivate that with you in this Shepherding Internship:
- Weekly mentorship meetings with the Pastor of Church for the Church
- Timely, constructive feedback from your Ministry Team Lead
- Weekly Learning cohort led by different shepherds on staff intended to offer Shepherding Interns a practical inside look on the various aspects of shepherding in a local church context
- Weekly Reading Assignments and Book Discussions using books from a carefully curated list intended to connect orthodoxy to orthopraxy
- Participation in normal staff rhythms such as Weekly Staff Prayer and Monthly Staff Lunch
- Observation in a variety of settings such as the Ministry Leadership Team, Council of Elders, and First and Next Steps Classes
- Assessments at the midpoint and end of the Shepherding Internship to affirm, encourage, and challenge Shepherding Interns as they grow as disciples of Jesus and shepherds in the local church
Core Competencies:
- Live out a commitment to holiness and developing your personal walk with God in order to model and lead others in their faith and in making disciples. Character is paramount.
- Demonstrate commitment to prayer and the Word.
- Pursue professional, personal, and spiritual development.
- Shepherd and lead others to make disciples who make disciples.
- Display enthusiasm and passion for the local church.
- Communicate an interest or clear calling into vocational shepherding ministry.
Job Requirements:
- Professes Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and consistently pursues a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, Scripture reading, and community within the local church.
- Experience serving and leading as a lay leader in a local church ministry.
- High School Degree; current college students preferred however life and ministry experience will be taken into account for any non-college applicants.
- Affirms the WBC Beliefs and Values as well as the WBC Statement of Christian Lifestyle.
- Aligns with and is committed to assisting the ministries of the church in living out our Beliefs and Values.
- Available and committed to serve all scheduled hours for the duration of the Shepherding Internship.
- Must possess a valid Driver's License and have access to reliable transportation
- Become an active participant in the life of WBC throughout the shepherding internship.