In this course the students will do practical ministry work in a church or a Christian organisation. They will spend five workweeks (= 187,5 working hours) as an intern in a selected church or organisation. By participating in the daily work, the students will be challenged to put theoretical knowledge into practice. The student may choose one or two specific ministries in the church or organisation, e.g. Youth ministry, Sunday school, worship team etc.
Most of the course is conducted as practical training in a church or a Christian organization. The student is responsible for finding the church or organisation where he/she is going to be an intern and the place for practical training must be approved by FIUC.
If you want to take the course, you must apply to the study administration for this by 15 October for the spring semester and 15 March for the fall semester. In the application you must write a few lines about your motivation for choosing the course and some reflections about how you think you can learn from and contribute to the ministry in church or organisation where you do your internship.
Together with the employer/supervisor, the student plans the practical training period and submits the plan to the course coordinator for approval. Before and during the intern period, a minimum of two follow-up conversations will be conducted between the student and the course coordinator.
Other guidelines for the practical training are given in the document “Regulations for practical training at FIUC”. The student may request two hours of mentoring after having completed the practical training.
Kunnskap
The students have:
- knowledge of the church or organisation where they do their practical training
- practical knowledge about one or two selected areas of church ministry
- deeper understanding about the relationship between the academic study of theology and the practical ministry work
Ferdigheter
The students can:
- reflect on their own ministry work and their role in a ministry team
- reflect on how their own strengths and weaknesses influence their ministry
- reflect on the interplay between different ministries in a church or a Christian organisation
To be eligible for final assessment you must:
- Attend a minimum of 70 % of the lectures (cf. chap. 5.5)
Students who don’t complete the attendance requirement, must retake the course the next time it is offered.
See the document “Attendance Regulations for Fjellhaug International University College” for more details.
Course Requirements:
To receive final assessment, you must:
- Submit a plan for the practical training period.
- Complete the internship period.
- Two follow-up conversations.
Final Assessment:
| Form of assessment | Duration | Comments |
| Written Essay | 2500 words | The essay is a reflection paper on the internship experience and is written according to given instructions. |
Final assessment is based on the written essay. The course will be graded Pass or Fail.
If you fail to pass, you may submit a revised version of the essay in the period for new and postponed exams.
Some readings are available digitally on the school’s learning management system (LMS) and are marked with *.
Rench, R. A. (2015). Interning Well: A Collection of Articles to Help Church Interns. CreateSpace. (190 pages)
A selection of 250 pages related to the area(s) of ministry the student focuses on in the internship period.
