8 Things That Happen When You Become a CBM National Intern

By CBM National intern, Stephanie Schwan – 

1. You’ll live on the move.

Maybe college, working at camps over the summer, and general adulting have made you an old pro at this, or maybe you’ve never been away from home in your life. You’ll live at CBM National HQ for four months, a camp for 3 months during the summer, and two other camps for two months each. Plus, you will go on an awesome overseas mission trip! All this moving around means you’ll get really good at packing, unpacking, long road trips, and making it all fit in the car. (Unless you’re me, in which case you’re still working on this, lol.) All this moving makes you evaluate what you really need in terms of “stuff.” When was the last time I wore these shoes? Do I actually use this many bath towels? Should I leave some of these books at home? Can I really bring this potted plant with me on rotation? (Answer: yes, believe it or not.)

2. You’ll read cool books.

If you’re not a reader, you will be soon! You’ll read books about theology, ethics, Bible study methods, apologetics, evangelism, Bible history, and lots more! Not every book will be your favorite, but there will be something to learn from each one and there’s bound to be at least one that you’ll LOVE and want to keep forever. You’ll also write papers about each one to express what you got out of it. (Take a deep breath; it’s just one page per book. But if you’re long-winded like me, keeping it down to a page might be tough.)

3. You’ll bond with some awesome people.

“Uncle” Jim & “Aunt” Peggy, “Aunt” Sue, Jamie, Lincoln, Andrea, JP, Puddleglum the cat, and your fellow interns will start to feel like family during your 4 months at National HQ. Unless you’re the only guy or only girl in your team, which is highly unlikely, you’ll have at least one roommate who you’ll get super close with during your first 4 months. (Shoutout to my awesome roomie, Devyn! I miss you, girl!) These are good people, y’all. The kind of folks you’ll stay up late laughing with. What will you do without each other when you go on rotation?! *sniff* (Answer: text each other gifs all.the.time.)

4. You’ll travel to other CBM camps.

Maybe you grew up going to and working at camp, or maybe you’ve never been involved in the camp world at all. Either way, you’ll get to see how different each camp is from each other and how the staff runs things based on what works for their situation. You’ll see ideas that you want to steal everywhere you go.

5. You’ll fundraise.

Honestly, I don’t like asking people for money. Who does, really? Not every part of fundraising is fun, but trusting God to provide and seeing how He surprises you is always an adventure! Whether it’s your monthly support, your mission trip, the golf tournament, or the auction you’re raising for, He will give you just what you need, plus a few nice surprises along the way.

6. You’ll talk to strangers.

If you’re an introvert, take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. If you’re an extrovert, do the same thing, for the opposite reason. You’ll cold call strangers on the phone, answer the line when it rings for the telethon, share your testimony (a lot. Like, a lot. How often you’ll share your testimony cannot be overstated.), go street witnessing, teach lessons for youth group and Released Time, meet new people, go door-to-door asking for auction items and golf tournament prizes, and on and on. Being able to do this is an essential part of ministry. You’ll get so much practice that soon it’ll be no big deal and you’ll survive, I promise.

7. You’ll go on an overseas mission trip.

Where will God take you? Africa? Eastern Europe? Central America? Narnia? Who knows! (Ok, so probably not Narnia.) The trip will put you working side-by-side with missionaries and locals who have a heart to see their people reached for Christ. You’ll form lifelong friendships with the people you meet there (shoutout to our amazing Moldovan translators!). You’ll gain a better perspective on the church’s global mission and what God is doing throughout the world.

8. You’ll learn about God and about yourself.

Maybe God would have you be a full-time or part-time missionary in your own country or abroad; maybe He’s placed you in a secular field to reach your coworkers or customers; maybe His desire is for you to reach your own family at home. Through the internship you’ll try out many, many, maaaaany different roles and duties and get to learn the nuts and bolts of running ministries like summer camps, Released Time Bible classes, hospitality ministries, and Bible correspondence lessons. Whatever God calls you to do now or to do next, He’ll grow you tremendously through the internship. And it’ll change your life. Maybe that sounds cheesy to you, but it’s the truth. It really will.

Also, you’ll shamelessly plug the internship to every high school senior and college age person you know, and any stranger on the street patient enough to listen, because it’s just that awesome.

Speaking of which…

Apply for Team 6 now! Like right now. Do not finish reading this sentence; just go apply. Seriously, just trust me. https://childrensbibleministries.net/internship-application

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