MTW Summer Interns Grow a Bigger View of God
Some 40 interns and mentors gathered at MTW in Atlanta recently to debrief their summer experience on fields from Acapulco to Ukraine.
“We go through this debriefing process at the end of each summer to help our interns process their experience and adjust back to their home culture,” said MTW’s Opal Hardgrove. “In addition to serving them, it helps us assess their experience on the field and learn how to improve next year’s program.”
The debriefing process includes a number of components: interns share their testimonies with one another, discuss what they gained and lost through their experience on the field, are prompted to think about what they want to remember from their experience, and explain what they learned about themselves.
“We go through this debriefing process at the end of each summer to help our interns process their experience and adjust back to their home culture,” said MTW’s Opal Hardgrove. “In addition to serving them, it helps us assess their experience on the field and learn how to improve next year’s program.”
The debriefing process includes a number of components: interns share their testimonies with one another, discuss what they gained and lost through their experience on the field, are prompted to think about what they want to remember from their experience, and explain what they learned about themselves.
And this year marked MTW’s first official internship mentoring program. Roughly one-fourth of this summer’s 100 interns participated in that program, which involved Bible study, group mentoring, and one-on-one mentoring in addition to the normal intern field experience.
“This program was for interns who wanted a deeper, more intensive experience in spiritual growth and personal development while on the field,” said Hardgrove. “Some fields were already providing this type of mentoring, but we wanted to expand it to a greater audience.”
But the core goal of MTW’s larger internship program is to help students deepen their walk with God and develop a heart for missions.
“Sometimes God raises up long-term missionaries and future leadership out of our interns,” said Hardgrove. “But our real hope is that everyone who serves as an intern will grow a bigger view of Him."
“This program was for interns who wanted a deeper, more intensive experience in spiritual growth and personal development while on the field,” said Hardgrove. “Some fields were already providing this type of mentoring, but we wanted to expand it to a greater audience.”
But the core goal of MTW’s larger internship program is to help students deepen their walk with God and develop a heart for missions.
“Sometimes God raises up long-term missionaries and future leadership out of our interns,” said Hardgrove. “But our real hope is that everyone who serves as an intern will grow a bigger view of Him."
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Beth Stanton
Sofia, Bulgaria
I wasn't an intern this summer, but had an absolutely wonderful time on the "mentoring" end in Lviv, Ukraine, with 6 fabulous LeoGreen interns. What a delight to be able to invest in their lives! We're excited to see how God will continue to move in the relationships these 4 gals and 2 guys were able to begin with Ukrainian young adults through teaching English -- please pray for the new MTW Church Planting Team as they follow-up strategically with these friendships begun!
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Laura Kastensmidt
Ft. Lauderdale, FL