“I really learned how to care for people.”

That’s how 25-year-old Emily Shriver described her recent two-year experience as an intern for Reformed University Fellowship (RUF), the campus ministry organization of the PCA.

“It’s a great time to get your feet wet in ministry, to explore the gifts you have, and to spend lots of one-on-one time with students,” said Shriver, who now works for RUF’s national headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., as intern programs assistant.

RUF’s 20-year-old internship program is as old RUF itself. Interns function as extensions of the RUF campus minister assigned to each campus, with the intern’s primary tasks being to lead Bible studies, befriend students, and help them deepen their walk with Christ.

This fall, some 75 RUF interns (mostly recent college graduates themselves) will fan out to campuses nationwide, representing a 25 percent increase over last year’s numbers.

“I think that RUF as a whole is growing—we have ministries on more than 100 campuses now—and as more students are exposed to interns, more students are inspired to become interns themselves,” said Shriver.

In addition to “playing a lot of Ultimate Frisbee” with students, Shriver says that interns have a unique experience of being mentored and shepherded by the RUF ministers assigned to them. “My campus minister taught me a lot of biblical knowledge, but also a lot about people in general. It’s helped me to learn to relate to people across the board—whether they’re believers or not.

“Anybody interested in working intensely with people would benefit from the experience of being an RUF intern,” she said. “You learn that at the end of the day we all need Jesus, no matter how we get there.”

To learn more about RUF’s intern program, contact Emily Shriver at eshriver@ruf.org.