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Full and Part-time Internships (Spring, Summer and Fall)

SYM Internship Grows!

We are so blessed to have filled both our summer 2011 internship positions. Meagan and Hannah are both serving and learning daily how to lead an urban poverty-informed ministry!.The street youth have responded very well to them.

We are very honored to have received a grant from Presbyterian Women of PC (USA) to start our internship program. We were selected as one of 26 recipients from 68 applications. The grant covers our first year but encourages that we also seek help from our community.

Please consider a tax deductible donation to support our program. We pray to raise $22,402 to fully match the grant! We are also looking for future hosts to provide low cost room and board to suitable interns.

Funds are used for ministry supplies and a modest weekly stipend to help support interns. Funds are accounted separately from missionary support funds. We expect to fill both our Fall 2011 and Spring 2012 intern positions as well!
SYM provides internship training for between 2 and 4 interns so they can lead an urban ministry in the future that is poverty-informed, either as a living or as an avocation. Internship can be part-time as part of a training program in the Austin area, or full time to supplement training received in a related field. Internships are offered for Spring, Summer and Fall semesters. The target interns come from several sources:
  • young pastoral candidates who want training specifically designed to deal with the tough issues associated with leading poverty ministries at churches
  • youth work students who want to spend a summer or semester volunteering full time to beef-up their experience, training and resume, and
  • social work students who want to spend a summer or semester gaining experience and training with the difficult issues of case management, strengths-based programs, and brief therapy.
  • students needing to take a semester off to find themselves and align their life plans. 
Internship can be part time or full time. Our part-time program is designed to provide training with participation in one weekly training session and leading one weekly event. Our full-time program is designed to provide more in-depth training sessions and realistic work-experiences, working both in direct services and behind the scenes daily.

Part-time interns are expected to self-fund. Full-time interns may self-fund or raise funds. We help our full-time interns raise funds and will guarantee that they meet agreed upon fund-raising goals. SYM can typically help find temporary lodging with a local church member for the duration of their internship. SYM is able to provide up to $75 reimbursement per week for ministry related expenses (typically bus fare or gas mileage).

Interns immediately begin hands-on training with Terry by anchoring key events each week. And they meet weekly with Terry to cover a real-world curriculum developed by SYM to cover hard-hitting and difficult topics any leader will encounter when leading his or her church in poverty ministries. If supervised by a separate church pastor, we are able to support interns receiving credit for clinical pastoral internship at local seminaries.

Our program is funded for the first year through a Creative Grant from the Presbyterian Women of PCUSA. We are running a campaign to match these funds and extend our funding to make this program permanent. Our goal is to become one of the best ministry internship "properties" and train more than 100 people to be better able to lead poverty-informed urban ministries, either as vocation or avocation within the church. You can donate online for this cause to help us meet our matching goal of $22,000! 

Candidates should contact us to apply, supplying the following: resume, explanation of why you want to join our ministry, how you see yourself as a leader now and in the future, a description of each of these four cornerstone characteristics for your life: stability, sobriety, Christian walk, and Christian community. Note that real people with real life experiences are encouraged to apply.

Our text is JT Fest, Street Culture: An epistemology of street-dependent youth. Our curriculum is developed by SYM to train young pastoral candidates in issues they will face leading their congregations in any street, homeless, or poverty ministry. The course covers 13 topics: street youth culture, causes of street life, solution based / strength based counseling, change theory, crisis intervention, specific issues (STIs, hepatitis C, MRSA, chemical dependency & abuse), engagement, loving with boundaries, attitudes and foundational values, referrals and partnership, loving with boundaries, creating safety for church and clients, and biblical foundations

Full-time interns will:
    o Receive weekly tutoring from Terry in the curriculum, text, and on the street.
    o Learn to successfully perform safe street outreach
    o Learn volunteer and material management and the important art of thanking people
    o Receive regular feedback from Terry after helping with weekly ministry activities (prayer time, Bible study time, fellowship time, street outreach)
    o Learn to lead at least one of our regular ministry activities with street youth
    o Define and lead with other interns a weekly ministry event (e.g., sports time, craft time, cooking time)
    o Participate with and help lead all service projects
    o Participate in behind the scenes logistics including fund raising, material management, and record-keeping
    o Define and execute a personal project lasting a month to improve our ministry to street youth
    o Receive letters of support in terms of volunteer hours and experience
    o Receive a letter of recommendation upon successful completion of at last 80% of the internship

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