Having interns in youth ministry seemed like a great idea. At least until I had them. I never realized how hard managing and leading interns was until I had one. What seemed like a magic bullet for advancing the ministry had become a drain on my time and energy.

     You may have had a similar experience. Or maybe you’ve never had the luxury of interns. Either way, I want to share my failures with you in hopes you can avoid my pitfalls. It’s my hope that you can learn from my mistakes and enjoy the blessing of a good intern program.

     Although I had a rough start with interns, this summer marked the best intern experience of my life! Our youth ministry was better because of them. And I got the chance to watch some incredible young leaders grow. It was incredible! So I want to share not only my failures but also what I think was the “secret sauce” to our success this Summer.

A Quick Path to Failure

 After a few failed internships, I noticed three mistakes that led to those failures. Making any of these mistakes will place an intern program on a quick path to failure. The good news is they can be avoided if we recognize them!

1.  Lack of Clarity

Lack of clarity is a lightning quick way to derail an intern program! As Bill Hybels says: “It’s cruel and unusual punishment to lead a person and not let them know how they’re doing.” The best thing you can do for an intern is to be clear about expectations, what’s required, and what a win looks like.

2.   Lack of Development

The problem with interns is they have a lot to learn. They’re generally novices, and will need a lot of instruction and development to succeed. It will initially take more of your time to develop and teach an intern than it would for you to do the tasks yourself. However, long term success requires this kind of intentional development. Develop an intern to lead on their own and it will be worth the payoff every time!

3.   Lack of a Plan

Failing to plan is planning to fail. Odds are you’ve heard this before. The odds are even greater the phrase has annoyed you. There’s a lot of truth in this phrase though.

If you don’t have a plan for your interns, keeping them busy and engaged will be overwhelming. It’s difficult enough to come up with a good plan before hand, but it’s near impossible to keep them engaged without a plan. If you don’t have a plan for their time before they arrive, you will waste most of their day. The lack of a plan is a sure fire way to ruin an intern program.

     Now that we know what doesn’t work, let’s take a look at what does! Strong intern programs have the following five things.

1. Clear Expectations

If a lack of clarity kills an intern program, providing clear expectations is the best way to start strong. Providing clear expectations from the beginning is the kindest thing you can do for your interns. This let’s them know what a win looks like and what’s important to you. Without clear expectations, they are left guessing what you want and what to prioritize.

Clarity is kindness, so be kind to the people you lead by providing clear expectations. Especially when it comes to interns.

2. Ministry Projects

This one was an absolute game changer for us! We assigned a major ministry project to each intern at the beginning of the program. The projects were due to be completed two weeks before it ended. Projects were assigned based on each intern’s gifts and personality, but they all had one thing in common: the projects mattered!

Each project was something we had identified that would move the ministry forward. We gave all necessary resources to the interns, but they had the final say in how to get there and how to execute. Every project was completed by the end of the program, & they did in two months what would have taken me over a year to get to.

Assigning ministry projects was a game changer for our intern program, and I think it can be for yours as well!

3. Ownership

Assigning these projects also did something else, it gave a sense of ownership to the interns. Giving them a project was one thing, but giving them a project that really mattered changed the game. It did more for them and our ministry than we could have imagined! With every week that passed, their sense of ownership in the ministry grew.

As their sense of ownership grew, so did the quality of their work. They became owners of the ministry instead of renters, and it changed the way they went about their daily tasks. It changed the way they approached opportunities and challenges. More than anything it made us better.

If you can find a way to give ownership to your interns, they will give you their best effort!

4. Evaluation

People have a deep desire to know where they stand, and clear expectations are only half of the battle. Consistent evaluation is just as important. I met with each intern every two weeks just to evaluate how they were doing.

This gave me the opportunity to provide minor correction before they ran into major roadblocks. It allowed me to speak into their lives about the good things I saw as well as areas of improvement. This consistent evaluation kept everyone on course and protected them from costly mistakes. They loved knowing where they stood at all times, and  the evaluation provided good accountability throughout the program.

5. Encouragement

This was the linchpin that held everything else together. We worked hard to give them clear expectations & evaluation, but the best thing we did was provide encouragement. We were intentional about making more deposits of encouragement than withdrawals of anything else.

Our interns knew we believed in them and wanted what was best for them. They believed we wanted more FOR them than we wanted FROM them, and it paid off. An environment of encouragement will build a person’s confidence, competence, and commitment. Our interns grew in all three areas with encouragement, and I believe yours will too.    

Leading interns isn’t easy, but it’s worth it. What step do you need to take to lead interns better? Is there something that’s worked for you that didn’t make our list? We would love to hear your input in the comments section below, and thanks for subscribing!