We are looking for men and women to work hard in small churches in difficult situations. There will be small reward, constant confusion and frustration. You will be misunderstood, misrepresented and maligned.

You will receive training and mentoring in an Acts 29 Europe church plant. This will equip you for a life of unknown, unsung, heart-wrenching and often unfruitful ministry. And an undying joy and wonder in the presence of Jesus Christ.

You will be a nobody who has nothing to offer. But you will follow Jesus, and you will know you need nothing else.

Are you one of the men or women who we are looking for to take up an internship in September 2013 to serve and be served in one of the Acts29 Europe church plants?

As a network we long to see the whole of Europe (and beyond!) reached with the Gospel of Jesus by planting communities of light planted across the continent. To facilitate this we begun an internship programme in September 2012. After a successful pilot this year, we are hoping to expand the programme in 2013.

We have a robust application assessment process for church planters. We are keen, though, to help people test out at an earlier stager as well whether this is the calling Christ has for them. We also want to raise people up to be part of church planting core teams in the future. This is why we are investing in this internship programme. We see it as a key part of our vision to see Jesus proclaimed in all the villages, towns and cities of Europe.

We are a network of churches and church plants, and so we are not looking to take on interns to serve Acts 29 Europe. Rather, we want to put men and women in contact with one of our church plants that is offering an internship. We want you to join a church plant oriented to reaching its local community, making disciples and planting more churches. We want you to join a Christ-loving church plant, not just a network.

The internship programme is designed so that the relationship between the church and the individual can flourish in the church’s particular context and that individuals can be best equipped to “go and do likewise”. We recognise that for each person and church context the training, investment and service needs will be different. There are some common factors that we have put in place, though, to make sure this scheme is a blessing for the individuals and churches involved. These principles are seen in the frequently asked questions below.

Frequently Asked Questions

What Type of Church and Where?
Acts 29 Europe is a network of churches and pastors from different cultural backgrounds but who are thoroughly:

• Christian
• Evangelical
• Missional
• Gospel centred

These pastors have planted and are planting churches in urban centres, rural villages and council estates. A number of our men have planted as overseas missionaries, however their heart is to see local indigenous people saved, discipled and trained to lead future church plants in those countries. With that in mind potential interns will be introduced to churches from their own country (if available), in contexts where they would like to gain experience. We do recognise that God calls people to other countries so if there is a long term desire to serve in a particular country this can be discussed at the application stage.

What kind of training will I receive?
Each Intern will be encouraged to do some structured training. As a network, we work closely with Porterbrook Learning – a distance learning course provided by the Porterbrook Network (www.porterbrooknetwork.org). We also recognise the high quality of other training courses that serve well in an internship context, such as the Ministry Training courses, provided by the regional Gospel Partnerships in the UK. We have had Interns do either Porterbrook, local courses or both. The church and the intern will decide which training route will be of most benefit. Interns will receive one to one coaching from the pastor and/or another qualified member of the church as well as the experience that will be gained from serving day to day in the church.

Will I be paid?
Church planters need to be able to raise funds and find their own support, so as a training tool and a taste of the reality of what it costs to be involved in church planting the intern will usually be required to raise funds in order to take part in the internship, with the church sacrificially sharing some of these costs (to be discussed and arranged between the church and intern). A common model is for the church to provide the costs of training and accommodation and the intern raising money for living costs. The churches are aware that some interns will need to work part time to do this. This is a common pattern, though, and we do not want to prescribe how this will work for churches or interns, so you will need to discuss this with the church you are put in touch with for interview, should you reach that stage.

Who can be an intern?
Internships are open to men and women age 18 and over who hold to the doctrine and vision of Acts 29 Europe. We welcome interns from within and outside Europe, and will do our best to help with visas where necessary.

How long is an Acts 29 Europe internship?
1 or 2 years (at the discretion of the church and intern)

In summary what will an Acts 29 Europe intern year look like?

• Working in an Acts 29 Europe church
• Being coached by the pastor or another qualified member
• Formal theological training
• Attending Acts 29 Europe conferences and serving there.
• Attending one or two residential weekends specifically for the Act 29 Europe church planting interns to set your hearts on fire for church planting.
• If possible, taking part in a mission trip to serve an Acts 29 Europe church in another country. If not, then visiting another Acts 29 Europe church in a different situation to gain experience there.

How do I apply?
Contact us (details below). We will then send you an initial application form and handle the first part of the process. Once we have discovered if you are a suitable candidate and the sort of church you would like to do an internship with, we will then put you in touch with a church in the network that would like an intern and matches your needs. It is then up to you and the church to decide if this is right – we are acting as a facilitator for churches and potential interns, your internship will be with the Acts 29 Europe church, not Acts 29 Europe.

We have been piloting this programme for the past 12 months and are now excited to be formally offering this opportunity to men and women who have a desire to see the Gospel advance across our continent.

If you would like to know more about the Acts 29 Europe internship programme or would like to receive an application to start this coming September please contact us, Steve Robinson (steve@cornerstonechurchliverpool.org) and John Hindley (john@broadgrace.org.uk).