Center for World Missions

Global Outreach International Missions

Internship Vision

Vision: “Christian students called to cross-cultural missions”

Our purpose in the missions internship program is to raise up full-time, cross-cultural missionaries by recruiting, preparing and placing students in cross-cultural missions situations where they will be exposed to effective missions models and to mentors who will challenge them to serve Christ cross-culturally.

For years Harding’s mission internships have focused on Africa. In the past 18 years the program has challenged more than 70 former interns to become full-time missionaries or teachers in Africa. We believe it can have a similar impact in other areas of the world thus our desire to broaden our internship offerings as well as continue in African countries.

Many of the younger generation need to see and to experience for themselves what is involved in either full-time or vocational cross-cultural ministry before they commit to serving more extensively. They need to find answers to many questions: “Is God calling me to serve in cross-cultural missions?”, “Could I learn to share my faith with a person like this, in a situation like this?” and, “Could I raise my family in a place like this?”

At Harding, we prepare students for internships from the perspective that they are going out primarily as learners rather than as teachers or as experts. Typical internships last at least six weeks and include activities such as follows:

1. Basic study of the local language *
2. Culture and ministry orientation
3. Daily journaling
4. Observation and participation in ministry with missionaries or national workers*
   at a level appropriate for the student and for the ministry context
5. Living with/near and participating in the home life of the missionary family
6. Bonding in the home of a national Christian family*
7. Surveying another people group where Christian mission is needed
8. A ‘tourist’ opportunity for relaxation and sight-seeing
9. Debriefing and evaluation of the internship experience

Ideally our students will experience life and ministry in the mission field by learning about missions through observation, mentoring and participation in ministry.

WE SEEK PARTNERS

1. who believe in the value of challenging and preparing the next generation of missionaries
2. who are willing to host and mentor young people by exposing them to what it means to be a missionary and to opportunities for service in missions
3. who are engaged in effective missions models that our students need to experience and
4. whose home exemplifies a spiritually and emotionally healthy family life

*activities vary based on missions context.