Summer Internship: 10 Years Later

Summer Intern Stephany Dailey helps enable children to express their creative abilities through an art project.

In 2002, G.O.D International offered it’s first ever Summer Internship. That summer was full of challenges and inspiration with the first dozen interns, and it was the beginning of 7 straight years of internships that would do the same for nearly 200 people. Throughout those 7 years, our interns traveled internationally through Mexico, Jamaica, Kenya, Uganda, The United Kingdom, Guatemala, The Philippines and Hong Kong (in different combinations in different years). The summer internship, by definition, is an intensive journey to discern the call of God upon one’s life regarding the possibility of entering into full-time ministry. This includes immersion in the word, worship, prayer, and service for 7-weeks, and in our experience, has been life-changing for many individuals. This Summer Internship has been the catalyst for many of the participants who are now involved in full-time vocational service to the LORD with G.O.D. International.

Summer Interns are given an opportunity to come face-to-face with injustice on the international scene (often for the first time). In addition, they are given the chance to witness a community of individuals who have devoted their lives to God in service to the poor and marginalized. This can be a phenomenal experience in and of itself.

We are blessed to host 22 interns from 9 states and 10 denominational backgrounds this year.

These interns will participate in 3 weeks of service and training at our headquarters in Nashville, Tennessee. In addition to prayer, worship, and study of the Word, they will host ‘Camp Skillz’—a day camp incorporating sports, dance, gardening, art, and other basic skills to foster character development. This camp has been offered to refugee children from nearby neighborhoods, thus beginning the interns’ international encounter before they even leave the States. The team will then continue on to El Salvador, assisting our development team with building housing structures and learning the area's culture, language, and prevalent needs. The interns will then travel to North Carolina, where they will help facilitate service projects for a high school youth group.

Camp Skillz participants harvest carrots for the first time, led by Summer Intern Geoff Hartnell. Some of the children had never tasted carrots before.

We invite you to pray with us for this special group of young people who are embarking on a wonderful opportunity. Our theme for the summer is the same as 10 years ago when Summer Internship began: ‘Be Mo’ … like Jesus.’ We hope to inspire these young people to live as Jesus did—without selfish ambition or conceit, but rather exhibiting humility as they consider others above themselves—particularly the poor, who are rarely considered. In doing this, we know we can share a mind with Jesus, whom we call Christ our Lord.

Theme Verse:

Philippians 2:3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others. 5 Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited, 7 but emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, being born in human likeness. And being found in human form, 8 he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.