Engage TrueCity Hamilton: Internships
In the past, interns have served TrueCity primarily within the context of a local church that was doing neighbourhood outreach in roles such as children and family outreach worker with a church and as a youth pastor at a church.
The Urban Internship Project
We believe that the most effective way to develop a new generation of urban missionaries is to train them in the context of actual, day-to-day urban ministry. We are in the process of developing a 9-12 month urban internship experience that will provide extensive ministry experience and a praxis-model of urban training. There are five main features of the internship:
1. Join a Team - You would be part of the IT team in Hamilton. Our team seeks to live the gospel in the various neighbourhoods of Hamilton with and through local churches by participating with God in His work of relating, reconciling, and releasing/unleashing.
2. Hands on work - The core of this internship is the opportunity to invest yourself in a ministry that is specifically tailored to your gifts, interests, and learning objectives. It might be working with a specific group like youth, the homeless, children, seniors, single mothers, refugees and immigrants, or it might be a specific focus like community development, evangelism, environmental concerns, worship and prayer, or advocacy. The question is how we can live out the gospel in tangible ways in our urban context. Your ministry would be connected to the work of our team and one of the local churches working in these communities. This provides you with the best learning context by allowing you the opportunity to make a unique personal contribution as part of an established ministry with a long-term commitment to the neighbourhood.
3. Church Involvement - Our team works with a number of churches that are committed to making a difference in the part neighbourhood they are a part of. As part of your internship you will join one of these churches that are exploring what it means to do church in their neighbourhood. This allows you to ground your day-to-day work in the life of a faith community that is seeking to be salt and light in these neighbourhoods.
4. Group Study and Reflection - There are intentional times of study and reflection built into this internship. Each week you would be part of a group that gathers for a time of dialogue, reflection, and prayer. These times are guided and include some reading and writing preparation. This provides us with opportunities to learn from each other and from the experiences with which God is providing us.
5. Explore Other Urban Ministry Contexts - An optional part of the internship is to spend up to a month in an urban context in another country. IT has teams working in urban contexts in Europe, Asia, Central and South America, and in the U.S. We can arrange for you to visit and explore.
