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LHCC Internship (16x9) 

2023-2024

LHCC Internship Application

 

PURPOSE

The Internship program at Living Hope Community Church is designed for those who feel called to or contemplating a call to serve vocationally or bi-vocationally in church ministry. Depending on the track, someone as young as a junior in college or someone who is a seminary grad may apply. The purpose of the internship is to…

  • INSPIRE younger leaders to discern their ministry calling.
  • INFLUENCE young leaders to grow in character and competence as ministry leaders.
  • IMPRINT some of the best practices of Living Hope Community Church in young leaders.
  • IDENTIFY future partners in ministry.

PATHS

Four tracks will provide overlapping but unique training, experience and mentorship appropriate for future pastors, youth directors, children’s directors and worship directors.

  • PASTORAL TRACK - The pastoral track trains men to lead within the church as future pastors of adults.
  • YOUTH & COLLEGE MINISTRY TRACK - The youth & college ministry track trains men & women to work with youth and/or college students in the local church through hands on ministry.
  • CHILDREN’S MINISTRY TRACK - The children’s ministry track trains men and women to work with children in the local church as volunteer or vocational children’s directors.
  • WORSHIP TRACK - The worship track trains men and women to serve as volunteer or vocational worship directors and pastors.

PRIORITIES

The priority of the Living Hope internship program is not to provide entry-level manpower. Rather, the primary priority is to help develop future leaders through:

  • PERSONAL MENTORSHIP - Give the intern a mentorship relationship from a pastoral mentor who is working in the track.
  • PRACTICAL TRAINING - Give the intern practical ministry exposure and experience in a church setting.
  • PUBLIC EXPERIENCE - Give the intern public recognition and affirmation as one who is called into ministry.

PRACTICAL TRAINING

The internship shall strive to give the intern exposure and experience with feedback to become more competent in ministry. Skill development will include:

  • PASTORAL TRACK - Preaching & teaching, understanding church finance, organizing cell groups, ministering to families, networking with outside groups, working with the community, …
  • YOUTH & COLLEGE MINISTRY TRACK - Preaching, organizing events, working with staff, networking with outsider groups, discipling students, …
  • CHILDREN’S MINISTRY TRACK - Preaching to children, planning (e.g. Christmas musical, VBS), leading staff, understanding the role of curriculum, working with various ages, aligning with the church, …
  • WORSHIP TRACK - Leading worship, working with pastoral staff, planning through the seasons, leading a worship team, …

PASTORAL MENTORS

Pastoral mentors will personally mentor the intern. The mentor shall meet one-on-one with the intern at least once a month. The pastoral mentors are:

  • PASTORAL TRACK - Steve Chang (Senior Pastor), Ben Tabbal (Associate Pastor) or James Lee (Associate Pastor)
  • YOUTH & COLLEGE MINISTRY TRACK – Ervin Liang (Director of Youth Ministry) & Jin Ahn (Director of College Ministry)
  • CHILDREN’S MINISTRY TRACK – Rachel Cho (Director of Kids Ministry) & Chris Chi (Family Life Ministry)
  • WORSHIP TRACK - Robby Jung (Worship Director) & Ben Clement (Associate Worship Director)

PRE-REQUISITES

The intern must be a professing Christian who can affirm and live the values and beliefs of Living Hope Community Church. In addition,

  • PASTORAL MINISTRY TRACK - The intern candidate must be pursuing a calling as a vocational pastor. He must currently be enrolled in or have graduated from a seminary.
  • YOUTH & COLLEGE MINISTRY TRACK - The intern candidate must be considering a calling in vocational pastoral ministry. He or she must be, at a minimum, a senior in college.
  • CHILDREN'S MINISTRY TRACK - The intern candidate must be considering a calling as a children’s director, whether as a volunteer or vocation. He or she must be, at a minimum, a junior in college.
  • WORSHIP TRACK - The intern candidate must be considering a calling as a worship director, whether as a volunteer or vocation. He or she must be, at a minimum, a junior in college.

PARTICULARS

Responsibilities

The intern is expected to be a fully participating pastoral staff member of Living Hope Community Church in areas such as:

  • Regular attendance at Sunday services, major events, and small groups
  • Attendance at pastoral staff meetings and other required meetings
  • Participate in monthly coaching sessions
  • Hours: approximately 10 hours/week (15 hours/week for youth or college ministry internship)

Benefits

Living Allowance & Scholarships

Timetable

The internship shall last twelve months (September 1, 2023 – August 31, 2024).

PROCESS

For questions, please contact:

To apply for the Living Hope Internship, please:

  • Complete the application and send to James.Lee@livinghopecc.org
  • There are limited spots and we will close the application once the slot is filled.
  • Applications are due July 31, 2023 or when filled.
  • Have an interview with the pastoral mentor.

 

Application

 

Words from former interns...

"My internship with Living Hope came at a very important crossroads in my life. I had been serving in ministry for a number of years and had considered leaving ministry to try something else. And then I heard about this internship. I decided to pursue this internship because I knew that if I were to continue in ministry, I needed mentors who could guide me and more experience to ground me. And that’s exactly what I found at Living Hope. I got to explore serving in ministries I’d never tried before. I was mentored under experienced pastors. And I was given priceless feedback as to where I might best thrive in ministry. I learned about myself, made valuable friendships, and found a renewed desire to serve the Lord and the Church. If you’re a young person interested in pastoral ministry but not sure where to go, there are really not many opportunities out there that are better than interning at Living Hope." (Noah Dennis, Pastoral Intern, 2022-2023)

 

"The entire duration of the Youth Ministry Internship has arguably been the most constructive season of my life to date. In all honesty, I initially took on this internship position in order to fulfill a seminary degree requirement. Prior to starting seminary, I had never really given much thought or consideration to what ministry God might be calling me to. I came into this internship with zero knowledge about the Catapult ministry, a whole baggage of insecurity, and my own laundry list of personal life plans that I believed I was set to see through. Approximately 10 months later, I no longer have my self-crafted 5-year life plan, but I have open hands and an open heart that longs to let God provide and guide. I no longer feel inadequate in my ministry abilities, introversion, and lack of experience, because my confidence is now firmly grounded in the one who enables me to serve Him and His children. I am no longer a stranger to Catapult, and I can’t deny how much I have fallen in love with the youth ministry, the church and its members, and the God who has been revealing Himself to me through serving in this capacity. God has taken me through this incredibly life-changing year of self-emptying and reorientation in order to ultimately align my heart, values, and desires to His. Working alongside Erv through the midweek events, Sunday youth services, retreats, praise nights, student outings, volunteer hangouts, staff meetings, and hours of sermon prep were only a small handful of the avenues made available to me to experience youth ministry hands-on. The Youth Ministry track has not only gotten my two feet completely submerged in the field of youth ministry, but has truly prepared me well for diving deeper into the ministry that God has called me to serve." (Abigail Won, Youth Intern, 2022-2023)

"The LHCC Worship Internship Track was an amazing experience for me. The intent was to know the functions of leading from the “front and back” of the ministry, as well as to clarify the call to ministry, and I believe that was shown well during my time here. I am truly grateful for the people I’ve met and served alongside, and was blessed to see the heart for LHCC, and God’s people in general. This internship was very hands on, with many resources and individuals available to help fulfill the tasks at hand. In the midst of the day to day, I was also able to truly grow as a worship leader, sharpening my skills in leading/planning a set, communicating with staff and worship team members, and the overall intentionality of it all. I am super grateful to Ben, Robby, and Amanda always being available to chat, and flesh out some of the thoughts and intentions I had when it became my turn to lead in any capacity. There were opportunities to not only discuss worship, but my own spiritual walk and well-being as well. I highly recommend this internship for all who want to know more about God, our church, and worship in general. I will forever be grateful for this opportunity, and cannot wait to see what God has in store. To God be the glory." (Evan Lee, Worship Intern, 2021- 2022)

"The Living Hope Children’s Ministry internship has been an incredible experience. The time here has been encouraging, challenging, eye-opening, and affirming. I learned about my strengths and weaknesses as a ministry leader and how the Lord has uniquely created me for the purposes of His Kingdom. I had the great privilege of working with a Pastoral Staff that deeply loves God and His church. The pastoral staff seeks to pour into and develop younger leaders for the edification and building up of the Church. I am so thankful for the informal and formal mentorships that were provided by the staff as I was supported, equipped, and trained through these mentorships. I was able to gain a lot of practical experience through delivering Children’s messages, planning events, building relationships with children, managing social media, and coordinating outreach projects. Through this internship, I have been able to see the beauty and need for Gospel-centered Children’s Ministry as God deeply loves and cares for His children. As children have a posture of dependency towards others, I was challenged every single week by the children to have a posture of dependency unto the Lord not only in ministry but in everyday life. I am so thankful for this experience and opportunity to grow not only as a ministry leader but also as a follower of Christ." (Ryan Yoon, Children’s Ministry Intern, 2021-2022)

“The living hope worship internship has been an amazing experience for me. Even in the midst of a crazy and challenging season (COVID-19), I believe that God orchestrated the perfect timing for me to be at this internship. Through this experience, I’ve learned what it really means to serve God and His people, especially as we are navigating how to do church in the COVID-19 pandemic. I feel blessed that a group of solid leaders are walking alongside me, want to see me at my best, and are truly rooting for me. This level of relational care and mentoring is what sets this internship apart for me. It’s opened my eyes to what it really means to be a leader in a church context, a calling that I’ve found comes with both unexpected difficulty and immense blessing. I can truly attest to those interested in interning at LHCC that this is a safe place to learn and explore God’s calling for your life. For me personally, this internship has given me clarity in my calling and desire to serve God’s church, wherever and however He may call me. Even as many of my life experiences have pointed me towards this realization, I never expected to feel called to ministry. It just continues to show me that God, in His loving sovereignty, will lead me to where He wants me (how amazing is that!!). I’ve had the best time serving God alongside some awesome women and men of God and if you have the chance and desire to apply, I encourage you to take a leap of faith and simply see and be a part of the great things that God is doing.” (Amanda Ma, Worship Intern, 2020-2021)

“The worship internship was an experience that God used to deepen my understanding of worship within His local and universal church. During my time as intern, I thought critically about each line of a worship song and wrestled with its meaning, and learned that everything we sing to God is for His glory and our own good. I was able to also gain so much hands-on experience both behind the scenes and on the stage, and learn by example from our Worship Director and the Assistant Worship Director. Whether it was setting up small pieces of equipment quietly indoors or singing on stage, I was reminded of how God uses weak people to serve Him greatly. I had opportunities to see how the worship directors and the church staff model this understanding and was challenged to live it out as well. I was also stretched mentally and spiritually throughout the internship. The pandemic threw many unexpected challenges into the internship, and navigating the direction of a medium-sized church’s worship ministry during quarantine was novel and unexpected. However, God truly used these challenges and encouragements to help me mature as a Christian who intentionally loves the Lord through worship and in my personal life. I am so thankful for my experience and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about worship ministry, God, and our church.” (Helen Han, Worship Intern, 2019-2020)

“The worship internship at Living Hope was incredible, as it helped me grow in so many aspects as a worship leader. I was able to get a lot of hands-on experience and really see what it is like being a worship leader and worship director of a church. My mentors taught me to do everything that they do as worship directors, and they have prepared me to be able to confidently handle most of the typical responsibilities that worship directing entails on my own. The internship has also helped me grow as a leader, as I have been given opportunities to lead worship teams and to lead a church congregation in musical worship. And most importantly, during my time as a worship intern, I have been able to grow in spiritual maturity, as I have been constantly encouraged and challenged to be more intentional in my faith and in all aspects of my worship to God.” (Hannah Kim, Worship Intern, 2018-2019)

“The Living Hope CE Internship was such a blessing in my life. God called me to serve the children and His people in this way and I blindly obeyed! I think God really showed me how much He loves His people and to really serve with a Mark 10:45 mindset. I learned to love God and love others in a way that I never thought was possible and it was all through His grace and mercy. The internship is definitely a hard time because you see more of your flaws and brokenness but the beauty in His love for you prevails over all things. I would really encourage and challenge anyone thinking of doing this internship to prayerfully consider it!” (Heidi Park, Children’s Ministry Intern, 2018-2019)

“This internship was so challenging, stretching, and eye-opening! I am so grateful that I got to be a part of such an amazing program that humbled my strengths, stretched my weaknesses, and helped me to also discover more things about myself. But most importantly, this internship brought me closer to God as I discovered His heart for His people. I got to work closely with 3 women who are beyond amazing at what they do, see the engine (the pastoral staff) behind our great church, and also witness more and more of God's hand over our church. It's been such a great season and I'm so sad it's ending but I pray that whoever is considering this internship would first and foremost use this internship as an opportunity to learn more about our God and grow closer to Him by bringing Him all the glory and praise.” (Rachel Cho, Children’s Ministry Intern, 2018-2019)

“Before coming to Living Hope as a Pastoral Intern, I served 6 years as an English Ministry Pastor at a small immigrant church. I didn't know what to expect and was unsure about the things I would gain from this internship. At the very least, I figured I would be satisfied with greater networking and observing how a larger church operates. By God's grace and goodness, I gained so much more than I could have imagined or asked for. Here at Living Hope, you will see and learn effective church systems. You will have the opportunity to refine your skills in preaching, administration, and organizing events. And you will learn and discover truths about yourself that will help you to become a more matured, healthy servant of Christ. But the greatest strength of this internship is in working with an awesome staff. You get to work alongside, learn from, and build relationships with some of the most humble, passionate, and competent servant leaders any church could ask for. So whether you're new to ministry or are in a transitional period like me, I highly recommend this internship opportunity to anyone interested. And I pray that your life may bring all praise and glory to God.” (Daniel S. Lee, Pastoral/Youth Intern, 2018-2019)

The LHCC Worship Track Internship has been a hard and humbling experience. Every time I stepped on the platform to lead our congregation in worship, I realized even more just how much I need Jesus and how inadequate I am on my own. This internship also reminded me of how important it is to seek and listen to God’s voice above all the other distracting voices. If truly He is at the center of my heart and all that I do, the other outside voices should have less weight over my thoughts and my feelings. The internship has reconvicted me of the fact that, truly, I can find my ultimate satisfaction and rest and identity only in Him. I am still learning how to lead by example, something our Worship Director and Associate Worship Director model well. Though I do not know what God has in store for me in the months to come, I hope to continue serving Him in the capacity I currently do and continue learning how to do it well for Him. The verse that has really resonated with me during this entire season has been what is written in Galatians 6:14: “As for me, may I never boast in anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of that cross, my interest in this world has been crucified, and the world’s interest in me has also died.” (Rose So, Worship Intern, 2017-2018)

“The Living Hope internship program has been a big part of my growth in many ways. I was exposed to different areas of ministry, such as worship and youth, and learned more of the unique challenges of these ministries. This changed the way I prayed for these ministries, and I saw them in a new light. Through this experience, my heart has also grown for these ministries, and I now understand more of what goes on behind the scenes. Not only was I exposed to specific ministries, God powerfully worked in me as well. As I served, God helped me to see more of the brokenness of my heart and how my brokenness affects the way I lead and serve God’s people. Through this God taught me how to pray, find strength in weakness, and to lean on Him for everything. As I am near the end of my internship, I am excited to see where God will launch me next, to serve and work for His great Kingdom!” (Michael Young Lee, Pastoral Intern, 2017-2018)

“I was impacted by the LHCC internship program through the personal relationship that I developed with my mentor. As I went through the internship program, I was constantly guided and mentored by one of the directors at LHCC, and I was given the opportunity to observe other leadership styles from the other directors. Also, as an intern it was helpful for me to observe first-hand how the pastoral meetings are run and you are even given the opportunity to share your input. So the LHCC internship program not only allows you to observe and learn, but gives you an opportunity to practically develop your skills as a leader through the ministry rotations. My plans after this internship is to serve as a Youth Pastor at Berendo Street Baptist Church.” (Danny Nam, Pastoral Intern, 2016-2017)

“The Living Hope Community Church internship was a great opportunity for me to gain hands-on ministry experience within a relational context. What attracted me to the program was being directly mentored by a staff member. Through this mentorship I gained insights and skills in leadership, discipleship, and setting up other co-workers up for success. Everything I learned in the past year will be invaluable to me as I pursue my dream in planting a church in my hometown.” (Paul Hong, pastoral intern, 2016-2017)

“From this internship, I learned how to love and appreciate the church as an entirety and learned how much planning goes on behind the scenes of the church. The internship impacted me by allowing me to really love the church more than my thirst for fame or recognition. There are times when I desire my name to be said out loud by my college pastor and to be recognized by others, but being in the internship has taught me to serve while learning to stay humble. Additionally, I learned to appreciate each event that goes on in the church, because I was able to see how much planning and collaborating takes place before the church officially launches something. After the internship, I plan on returning to KKC as a teacher and team lead. I am open to opportunities that may open up for me in the church as well.” (Jay Ghil, Christian Ed intern, 2016-2017)

“Oh my goodness, this internship has opened my eyes and heart to the local church and to ministry in a deeper and personal way. Being at the Pastoral Staff meetings made me see the successes and struggles that are part of the church, but how God's hand has been planning/ orchestrating it ALL. It allowed me to better serve, lead meetings/events, plan and help direct the CE ministries at church and it has been so eye opening and a great learning experience! Giving the chance to be the guest speaker for Preschool one Sunday and KKC for Good Friday helped me better realize the joy of sharing the Gospel to children--the next generation!!! It helped me slowly overcome my fears and continually trust in God. Lastly, I got to work closely with / intern under Min Song Lee (KKC director)--- the best mentor in the world!!!! She has taught me SO many things of what it looks like to lead a Children's ministry and how we must depend on Christ for the ministry to blossom for His Kingdom. This internship has been a learning experience for me (I still have so much to learn...) but so grateful for what I have learned thus far. After the internship ends, I will join the Pastoral Staff as the Assistant KKC director and am beyond nervous yet excited to serve the children in this way!” (Elizabeth Chung, Christian Ed intern, 2016-2017)