Anna Lander, a Mission Intern at St Oswald's, Tile Hill, writes about what it is like being part of the Mission Internship programme at St Mark's Aceadmy.
Looking back on my journey to where I am right now, I strongly believe that God has led me to be a Mission Intern for a reason. I have been a regular member at my local parish church – St Oswald’s in Tile Hill - for more than ten years, serving God voluntarily in a lot of church activities and ministering with the church choir at the morning services. Then one day the vicar and his wife recommended that I apply for this Mission Internship programme at St Mark’s Academy, Coventry. I did some quick research about the role, prayed about it, applied for it, interviewed, and then got the role.
This Mission Internship allows churches to get young people who want to commit to serve God at their churches to be trained and equipped with leadership skills and basic theology knowledge. It consists of working mostly at the placement church and training at St Mark’s Academy.
I personally really enjoy being a Mission Intern at St Oswald’s. First and foremost, it’s related to my passionate heart to serve God wherever He needs me. Secondly, this role allows me to serve God more effectively. With the regular training at St Mark’s Academy and its courses, material resources, homework and practical exercises, I am getting a much better grip of what it takes to develop myself as a missionary leader who approaches ministry both effectively and thoughtfully. I am growing in faith by receiving a good biblical and theological grounding, in leadership, by developing skills for mission and ministry, and in discipleship, by exploring resources to nurture my own character and spirituality. Thirdly, I love the people of St Oswald’s and the wider Tile Hill community. I love to help people to come to know God and to grow their faith spiritually. I want God to use me to bless others and for others to carry on the chain of God’s blessings to their wider communities too.
In my role at my placement church right now, I have been serving as a singer in the choir, playing the organ, helping at both the mum and toddler group and youth group, cooking for the community kitchen, and doing outreach on the streets. Most of my tasks are customer facing, so it’s helpful if you are a bit extrovert. Tile Hill right now has quite a diverse demographic in terms of cultural and ethnic backgrounds. Coming from the biggest (and a very ethnic-diverse) south-east-Asian country in the world, I find it quite easy to relate and communicate with different types of people here. There are of course a lot of challenges, things that I have not anticipated or foreseen before I started this role, but I see these challenges as part of the process I have to get through if I want to serve God effectively. One thing to remember, God’s ways are not our own ways, just ask God to lead you through and through. This is more or less how I see my experience as being a Mission Intern at St Oswald’s, Tile Hill.