College Intern Program in Tri-Cities area begins this fall
April 3, 2008
A unique partnership for Corban in the Tri-Cities, Washington area will make it possible for local students and churches to benefit one another in ministry. Called the College Intern Program, it combines the resources of Gather4Him ministries, a growing coalition of local churches and Corban College. The two-year program is set to begin in the fall of 2008 with courses taught by local instructors under the direct oversight of Corban faculty.
“This is a new kind of partnership for us,” said Dr. Greg Trull, Professor of Ministries. He noted that Corban faculty will function as mentors for the program’s instructors as well as oversee the curriculum used in its courses. As a result, students will receive semester credits from Corban College.
Bob Nash, Director of Gather4Him, said, “Corban provides the academic piece for us. Our mission is to serve churches in reaching teens for Christ. So we tell our churches, ‘Send your kids to us, we’ll train them, and then send them back to you—ready to work.”
Incorporated into the College Intern Program is required church or community service. While students take classes each morning, their afternoons will be spent in internship with their own churches or other Gather4Him ministries in the Tri-Cities area. Campus ministry at Columbia Basin College and a mission trip are also part of the students’ experiences.
 Dr. Sam Baker presents information about the College Intern Program to the crowd at “The Gathering” youth event in early March. (Photo courtesy of NW Christian Concerts Photos) |
Nash described two other ways the program can work. Juniors and seniors in high school can take the classes for credit from Corban as an early admission or “Running Start” program. Youth pastors can take the classes to build and develop their ministry skills with teens.
During the formative stages of the College Intern Program, Nash said that it was hard to find a college holding the right core values as their academic partner. He noted that Trull was quick to respond when he heard of the search and helped to confirm Corban as the match for which they were looking. Since then, Nash has worked with Trull and Dr. Sam Baker, Associate Professor of Ministries, in planning the Program, along with a coalition of over 25 churches in the area.
Baker recently traveled to “The Gathering’ in the Tri-Cities over March 6-7 which attracted approximately 4000 young people over the course of two days. Both nights he spoke for a few minutes onstage about the intern program. “We asked for a show of hands indicating how many people had heard of Corban,” recalled Nash. “It was amazing how many hands went up!” “Events like ‘The Gathering’ have contributed to the large amount of interest we’ve seen already. We’ll have no trouble reaching a class size of 20 for the fall,” he predicted.
Click here to view the intern program brochure.
