Helping young people grow and develop

At Plymouth Christian Centre, three new students are about to begin a year of study with a difference

When Josh Laidlaw joined Plymouth Christian Centre’s intern programme, he was a student exploring what ministry might look like. Today, he’s the church’s Minister in Training, focusing on youth and young adults.

Josh is one of several students who have come through PCC’s 12-month programme, which aims to give students hands-on experience of church life while helping them grow as leaders. “We’ve seen massive growth in him,” says course leader Liz Crudgington. “As an intern he saw behind the scenes what it’s actually like to work in church, and now that he’s on our staff team, he’s happy to get stuck into anything.”

This month, three new interns are getting ready to begin the course.

The programme they will take combines mentoring, Bible study, leadership training and practical work in church. Interns are encouraged to spend time with different teams, giving them an insight into everything from youth and children’s work to administration, worship and pastoral ministry.

“We try to give them visibility of all areas of church, even if they don’t end up working in them,” says Liz.

Building confidence is one of the biggest benefits of the internship, she says.

Students get involved in various church projects to help achieve this. They’ve organised cream teas for the church’s Gift of Years retirees’ group, helped plan young adults’ weekends away and supported a wide range of other activities.

“It’s amazing to see what happens when people are given opportunities and trusted with responsibility,” Liz says.

She remembers how one group noticed younger people were not engaging with the church’s Connect lunch programme.

“They looked at how other churches were reaching students and suggested some changes.”

The result was a dedicated table for young adults, promoted with banners, leaflets and QR codes.

Whether directly or indirectly a result of the intern programme, Liz is happy to report that the student side of PCC is growing, so much so that Josh was taken on as the church’s young adults’ worker.

The programme attracts people of all ages from a variety of backgrounds and interests.

“Predominantly it’s people interested in youth and children’s work, but we’ve also had interns who lean towards admin, music or general church leadership.”

Like Josh, Liz’s daughter Amy is another success story. She completed an internship focused on youth and children’s ministry before going on to study at Regents.

Others have used the programme as a gap year.

Whatever path they take afterwards, Liz loves seeing the change that takes place in them over the year as an intern.

“They start off not knowing each other and often not realising what they’re capable of,” she says.

“Then you see them grow in confidence, build friendships and develop gifts they never knew they had.

“It’s amazing to see how much can happen in just one year.”

As Plymouth Christian Centre prepares to welcome its newest intake, the team are looking forward to seeing what God will do in their lives too.

This article first appeared in Direction Magazine. For further details, please click here.