Interning @LHStudents by Matthew Gooch

This summer was such a blessing on my life.  I came into the summer just looking to be a part of the youth ministry that poured into me some much as I was growing up, but I ended up getting poured into more than I could ever offer. Most importantly, God used this internship to call me into ministry.  My life has a new course because of this summer with Long Hollow.

One thing that I took away from this summer is that the call to ministry is a call to prepare. Before this summer I was ready to go into Accounting. I still don’t have a full picture of what my ministry will look like, but I do know God had me at Long Hollow for a reason this summer. This youth ministry, along with my co-workers, was just the support I needed to discern how God was beginning to work in my life.

Another thing I pulled from this summer is that running a youth ministry of this size at the level of excellence that Long Hollow strives for is a lot of hard work. As a student I took events such as camp and event Rivers Edge for granted. I didn’t see all the planning, preparation, and execution that went in to such event. Brian said an astronomical number of times this summer, “Excellence doesn’t take short cuts.” And it’s true.

Last thing I learn was how to love on students. Sometimes the best way to show Jesus with them was just to spend time with them and show them what Christians hanging out looks like.  I put so much pressure on leading bible studies and having set spiritual conversations in the beginning that I didn’t focus on where they needed the application the most. When the students and I were just having fun, spiritual opportunities came up. They were much more relevant to them and they learned more from me that way.