We require that each of our interns raise financial support that will cover their salary, cost of living, and other summer expenses. And while that may sound scary at first, it’s truly an exciting part of the internship where you will marvel at how God works in the hearts of people to provides for all your needs.  By God's grace, ALL past prospective interns met the minimum goal.  If God wants you here, He will meet all your needs.

And we help you every step of the way! You’ll be assigned a staff mentor who will walk with you until each dime is raised. Your mentor will encourage you, pray for you, and assist you with writing letters and contacting potential donors.

How will God use your season of support-raising? Here is what some former interns have to say…

Jenn

I started off the grace-driven journey of support-raising just like the rest of the interns, but then slowed down halfway through the semester. I began wondering if I would be able to do the internship and how I’d tell my supporters that I just couldn't raise the funds!

Yet everyone was praying for me, and I was trusting God to provide all I needed. Matthew 6:26 says, "Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?" If Jesus provides for the birds, why would I doubt his provision for me?

Then, on the day of the support-raising deadline, God provided more than my goal!

God used support-raising to strengthen my faith and make me solely dependent on Him.

Ben

Support-raising always carried a negative connotation in my mind. I was raised as a very independent, self-supporting individual who would make his own way. While a good work ethic and personal independence are not innately bad character traits, they will get in the way when God wants to show His provision.

Both my parents and I were skeptical about asking friends and family for $100, $200, or even $500 in support of my DiscipleMakers ministry. Yet my mentor showed me from God's Word that Jesus and His disciples were entirely supported by others, and Jesus himself gives grounds for investing deeply in the Kingdom in Matthew 6:21: "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  This helped me to have boldness in asking others to invest deeply in something which will have an eternal impact.

And invest deeply they did!  In just one month, God provided three-fourths of my support goal! And by the time I started the internship, my total was 20% above my goal! For me this was an amazing display of the power of faith and God's abundant love and grace, which I have continued to need on a daily basis. 

Brad

Support-raising was a very tangible lesson in how I cannot depend on my own ability, but must solely rely on our Lord. This lesson was reiterated frequently to me as I continued to wrestle with mixed motives and incomplete dependence on God. In His abundant grace, He still provided for me and met all my needs. Reflecting back on the experience, I can say that God taught me as much, if not more, in the support-raising process than He did ministering on campus.