Job Description

Internship Program Guidelines (Seminary Students)
Tokyo Baptist Church

1. CHURCH DESCRIPTION
Tokyo Baptist Church is an international family of believers and is located in the heart of Tokyo. Half of the congregation is Japanese and the other half is from about 50 countries of the world. We use English as our bridge language of communication.

We aspire to grow individually and collectively as a church with our commitment to the Great Commandments (Matthew 22:37-40) and the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 10:31).

2. PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM
In the New Testament, Jesus called twelve disciples and appointed them as apostles “to be with him, to send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons” (Mark 3:13-15 CSB). The disciples learned by doing what Jesus had taught them as they saw him in action and heard him teach. Paul took Timothy on his missionary journey during which he mentored him. Paul then instructed Timothy to entrust to reliable men what he had heard from him in the presence of many witnesses. (Acts 16:1-5, 2 Tim. 2:1-2)

The purpose of the Internship Program at Tokyo Baptist Church is to provide ministry settings whereby interns can further mature spiritually, be trained practically and be empowered by the church as they prepare to serve God and people on a full-time basis. The program can offer a rich cross-cultural mission experience for those who will be coming from outside of Japan. Moreover, the program can serve as a connecting bridge from lay ministry or seminary academic life to full-time ministry.

3. BENEFITS OF THE PROGRAM

• Opportunity for believers called by God to be trained in actual ministry settings as a preparation for full-time ministry.
• Development of the next generation of church leaders through an intentional and practical ministry program in a cross-cultural context.
• Contribution and assistance of the intern to the overall growth of the church.
• Effective investment of time, energy and financial resources.

4. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE INTERN

• Must be a born-again Christian, baptized by immersion, and a member of a church that is officially affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC).
• Should be currently enrolled in one of the SBC seminaries and be permitted to be in this program with consent by the seminary.
• A man with a clear calling to pastoral ministry.
• Will have been actively serving in a ministry of a local church for at least a year by the time of application.
• Should be willing to become a member of Tokyo Baptist Church during the duration of the program.
• Should agree with the statements of faith and support the vision and mission of Tokyo Baptist Church.

5. MINISTRY AREAS  
Tokyo Baptist Church, in agreement with the intern, will determine the area of ministry in which he or she will be serving.

• Students’ Ministry
• Worship Ministry
• Other ministries to be decided by Tokyo Baptist Church.

6. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INTERN

• Demonstrate the highest degree of service and of accountability to his ministry supervisor.
• Fulfill his ministry responsibilities as prepared by Tokyo Baptist Church.
• Maintain a personal and ministry journal.
• Submit a spiritual and ministry performance report on a regular basis.

7. INTERN’S TYPICAL WEEKLY SCHEDULE

• Monday: Day-off
• Tuesday: Staff Devotion, Meetings and Ministry Work (9:00am-5:00pm)
• Wednesday: Ministry Work (half-day)
• Thursday: Seminary-related Study
• Friday: Ministry Work (half-day)
• Saturday: Worship (7:00pm) and Ministry Work (half-day)
• Sunday: Worship (9:00am, 11:00am, 3:00pm, and 5:00pm) and Ministry Work (9:00am-6:30pm)

(Note: The seminary-related study day can be adjusted depending on the ministry and  school work schedules.)

8. RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE MINISTRY SUPERVISOR

• Demonstrate the highest standards of ministry.
• Teach and train both in speech and in action.
• Prepare a ministry description for the ministry area mutually chosen with the intern.
• Meet with the intern on a regular basis.
• Encourage the intern to have a consistent and a disciplined devotional life.
• Evaluate the intern’s spiritual life and ministry performance.
• Submit progress and evaluation reports to the pastoral staff of Tokyo Baptist Church.

9. BASIC TERMS OF AGREEMENT
(Terms may differ for each intern depending on the nature of the program.)

• Duration
  Initially the length of the program will be nine months or one year, but it can be extended up to a maximum of two years.
• Status of Residence in Japan
  Tokyo Baptist Church as a sponsor will provide necessary documents to apply for “religious activities visa” for the intern. The intern’s local church as a sending church will also have to provide necessary supporting documents.
• Finance
  Tokyo Baptist Church will provide housing and living allowances to meet the intern’s needs during the program. However, the intern will have to cover the payment for a round trip airfare. There will be no financial expectations from the sending church unless the church decides to financially support the intern.
• Working Hours
  The intern will be expected to do ministry work 29.5 hours per week for 3.5 days.
• Days off and Vacation
  Monday will be a regular day off. In addition to the national holidays in Japan, the intern will be entitled to five days of vacation the first year and ten days the second year.
• Post-internship
  The church will reserve the right to employ or not to employ the intern after the program. There should not be any expectations on the part of the intern of a possible employment at Tokyo Baptist Church.

10. REQUIRED DOCUMENTS
A person who is interested in applying to this Internship Program must submit the following documents for initial screening:

• Your Salvation Experience
• God’s Calling of Your Life to Full-time Ministry
• Philosophy of Ministry specifically related to the assigned area of ministry
• Resume (personal data, family, education, work/ministry experience, etc.)
• References (at least three)

11. CONTACT INFORMATION
For any questions or clarifications about the program, please contact:

Takeshi Yozawa, Senior Pastor
Email: takeshi@tokyobaptist.org

Job Tags

Similar Jobs