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Church Info Evangelist Training Program Interns
| Interns |
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| Friday, 05 June 2009 13:39 |
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Jason Lankford I am originally from Little Rock, where my father preached for the Burns Park Church of Christ. At age 6 in 1993, we moved to Owensboro, KY where my father preached for close to 10 years at Southside Church of Christ. My parents are Jeff and Faye, and my three brothers are: Clay, Josh, and Bradley. I attended Florida College from 2005 - 2007 where I received an Associates Degree. I then moved on to Western Kentucky University where I will graduate with a Bachelor’s Degree in Agriculture. Beginning in February 2008, I began preaching as a “fill-in” at different congregations across Kentucky and Tennessee. A couple of months later I began preaching twice a month; once for a congregation in Caneyville, KY, and also for another in Horse Branch, KY. In June 2009 I began preaching regularly at Caneyville Church of Christ while finishing school and working as the Greenhouse manager for the university farm. I will graduate May 2010, and have realized that my true passion is preaching and full time work.
Justin Mock
Before working with Dennis, I had been preaching for about three years, working with the evangelist at the congregation where I attended. Preaching once a month was great when I first began, but after only preaching every now-and-then, I wanted to do more; I wanted to be more involved; I wanted to better understand the kind of work that an evangelist does. Yes, preaching is important. But it is also much more than that. Working with Fairview this past summer, I learned preaching. While I had a few years experience in this area, I never want to feel like I’ve reached "that place" where I no longer need to improve. Even with the experience I already had, there was no shortage of ideas and constructive criticisms to keep me moving forward. Basil Copeland would walk me through the various areas of presenting a sermon, and how I could better myself in public service, as well as ways to make the lessons themselves not only stronger, but more effective to everyone. I also learned teaching. In contrast to preaching experience, I had virtually no prior experience teaching. Every wednesday night I was tasked with teaching the 20-something class on a topic of my choice. Though coming up with a topic was easy, the idea of helping others learn something that can make them better Christian servants was a daunting task. I was constantly trying to find new ways to help those whom I was teaching, and Dennis was always ready and willing to help me any way he could. I learned what makes an effective class, what makes an effective teacher, and how to help others in their walk with God. Overall, I am so thankful for the opportunity to work with the church at Fairview. It has been a blessing to get to know everyone there, and has genuinely changed who I am. I highly recommend this program to anyone who is even thinking about evangelism. You will benefit from it in ways you never imagined you would.
Zach Redmon
It didn't take long for me to understand how the work of an evangelist involves more than preaching two sermons a week and teaching a Bible class. I had worked with the congregation for almost a month before I had an opportunity to stand before the assembly and "preach" a sermon. The first two weeks were spent in preparing material for Vacation Bible School. This proved to be much more challenging than any sermon I have ever prepared and required a lot of time and effort. It was at this point that I began to realize that the term "preacher" is quite often misused. While preaching is important it is not the only work that an evangelist is called to do. Shortly after Vacation Bible School was over I had an opportunity to work with Don McClain on his radio program Searching for theTruth.This became a regular activity that I had to factor into my schedule. After I had become accustomed to the work Dennis added a lot of other things to my plate. I was given the responsibility of preparing the monthly News and Notes and What is True bulletin. Along with that came the quarterly Not of This World bulleting for teenagers and young adults. On every other Wednesday I would go with Dennis and watch him record the lessons for the television program What is True. I began preparing a lesson that I would later present with him. While all of this was taking place we were dedicating at least one afternoon a week to visit some of the shut ins and elderly. After the second quarter ended in June I added the task of teaching the young adult Bible class on Wednesday nights. All the while I am continuing to work on the radio program, visit the sick, prepare sermons and invitations, work on the bulletins, and find time for personal study. Perhaps the biggest blessing of working here this summer are the relationships that were built with the members of the congregation. Part of the blessing and work of an evangelist is getting to know the different members of the Church. Through them I have been the recipient of countless prayers, encourgament, and edification. The fervent desire of the brethren here to serve God stirred me up to labor in His kingdom as well. It truly has been a blessing working here this Summer. With the help of Dennis, the Elders, and the members I feel more prepared than ever before to begin laboring in the kingdom of God as an evangelist. I have come to a full understanding of what the work entails and it thrills my soul to be able to serve God in this manner. Working here has helped me gain my footing and pointed me in the direction that God wants me to go. My time here has been well spent and I thank God for the experience of being here this summer in preparing me to preach the gospel.
Mason Broadwell
First, it improved my interpersonal skills. The art of interacting with and effectively serving one another as God's children is difficult, and though each of us is called to serve in this way (Philippians 2:1-4), evangelists especially must be adept at ascertaining and meeting the needs of the Christians in their congregations. Having to find my feet in a large congregation with which I was almost entirely unfamilar and then to find a way to be useful forced me to learn how to talk to people, gain their confidence, and then be as helpful as my limited time and resources would allow. Being invited into the members' homes was a good start, but I found that I had to reach out myself and make friends if they wouldn't come to me. By doing this, I formed some very valuable friendships, but also encouraged (and was very encouraged by) my fellow-heirs with Christ in God's kingdom. Second, it built my teaching skills. I grew considerably as a teacher in my preaching assignments, but the more rewarding and challenging assignment was the college Bible class. I had never written, prepared, and taught a Bible class all at once, but I was able, with the help and patience of my students, to do all three and, more importantly, to discover which methods of preparation, teaching, and study were most helpful. James' warning about teachers (3:1) is a fearful one, and without my experience in the pulpit and in the classroom at Fairview, I would be must more hesitant and much less prepared to teach anyone about the Truth of God's Word. Finally, the internship taught me valuable lessons about how congregations ought to and do operate. Since Fairview had a strong, functioning eldership and useful, devoted deacons, I saw how a congregation ought to be shepherded. In addition, I realized at Fairview that every member of a congregation has something (a skill, an idea, a contact) that they feel can be used to help the group, and that it is important to find those people, listen to their ideas, and give them consideration. A congregation obviously cannot implement every idea that is put forward (at the very least because it would undermine the elders' authority), but if the congregation can foster a sense of striving together toward a common goal, much good can be accomplished. Fairview has done much to achieve this synergy, and though its members would not claim perfection or anything close, they did impart to me an example of a congregation "growing up in all things into Him who is the Head, Christ; from whom the whole body, fitly framed and knit together by that which every joint supplies, according to the working of each separate part, promotes the increase of the body unto the building up of itself in love" (Ephesians 4:16). I am grateful for the time I was able to spend at Fairview Park, and for each of the wonderful people who have made my life so much richer by their lives, their examples, and their hospitality. The lessons of that summer are still so valuable to me, and it is with humility and thankfulness that I realize often that I would not be what I am without the kindness and encouragement of the saints at Fairview Park.
Ryan Goodwin
The Fairview Church will always hold a special place in my heart because of the role it played in my development. It was, after all, a first for me in many ways: my first full time experience; my first significant amount of time away from my home state of Oregon; my first opportunity to experience the culture of one of America’s most diverse and beautiful states. But it was also a first for the church and its leadership. They took a chance on an unknown quantity, just as they have done every year since then. When a young man sets out to preach, there is a lot of uncertainty, and many congregations fail to take the necessary risks in order to see the reward of training up the next generation of diligent evangelists. With an emphasis on sound doctrine, hard work, and love from a godly spirit, the Fairview Church has continually kept its lamp stand bright.
Even though I went on to complete more long-term training programs in the future, as well as college education, and two full-time preaching jobs, it was the internship program at Fairview that jumpstarted my ministry. It was the catalyst for everything else I have accomplished, by the blessing of God and His guidance.
I am now married, with a child on the way, and laboring with a healthy congregation of over 100 in Abilene, Texas. Bless the Lord, O my soul!
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Doesn't everyone love a good investment? I feel that I have spent the three most profitable months of my life working with the church of Christ at Fairview Park over the summer. I have always had a fervent love for God's word and desire to spend my life in service to Him. I did not know if my work would be in the ministry, as an elder or deacon, or simply as a Christian proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Before I began working with the congregation in Little Rock I wondered if someone of my ability would be suited to do the work of an evangelist.
My internship at the Fairview Park congregation prepared me to serve God's people in three important ways: 
I was immersed into preaching by the Fairview Church’s internship program back in 2004, their first endeavor into preacher training and my first experience with full time preaching and teaching commitments. Not only was my time in Little Rock enjoyable and memorable, but it was also challenging and thought-provoking. Many misconceptions I had about a preacher’s ministry were dispelled because of the efforts of the elders, the local evangelist, and, especially, Basil Copeland, a highly respected man who was appointed to be my personal counselor through the training process. While the program involved a great deal more work than I thought it would, I also found it to be significantly more rewarding.