Pathways to Success

Garden Spot High School

Lindsey Sweigart – Youth Ministry Internship

Hello, my name is Lindsey Sweigart. I am currently a Children’s Ministry Intern at Weaverland Anabaptist Faith Community in East Earl. I spend time at the church every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, as well as every other Tuesday morning. I am involved in many different aspects of children’s ministry at the church, including Sunday School, Children’s Church, Friendship Circle, Kindle, Keegan, and the Nursery. Because I am involved in many different places around the church, I work with children of all ages, ranging anywhere from a few months old to thirteen or fourteen years old.

Depending on what day I am at my internship, the daily routine and job duties differ. On a normal Sunday morning, I will arrive at the church around 8 in the morning and walk directly downstairs to the Children’s Ministry area. After arriving I meet with other teachers and wait for the first group of children to arrive. After everyone has arrived, the lesson begins. Depending on the week, I will either teach the lesson or assist the main teacher. Following the first service, I help with Sunday School. Some Sunday’s I am the helper, and other Sunday’s I am the teacher. I normally teach in the 3rd grade Sunday School room, but I have also taught the two-year-old Sunday School class in the past. Following Sunday School, I meet back up with the other teachers and wait for the second group of students to arrive. After the second service ends around noon, I head home for the day.

Although I have only been interning at the church for a little over a month, I have already learned a lot while working with children of different ages. One challenge I faced was trying to figure out how to get the 4 and 5-year-old children to listen and pay attention to the lessons. One young girl refused to walk in the classroom because she did not want to sing with the other children or listen to the lesson. After making no progress by asking her nicely to come in the classroom, I had to find another way to get her to come in. I decided that I would tell her what we were going to do as a class after we got through the story. Then, after hearing what else we were going to do, she willingly entered the classroom. On the other hand, I have seen many teachers successfully teach lesson, by asking the children interactive questions to engage them in the lessons.

Although it is still early in my internship experience, I already feel that my experience is influencing my future career goals. It has been an encouraging reminder to receive positive feedback from my mentor throughout my internship. Going into this internship, I had plans of pursuing a degree in Early Childhood Education and spending my life working with children. Currently, I still plan on following through with this plan. However, I now have more direction than before. At the beginning of the internship, I was unaware of the age group I was interested in working with. After spending time with children of different ages, I feel more drawn to teach children in Kindergarten through 3rd grade, rather than Pre-K or younger. So far, it has been very rewarding to teach children about God and walk alongside them on their spiritual journeys. I am very excited to see what else my internship has in store for me over the next few months.

educationministry

jhackman • March 3, 2020


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