This page documents my Christian Ministries Internship at Davis College—a season of learning, growing, and being sharpened through the real work of pastoral ministry.
The Focus
My internship is anchored in my role as campus pastor of Neighborhood Church Lakeland, a church plant that relaunched in 2022. Each week, I log activities, reflect on what the Lord is teaching me, and consider how to grow in faithfulness.
Internship Projects Timeline
Beyond weekly preaching and shepherding, I've been involved in several focused projects during this internship season:
Ministry Action Plan 2026
Developed a comprehensive ministry action plan for Neighborhood Church Lakeland—evaluating 2025 goals, conducting a SWOT analysis, and setting focused objectives for preaching, discipleship, and leadership development. This project helped clarify priorities and staff weaknesses.
Psalm 23 Sermon Series
A four-week verse-by-verse walk through the Shepherd's Psalm. Each message drew from W. Phillip Keller's A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23 to connect David's shepherd-language to Christ the Good Shepherd.
Open Hands Series
A three-week series on stewardship—time, energy, and finances. Everything we have is on loan, and we hold it with open hands.
"I AM" Sermon Series
Prepared and delivered a series through the seven "I AM" statements of Jesus in John's Gospel. Each message took Christ's words back to the Old Testament context to show how Jesus fulfills the promises of God.
Leadership Council
Expanded monthly meetings to include potential elders, gleaning wisdom from a multitude of counselors. Working through What Is a Healthy Church? by Mark Dever as we build biblical plurality in shepherding the flock.
Pastoral Care & Counseling
Providing pre-marital counseling and officiating weddings—most recently for families we've walked with through multiple children's marriages. This long-term investment in families is one of the quiet joys of pastoral ministry.
Evangelism & Hospitality
Playing the long game with neighbors and visitors—building relationships over years, answering questions, and praying for God to open hearts to the gospel. It's slow work, but fruit is beginning to appear.
Key Learning Areas
Preaching & Teaching
Sermon preparation occupies a significant portion of my week. I've grown in conviction that verse-by-verse exposition is one of the most faithful ways to shepherd people—the text sets the agenda, not my opinions.
Relational Ministry
Hospitality and one-on-one discipleship aren't programs—they're the daily work of pastoral care. Some of the most meaningful conversations happen around dinner tables, not in offices.
Leadership Development
Investing in younger believers, mentoring, walking with families through transitions, and raising up leaders for the church. There's joy in watching God bear fruit through long, ordinary investment.
What I'm Learning
Each week of my internship includes reflection on what God is teaching me. Here are some key lessons from this season:
Stress vs. Burnout
I've had this nagging feeling that there are things I should be doing to help our church grow, but I don't know what they are. It's been manifesting in feeling discouraged—like maybe I should quit (I'm not going to). But I realized what I've been calling burnout may actually be stress.
I don't need to do more things. I need to give myself to the right things with faithfulness. That distinction matters.
"God is teaching me to seek His guidance, then to listen. I'm resolved to pray more for discernment and wisdom about the year ahead, and to lead by faith—not just by what seems manageable."
The Blessing of Hospitality
Kara and I finally made good on our commitment to get back to the relational ministry of hospitality. We invited a new family over for dinner, and it was a blessing to get to know them. They're fairly new Christians who had just about given up trying to find a church when God led them to us.
Hearing them say it was the preaching that drew them didn't puff me up—it blessed my heart to know the thing I pour so much effort into was making a real difference. It was also a strong reminder to keep doing it well.
"That level of 'peopling' can be exhausting, but we noticed how good it felt to have done something that was definitely the right use of our time and energy."
The Gift of a Plurality of Elders
I learned this lesson the hard way through a difficult church discipline case. I may have mishandled it by letting it go on too long—pretending everything was fine when it wasn't. But God used another elder's wisdom to guide me through it.
"I learned again why biblical ecclesiology prescribes a plurality of elders. I am so thankful for the wisdom of another elder who has walked through these situations over three decades in church eldership. Elders are God's gift to the church."
Leading with Focus
I made good headway on my ministry action plan for 2026—evaluating last year's goals, working through a SWOT analysis, and setting new goals. The encouragement: focus on what I can do well.
That means preaching and relationships. And it means staffing my weaknesses in other areas. The Lord is teaching me to lean on others personally, which is humbling but necessary.
Seasoned Pastors Pouring In
I attended a pastors' retreat feeling stressed and overwhelmed—like I couldn't afford the time. But the discussions were genuinely helpful for the struggles we face in ministry. Balancing leading the church well and leading my family well is hard.
"I'm thankful for seasoned pastors willing to pour into me."
Investing with Long-Term Perspective
I had the privilege of officiating another wedding—my ninth—for a couple we did pre-marital counseling with. This is the third family for whom we've helped prepare multiple children for marriage.
That makes me feel established in ministry—to have a little longevity of impact like that. Even the youngest daughter said she plans to come to us for counseling when the time comes.
"It can be hard to do ministry when we can't see the fruits of our labors, so I'm thankful for times like this when we can."
Playing the Long Game in Evangelism
Our neighbors Bryce and Meghan came to church this week. We met them almost six years ago when we moved here, and for various reasons decided to play the long game evangelizing them. Over the last year, they've started coming to church sometimes.
This morning after church, they were both asking a lot of good questions. I believe they are "white unto harvest." He asked if we could do lunch this week—so I'm praying he'll be ready.
"Pray that the Holy Spirit would intensify His work in their lives and we would get to see them come to Christ."
Field Supervisor
My field supervisor for this internship is Pastor Michael Lockstampfor, who has been a steady source of wisdom and encouragement throughout this season of ministry.
Looking Ahead
This internship continues through the Spring 2026 semester. I'm continuing to refine my ministry action plan, strengthen relationships within the church, and pursue faithfulness in the ordinary work of pastoral ministry—preaching, shepherding, and pointing people to Jesus.