As many of you would know we at Forge are constantly seeking out missionaries who will choose to invest their lives in a specific people group.

You may wonder what the criteria for an internship placement is… Well Daz from Forge Tasmania & Third Place Communities (also the primary guest at our third intensive) has developed a way of describing the kind of work we hope people will do.

Field Placements must be:

Missional: This refers to the outward movement of God’s people into the world as a “sent” missionary community. The intern must locate themselves, (along with their mission team/ community/family) within the hub of the people group they are hoping to connect with. They cannot simply run programs and send out invitations. For example: if the intern is choosing the surfing community, they must spend time at the beaches, out in the surf, and wherever else it is that surfers spend regular time. They cannot merely organize an event with a surfing movie and Hawaiian Pizza down at the local community hall. The intern must seek to ingratiate themselves into the fabric of that culture.

Incarnational: This refers to the downward and embedding movement of God’s people into culture and community. Over time, the intern must seek meaningful, evangelistic engagement with the host community. Moving into the community is one part of mission, building deep connections and engaging meaningfully is another. The intern and associated mission team, must seek to deepen their presence and work toward embedding the gospel.

Team Based: Mission is a community activity and responsibility. Part of the development of a missionary leader is the experience of working within a team. The intern must be directly connected to a mission community or team in some way, even if they are pioneering something new. This will become an essential part of the learning. The team can be made up of friends, colleagues, or family members, anyone with whom the intern is engaging in mission.

Experimental: Experimentation is essential for pioneering mission and foundational to the formation of missionary leaders. During the course of the placement the intern will be encouraged to experiment and try out new ways to engage in mission.

If you’re interested then give me a call and we can chat some more!