Training pastors for Christ’s church.
“The saying is trustworthy: if anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task.”
1 Timothy 3:1Purpose
Our church desires to fulfill God’s mission to take the gospel to our community and world. Knowing that God uses the church as the primary agent in this mission, WRBC is committed to training men who aspire to be elders in local churches. This internship has been established for men who have that aspiration and who seek opportunities to observe and support pastoral ministry at our church.
Overview
The WRBC Pastoral Internship is a nine-month program, running from August through May. A significant portion of the internship involves reading, writing, observing, and discussing key elements of church life. Each week, interns engage assigned readings and produce written reflections that serve as the basis for Tuesday discussions. The curriculum includes several hundred pages of selected material across the year.
The WRBC Pastoral Internship is intentionally structured as an ecclesiology-focused formation. Through study, reflection, participation, and guided discussion, interns will develop both knowledge and practical experience in pastoral leadership, ecclesiology, church polity, the role of God’s Word in preaching and teaching, ministry within the local church, and related areas of pastoral work. A deep commitment to the local church drives the program, and the aim is to train future pastors who think carefully, biblically, and affectionately about the church. Interns will be taught to understand God’s heart and redemptive purpose for His people gathered in the local church.
Expectations
We want to be clear upfront about what this Pastoral Internship is and is not. To further clarify for your benefit, please see the following expectations.
- Interns are expected to be present for every Tuesday discussion unless prior approval has been granted.
- The only required portion of the day is the Tuesday discussion (1:30–5:00 p.m.). However, full-day participation (9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.) is welcomed — much spiritual formation happens “in between the cracks,” and being here the whole day helps to that end.
- Interns are expected to be at every elders meeting (2nd and 4th Wednesday evenings), unless otherwise specified.
- This program is intentionally designed to be “come and see” rather than “go and do.” The purpose is to lay a foundation of healthy biblical polity — it is not a practical ministry internship with hands-on experience.
- We desire the congregation to be prayerfully invested in and aware of your development as prospective pastors. Interns will be formally introduced to the church at a members’ meeting, and should conduct themselves consistently with the character expected of those preparing for pastoral ministry within the life of the church.
- While Tuesdays are designated as the primary “Intern Day,” interns are welcome and encouraged to use the church any day of the week for reading, study, work, and presence in the life of the church. You will each receive a fob.
- WRBC will buy all books for the Pastoral Internship.
- Interns will be assigned a wornallroad.org gmail account that they use to submit papers and communicate about the internship.
What Will You Do?
Weekly Formation
Ministry Participation- Attend Tuesday discussion, a 3.5-hour weekly meeting with pastoral staff and other interns:
- 1:30–3:30pm — Discuss the assigned reading and papers
- 3:30–4:00pm — Review the previous Sunday service
- 4:00–4:30pm — Discuss the upcoming sermon
- 4:30–5:00pm — Plan the upcoming Sunday service
- Read the assigned book each week and write a personal reflection paper.
- Submit a Simeon Trust worksheet for Philip’s sermon text on the week you are assigned.
- Write two papers over the course of the year — a “What is the church?” paper and a position paper on an ecclesiological topic.
- Participate in case studies on select Tuesdays.
- Attend a once-a-month church-funded lunch to foster deepened relationships, on the first Tuesday of each month.
Observation
Elders & Leadership- Attend all elders meetings on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of each month (6:30–9:30pm).
- Attend all leadership meetings the week before Members Meeting.
- Sit in on two membership interviews.
Training & Serving
Beyond the Church- Attend the Simeon Trust Workshop in Fayetteville, AR on March 3–5, 2027.
- Serve at Feed My Sheep KC on November 2, 2026.
Reading & Writing
Personal Reflection Papers
Each week, interns write a 1–2 page, double-spaced paper that personally engages with the assigned reading — wrestling honestly with its ideas rather than merely resummarizing the material. These are meant to be personal reflections, not book reviews: interns engage the argument in the first person, allowing themselves to be challenged by it.
“What Is the Church?” Paper
Interns write a 5-page, double-spaced paper answering the question “What is the Church?” — using nothing but the Bible itself, with no outside articles, books, podcasts, or other resources consulted. This paper is due by the first Tuesday meeting of the internship and is discussed together later in the year.
Position Paper
Interns write one 10-page, double-spaced position paper on an ecclesiological topic they feel most unsure about, arguing a clear thesis — historically, biblically, theologically, and pastorally — without straddling the line. Topics may include the following, or an intern may propose his own:
Case Studies
On select Tuesdays, interns are given a real-life pastoral case study to read for the first time in the meeting, along with a description of the personalities involved. Interns get ten minutes to draft how they would approach the situation — how and when they would communicate, what tone they would take, what guiding principles and biblical teaching would shape their counsel, and how they would follow up — before discussing (and sometimes role-playing) their responses as a group.
Sermon Comparison
For one week in the spring, interns listen to four sermons on the same preaching texts — two from a local pastor and two from John Piper, preached in a back-to-back series — and reflect in writing on the similarities and differences they notice, and on what they’ve learned from the comparison.
Reading List
The curriculum draws on several hundred pages of selected reading across six areas of pastoral formation. A condensed list of the assigned authors and works is below.
The Call & Character of the Pastor
- Abraham Booth, Pastoral Cautions
- Bobby Jamieson, The Path to Being a Pastor
- C. H. Spurgeon, “The Necessity of Ministerial Progress”
- William Still, The Work of the Pastor
- Samuel Stillman, A Good Minister of Jesus Christ
- Carl Trueman, “An Unmessianic Sense of Non-Destiny”
The Nature & Order of the Church
- Mark Dever, The Church
- Wyatt Graham, “Can Churches Have Multiple Services?”
- J. D. Greear, “A Pastor Defends His Multi-Site Church”
- Bobby Jamieson, “Why New Testament Polity Is Prescriptive”
- Benjamin Keach, The Glory of a True Church
- Jonathan Leeman, One Assembly
- Benjamin L. Merkle, Why Elders?
- Matt Smethurst, Deacons
Worship, Ordinances & Church Practice
- Kevin DeYoung, Men and Women in the Church
- J. Ligon Duncan, Does God Care How We Worship?
- Bobby Jamieson, Going Public
- Robert Letham, The Lord’s Supper
- Fred A. Malone, The Baptism of Disciples Alone
- Colin Marshall & Tony Payne, The Trellis and the Vine
- Carl Trueman, “What Do Miserable Christians Sing?”
- Thomas Watson, The Lord’s Supper
Pastoral Care & Counseling
- David Powlison, “Pastoral Counseling”
- David Powlison, The Pastor as Counselor
Missions
- Jamie Dunlop Folmar & Scott Logsdon, Prioritizing the Church in Missions
Preaching & Proclamation
- Martin Lloyd-Jones, Preaching and Preachers
WRBC purchases all books for the Pastoral Internship.
Consider applying.
If you sense a call to pastoral ministry and want to spend a year observing and being shaped alongside our elders, we’d love to talk with you.
Contact Quinn Mosier