Q:  What comprises the group of Intern Academy Locations and Coaches?  A:  The Coaches and Locations are comprised of student pastors, lead pastors, church planters, ministry leaders, and para-church leaders who share the same heartbeat to invest in the next generation of leaders.  The training is not specific to church ministry, student ministry or para-church ministry, but rather focused on the intern themselves and their pursuit to clarify their call to ministry and get the best training possible for wherever God might lead them in the future.  Depending on the location, an intern during the internship can expect to have an area of focus (for example, if the coach is a student pastor, he or she will spend a lot of time in student ministry), but the goal of each IA internship is not to encourage certain ministry professions; instead, it serves to encourage the intern to be obedient to God's call and to become the best leader they can regardless of future known or unknown area of service.

Q: How do I become an Intern Academy Coach?  A: You must currently be serving in the local church, para-church or ministry. You must have had a previous paid intern under your leadership. You must attend the annual IA retreat, at least every other year, but are encouraged to attend each year.  You can check out further details on the Coaches page.  If you would like more info about becoming an IA Coach or you would like to take action steps to become a certified IA Coach then send an email to info.internacademy@gmail.com.

Q: What if I want to be a Coach but have never had an intern?  A: You will need to find your own intern, get your church, para-church or ministry and Senior Pastors, Chairman of the board or ministry overseer's support and hire them. Then we will connect you with a current IA coach to mentor you during the training of your first intern. After completion of the "Coach in Training" internship you can then apply to be a certified IA Coach.

Q: How do I find money to compensate the intern the minimum monthly stipend of $500 required?  A: There are multiple ways to come up with the funds necessary to begin an intern ministry.  Some options include the following...  (1) Ask your church/ministry to put the funds needed in their annual budget. (2) Ask private donors to support a portion of expenses for the internship and collectively raise enough to cover your expenses. (3) Take up a special offering prior to the start of the internship. (4) Do a fundraiser. Regardless, it is the sole responsibility of the IA Coach to ensure the intern is compensated at least $500 a month, plus provided a place to stay during the internship.

Q: What are my specific expectations as a coach?  A:  See Coaches Covenant.

Q: How will I find interns?  A: Each IA coach will have responsibilities in the application process of interns and we will collaborate our efforts to place them.  The only way to guarantee you will have an intern placed at your location is to recruit your own intern.  During each application season there may or may not be interns who have applied that have no specific location in mind when applying.  These interns will be evaluated and placed by the collection of Coaches on an individual basis, and the best placement for the intern will be decided as a group.

Q: Do I need to plan to have an intern every year?  A: Yes, each coach needs to plan to host an intern every year. Some coaches may even plan to have multiple interns.  And it is suggested that IA locations be open to adding additional interns if the Intern Academy has more interns get accepted to the program than we have actual positions available.  If an intern gets accepted to IA, we commit as a group to help them find an IA location and we will work together to make that possible.  However, it is possible if we don’t have enough interns apply that some ministries may not have interns. Therefore, it is the responsibility of each coach to recruit and pursue young leaders to apply online and not just simply rely on the Intern Academy to provide them an intern.

Q: Do I have to teach everything in this manual exactly as it is written?  A: No. The expectation is you must teach each of the core values. Obviously, each coach and each intern have their own style of teaching and learning. The Core Values are their as a tool. They are written in a class format for your benefit. Tweak, adjust, and add as you see fit. Bring suggestions for improvement to the IA Retreats.

Q: Can I recruit certain students to my ministry?  A: Yes, of course. Relationships are the key to effective internship experiences.  Each coach should encourage potential interns to fill out an application online and check the appropriate ministry location possibilities.

Q: What will happen if we have more interns apply than internship possibilities?  A: The IA Coaches will do everything than can to be sure each applicant finds a location to serve in. Options could include adding another intern to a specific IA ministry location or connecting with other internships outside the IA network. The IA Coaches will keep as the priority creating a network of internship to train young people with a call to ministry.

Q: Is every coach guaranteed to get an intern every season?  A: No. If we have more ministry locations than applicants, then some ministries may not have an applicant. The priority will be the intern and their needs. It is possible that some IA locations might get 2 or 3 interns and another location may not have 1. That’s why each coach needs to be intentional in their pursuit of applicants.