After several years of teaching, I remember making that observation a number of years ago to the principal of a Bible college. The Bible college clearly existed to prepare men for ministry, primarily as pastors. The principal readily agreed. His response was I have a plan to expand the school by building a new dormitory so we can increase the number of students and find the good ones.
At the heart of these questions is a more basic question. If we agree that there is room for improvement in the end product of our leadership training programs, what direction should we take? One option is to evaluate existing methods and make needed changes, even replacing existing systems if necessary, with the goal of producing a larger percentage of fruitful men for the work of ministry.
Preparation for ministry is actually a life long process. In early stages it is particularly important to have a teacher. New Testament leaders such as Barnabas and Paul demonstrate by their example the effectiveness of the discipleship oriented approach to leadership development. Paul expected Timothy to continue with the same pattern, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also” Seeking to deal with these basic questions an internship program has been made a graduation requirement at AIM Institute. Several key areas are included.
Placement is the first important issue the student faces. To assist in answering this question, each student is asked to form a personal advisory committee. This committee will include the student’s pastor and a leader from the church organization as well as faculty advisor. The most important function of the committee is to encourage dialogue between the important people in the student’s life. The committee will assist the student in determining placement before graduation.