written by Laura Turner, Communications Coordinator NLRFUMC
On August 1, 2023, the youth group of North Little Rock First UMC participated in a “Youth Internship Day” with the staff of First United Methodist Church North Little Rock. A total of nine students ranging from ages 12-16 participated in a staff meeting; and then divided up into small groups to shadow the staff in their various ministry areas.
This was an excellent opportunity for our youth to experience the ‘behind the scenes’ of planning, organizing, and preparing for Sunday morning worship. They spent time with the Audio/Visual and Worship Arts department, our communications department, our pastoral care ministry, senior pastor roles, children’s ministry, and administrations roles. Evelyn Bennett, 7th grade, had this to say about the experience: “It was a great day overall! I loved designing the bulletin and sermon graphic that was used in the worship service.”
After a full morning of work with the staff, our youth had lunch at Larry’s Pizza and followed up with an afternoon of skating at the Arkansas Skatium. Both staff and youth enjoyed their time getting to know each other and sharing in the work of Christ. NLRFUMC plans to have more youth internship days in the future in hopes of inspiring our youth to become more involved in the inner workings of our church community as well as cultivating a servant’s heart.