What is a CMIT internship?
As the fall semester, and my internship, are quickly approaching, my excitement and anticipation continue to grow, and I’d like to share with you exactly what I will be doing over the next year. So what exactly is this CMIT internship?
The What
I will be doing the Campus Missionary in Training (CMIT) internship with Chi Alpha Campus Ministries. I got involved with Chi Alpha as a student at UL and led a Lifegroup (small group Bible study) for the past 2 years. I owe much of my spiritual growth to the discipling and equipping that I received there.
My internship will have 3 main components: academic, service, and ministry. The academic portion will be similar to a condensed version of seminary. My fellow interns and I will attend lectures, read books, write papers, and write and deliver sermons as a part of our training to be campus missionaries. The service portion consists of running errands, cleaning the facility, helping to host events, and any other work that may need to be done to keep Chi Alpha running at full capacity. The last part is our personal ministry. This year I was asked to step into a coaching role, so instead of leading a Lifegroup as I did the past 2 years, I will be discipling 4 Lifegroup leaders and coaching them through their personal walk with God as well as how to best lead the young men in their Lifegroup. It is an honor to be given this increase in responsibility and I look forward to seeing how God will use me in this new role.
The Why
This time a year ago I was planning on going to grad school with no real consideration of entering the ministry. So how did I wind up training to be a campus missionary? I was at a worship service at Chi Alpha’s fall retreat last year when I felt God speak to me more clearly than at any other point in my life. He told me that in order for me to be fulfilled and truly happy with my life, I needed to work hands-on in the ministry. After much prayer and several divine appointments, I felt God leading me back to where I fell in love with Him, Chi Alpha.
Leading Lifegroup for 2 years has given me a heavy burden for college students, and I believe the college campus is one of the most strategic mission fields there is. Freshman year particularly is one of the most crucial times in a student’s life. For many, it’s the first time they are really on their own, making their own decisions, deciding what is true for themselves. Students raised in the church have to decided if this faith is their own or something they leave behind with their parents. In contrast, students who have never known Christ are seeking Truth, and this is an opportune time to present them with the Gospel.
At the same time, there are many different nations represented by international students on UL’s campus. If we can help some of these students encounter Christ in the short time they are here, who knows the global impact that could be made when they bring their faith home to share with friends and family! Chi Alpha’s mission statement is “Reconciling students to Christ, to transform the campus, the marketplace, and the world” and I truly believe we can accomplish that!
How You Can Help
Every Chi Alpha missionary (including interns) is required to independently raise their own financial support. This is simply to maximize the number of missionaries and their impact on the campuses. If there were a centralized budget paying everyone’s salaries, this would greatly limit the number of missionaries we could have on campuses across the country.
So my “salary” or monthly allowance will come from friends, family, brothers and sisters in Christ who believe in what I am doing and are willing to commit to supporting me financially so that I am able to do the work that God has called me to do. Without these commitments, I would be unable to follow the Lord’s calling into campus ministry.
That said, I have 3 commitments that I am making to all of ministry partners:
1. I commit to putting 100% of myself into this internship and doing everything I can to make the greatest impact for the Kingdom as possible. This isn’t a hobby or something I do for fun on the weekends, this is my full time job and I plan to approach it as such, with dedication and responsibility.
2. I commit to keeping you informed. If you’re going to invest your money into something, you obviously want to see a return on that investment. I will keep you in the loop on what I’m doing and what is going on in Chi Alpha, so that you can see the fruit of your investment. I will do this through a monthly newsletter sent to each supporter, as well as a personal blog on which I will post more frequently and in more depth.
3. I commit to joining you in mutual prayer. As a campus missionary, I will need all the prayer I can get, but I want to reciprocate that back to my supporters. I will be praying for you and sharing any special needs or prayer requests that I may have, and I would love it if you did the same periodically so that I can be more specific in praying for you.
I have set my goal budget at $1800 per month. Any contribution is a huge blessing and will ensure that I am able to be on the UL campus every day learning, growing, and making a difference in the lives of students.
Pierson’s Support Page
If you would like to partner with me in my ministry, you can click the link above which will take you directly to my personal support page, and it will guide you through the registration process. If you aren’t able to give financially, but would still like to partner with me in prayer and keep informed on what I’m doing on the campus, you can follow my ministry blog here and/or send me an email at [email protected] and I will subscribe you to my monthly newsletter.
If you have any questions about the internship, how you can help, or anything I didn’t cover or clarify, feel free to email me at [email protected] and I will be more than happy to answer and explain the best I can.
I am so excited to get started and to see what God is going to in my life and on the UL campus! I am so grateful for all of the love, encouragement, and support I have received thus far. It is so motivating to know that I have so many wonderful people behind me, praying for me, believing in me. Thank you everyone, for all that you’ve done; I truly could not do this without you.
Grace and peace,
Pierson Rivera
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