This spring semester, from mid-January through the end of April, I have had the privilege of serving as the intern for the Community Engagement Ministry here at First Baptist Greenville. This experience has been incredibly rewarding and formative—not only for my personal and professional growth but, I hope, for Matt and the full-time staff at FBG as well.
During my time here, I worked on several projects, including:
• Restructuring the Community Engagement (CE) committees
• Introducing councils within CE committees to oversee related project groups
• Creating visual graphics to illustrate the structure of the CE ministry
• Streamlining the process for congregation members to get involved in CE
• Developing a new project, The Hygiene Kit Initiative, for future implementation
• Creating clear, accessible tools for councils and committees to view the CE office budget and track spending
What working on all of these projects showed me is that I am really passionate about systems work. To me, systems work means finding ways to restructure, improve, support, or occasionally retire existing structures in order to achieve greater efficiency and impact. Sometimes that meant building on what was already in place, other times it meant introducing new ideas, and sometimes I was taking ideas that Matt already had and finding a way to make them a reality.
It was through this work that I discovered my love for systems thinking, which has since become the guiding focus for my professional pathway. I’ve also been grateful for the connections I’ve built with congregation members, church staff, and other partners in ministry.
It has been a pleasure to be the intern here in the Community Engagement Office, and I hope that future interns will find as much meaning and growth in this role as I have.
—Luke McElveen, Community Engagement Intern