Internship

Cairo is a unique city. One website describes it by saying, “Cairo isn't a gentle city. Home to more than 16 million Egyptians, Arabs, Africans and sundry others; the 'Mother of the World' is an all-out assault on the senses. Chaotic, noisy, totally unpredictable and seething with people, the sheer intensity of the city will either seduce or appall.” (www.lonelyplanet.com) Though their description might be a bit over-exaggerated, Cairo is undoubtedly a continual adventure.

However, amidst its continual activity, the city is filled with centuries of history. It would require months to tour everything that is available, which is why tourism is the primary industry. Being that so much revenue is generated by the tourist; the government makes it a priority to ensure the safety of all of its international guests. Contrary to much of the western media’s depiction, Cairo is very safe. The crime rate is dramatically lower than major U.S. cities.

Plus, Cairo is an international melting pot, attracting people from a plethora of nations. As a result, there is access to all sorts of international cuisine, entertainment, and cultural presentations. At the same time, there are glimpses of western establishments that pop up, like Chili’s, T.G.I.Fridays, and Quiznos.

Maadi, where the church is located, is a section of Cairo, similar to a suburb. Maadi is known for its large villas and its extravagant gardens, which its zoning laws used to mandate. Though many of the villas still exist, many have been leveled to build luxurious high rises to house its growing expatriate population. (An expatriate is one whose home country is somewhere else.) Many of the embassies are located in Maadi as well.

The real beauty of Maadi is its small community feel, where expatriates quickly bond with other expatriates. The community is very intentional in providing activities to connect people. Plus, with such a transient population, most people are accustomed to making friends quickly, which helps contribute to the friendliness of Maadi. Also, since Maadi is where most of the international population of Egypt resides, it also acts as a refuge from the high activity found in the rest of Cairo.

Maadi Community Church (www.maadichurch.com) is located in the heart of Maadi. Just to give a summary, Maadi Community Church (MCC) runs a weekly attendance of 1400, representing people from over 40 countries and denominations. It is an English speaking church, though English is the second or third language of many of the members.

The vision of Maadi Community Church (MCC) is to be for the expatriate community “an oasis of refuge and renewal, equipping people and releasing resources to flood the nations with the transforming life of Christ.” There are more than a million people from other countries that move to Egypt for a temporary basis, for whatever reason. MCC seeks to minister to these people by being the means for Christ to begin a relationship with them, or to impassion those who are already followers of Christ. The mindset of the church is that of a training center, providing an environment to instill the passion, the priority, and the tools to extend God’s kingdom wherever their next destination will be.

The highlight of MCC is its diversity. From the pulpit, one is able to look over a literal sea of colors sitting in the congregation. When the first time visitors are asked to stand at the beginning of each service, there are usually more than five different countries that are represented. This is just first time guests!!! With a congregation of over 40 countries, such a cultural mosaic provides a rich worship experience and a deepening awareness of God’s worldwide ambition. Plus, it provides a central location to experience the world!

The youth group of MCC mirrors much of the same diversity of the congregation. Most of the students attend Cairo American College, New British International College, or Maadi Community School. (College actually means secondary school. University is college. Make sense?) There are also a growing number of students from the French school and the German school. Right now, there are about eighty students in the high school program, and just over forty in the middle school program.

The passion that fuels our ministry is the incredible opportunity these students have to make a world-wide impact. They are undoubtedly the minority at their school, in that they are Christians. Plus, they are going to school with the future leaders of a number of different countries, including Arab nations. The opportunity they have to impact the lives of millions through influencing the lives of their friends is profound. We want to continually remind them of that, while at the same time giving them the skills and the environment to enable them to reach out to others. Our primary focus is training youth to do ministry, instead of only being the recipients of ministry. As a result, we are very intentional in all we do to make sure this occurs. At the same time, we are a youth ministry, so there is a great deal of programming, relationship building, and entertaining and high energy activities. In other words: FUN!

The greatest joy of working with international students is that they have such a developed ability to acclimate to an environment, and to communicate with different people. It’s more like working with college students most of the time, with their developed maturity! They are in a prime position to be challenged for Christ’s sake!

The same training mentality we have with the youth is even stronger with our interns. We believe that we are training future leaders of ministry, whether “full-time ministers” or as lay leaders. Therefore, we want to give you every opportunity to develop practical skills and grow in theological depth, all while experiencing a different culture. It’s basically cramming missions, church work, and youth ministry into one year, and calling it an “internship!”

To give you a better picture, here are the expectations that we have for our interns:

• Meet one-on-one with at least 5 kids a week. (Or at least make meaningful contact)
• Teach the Word of God in a way that a middle school student would understand and remember.
• Mentor the student Leader and Co-leader of a Cell Group
• Plan and execute skits, ice breakers, and games.
• Put together “events” that are not only entertaining and fun, but that will serve as a means for students to bring their friends and build relationships.
• Pray Pray Pray.
• Not only individually, but also as a youth staff.
• Getting done what needs to be done (in a time efficient way)
• Contributing to completing all the “small tasks” that tend to build up in youth ministry in the most efficient and effective way so more time can be spent with kids.
• Live and invest with your host family.
• This truly will be one of your greatest ministries.
• Continually asked as a youth team
• Is this the most effective way to do ministry in Cairo?
• What can we do better?
• What needs to go?
• What needs to be added?
• Where is God leading us? Are we going there with Him?

In addition, you can expect:

• To be discipled by a Jesus-saturated adult that can pour into you.
• To be held accountable for scripture memory (we will be memorizing a book from the New Testament!!!) and personal devotions.
• To have an opportunity to get to know people from ALL over the world, and thereby getting to see life from a variety of “cultural eyes.”
• To see the sights of Egypt!
• To have memorable and enjoyable times hanging out with some of the most fun and amazing families serving in Cairo!
• To think a lot!
• About what a church should be
• About Islam
• About what is good and bad in America
• About other cultures
• About what a Christian friendship should look like.
• About the eastern mindset vs. the western mindset.
• About how youth ministry should and should-not be done.
• About a lot more things!!!

All interns will be housed with a family. Not only does this dramatically cut down on costs, it gives you a “home away from home.” Though your primary commitment will be to the church, your secondary commitment will be investing in your host home. One of the hardest battles in ministry is battling time at church vs. time at home. We want you to get a little dose of this tension! The families that host interns are incredible, and will richly bless your year.

The total money that needs to be raised is only $7,000. ($1500 for plane ticket & $5500 living expenses) If you are accepted to the internship program, information will be given to you on how to best do this. Though it may seem like a daunting number, it is very doable. Even more importantly, it allows people to invest in a very worthy cause. Plus, people are much more likely to pray for something they have invested in!!!

In addition, you will be responsible for having a health insurance plan that will cover you being overseas and includes coverage in the case that you need to be medevaced out of the country.

The internship runs from August of 2009 to June of 2010. This parallels the British and American school schedules, with a small window before and after the school term for preparation. Interns are prohibited to return to their home country during there stint, though family is more than welcome and encouraged to visit. There is a two week Christmas break where there is an opportunity for interns to travel, if they have the extra money to do so. This has to be agreed upon by the Youth Pastor.