Summer Intern

Westview Boys' Home, a children’s home that has served boys for over 50 years, has an opening for a summer intern as a part of its Summer 2009 program.  This internship represents an opportunity to acquire extraordinary experience working with a team of 20 godly women and men serving neglected, rejected, and troubled youth on a full-time basis.  Our Home is located on a 1,600 acre ranch spread over rural Harmon County, OK.  In spiritual matters, the Home partners with the Hollis Church of Christ, which has 150 members.

Looking up to his mentor

Qualifications

  • Excellent spiritual, mental, and physical health
  • Successful completion of at least 70 college hours, with a major in ministry or social work
  • Valid driver’s license; no criminal record
  • Outstanding references from their faculty
  • An active member of a local Church of Christ

Internship mentors

  • Counseling – Shiann Metheny, MSMFT, Harding University
  • Social Work – John Moore, MEd, University of Oklahoma
  • Teaching – Troy Metheny, BA, Harding University
  • Youth Ministry – Ron Bruner, MA, Oklahoma Christian University

Job description

  • Participate in the daily lives of our boys, including:
    • Eating meals with them
    • Working, and supervising their work, on campus
    • Traveling with them to area youth meetings and devotionals
    • Fellowship at every meeting of the local church
    • Modeling a daily life of faith
  • Planning and organizing weekly campus-wide devotionals
  • Planning and organizing movie nights every two weeks
  • Planning and organizing a camping experience for our boys
  • Plan, organize, and teach a three-day Timothy class (worship leadership for 3rd – 6th graders) using older boys as co-teachers
  • Work on staff at two one-week sessions of church camps attended by our boys
  • Serve as a liaison with visiting youth groups during work camps on our campus
  • Assist with Sunday Bible school class as requested by the regular teacher
  • Assist with the local Vacation Bible School
  • Join the boys on “fun” trips planned by others (Six Flags, baseball games, etc.)

Training we provide

  • Distance learning (in advance)
    • Residential Child Care Standards
    • Handling of Confidential Information
    • Westview Boys’ Handbook (our behavioral management program)
    • Westview Houseparent Handbook (supervisory policies and procedures)
  • On campus
    • Red Cross First Aid and CPR
    • Safe driving of 15 passenger vehicles and use of child safety restraints
    • Managing aggressive behavior

Time

  • The intern should complete the distance learning portion of the training, and some of the event planning, by May.
  • The first week in June will be spent in on-campus training and acculturation; job duties follow immediately thereafter.
  • The internship will finish during the second week of August.
  • The intern will have one day per week off (Sunday is a work day).

Challenges

  • Hollis (population 2,000) is a rural farming and ranching community in a county with a low per-capita income (Harmon).
  • Only two cellular phone systems work in Hollis: U. S. Cellular and Alltel.
  • The nearest Wal-Mart is 35 miles away.
  • Churches in southwestern Oklahoma tend to be very conservative; regardless of the intern’s personal theological boundaries, this person should be able to operate respectfully within the theological and political milieu of this region.
  • Working with our boys is exciting, interesting, and emotionally demanding.  Gains are slow and hard-won.  Team members encourage one another, resist relational triangulation, and patiently and persistently model the life of Christ.
  • This intern will have the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of our boys and a contribution to our team of godly Christians.  At the same time, those who come to learn with us will fare better than those who think that they have all of the answers.  Regardless of your years, your age is both an advantage and a vulnerability.    
  • This is not a “gopher” job, but it will require that you go and do whatever it takes to accomplish your own ministry responsibilities successfully.  Plan to go to bed tired.

To apply, send a resume with cover letter to Ron Bruner, Executive Director, Westview Boys' Home, P. O. Box 553, Hollis, OK 73550, or e-mail these to wbhdir@aol.com.   To download a PDF of this job description, click here.