Heartland Baptist Bible College

How Do I Prepare for a Lifetime of Serving?

The opportunity to specifically focus on ministry training for four years in a Bible college setting has proven to be invaluable to many individuals in ministry; we believe those whom God leads to prepare for ministry in a Bible college setting will yield eternal fruit from the investment! If God is leading someone toward ministry, it is nearly always most efficient and effective to train in a “resident program” where students are physically in the classroom to receive focused and intense training from those who have proven themselves faithful in ministry. This type of classroom training, paired with active involvement in local church ministry, has proven invaluable to many who are currently serving in ministry. However, beyond college-type training, an individual’s ability to develop in ministry leadership can be significantly enhanced with strong internship opportunities (especially during the summertime, without the added pressures of the academic load). The opportunity to serve alongside experienced pastors and ministry workers during the summertime can add a practical element to ministry training that really can’t be duplicated in any other way. Heartland Baptist Bible College has a great desire to see individuals involved in profitable summer ministry positions that will challenge and equip them personally, spiritually, and practically to be servant leaders.

Heartland is excited to implement our first “MINISTRY TRAINING INTERNSHIP” program this summer. Two men were selected to be involved in this program based upon their character and integrity, as well as a high standard of academic excellence. Steve Whitaker served in combat as a marine prior to attending Heartland; he originally graduated from the undergraduate program at Heartland in 2014 and, after serving at his church in Texas for several years, returned last year to pursue his Master of Ministry degree in the seminary. Matt Hill came from rural Missouri and will be entering his senior year in August as a mission’s major (with a focus on India); he has also served for several years as a resident advisor in the residence halls on campus. This summer Steve is serving under Bro. Nathan Heckle, the Dean of Students here at Heartland, and will “shadow” him both at Heartland and Southwest Baptist Church for the entire summer. Matt will do the same with the Administration.

The desire is to expose these men to as many facets of ministry in a day-to-day setting as possible–from the seemingly mundane side of paperwork, to the unpredictable aspect of adapting to severe weather; from structured office time, to adapting to the long hours needed during special meetings, from dealing with the easy decisions of life, to processing the more complicated aspect of biblically dealing with difficult situations that may significantly affect individuals whom we are trying to help. Our desire is for these men to see real-life ministry in a real-time way as they apply what they have learned in the classroom in a practical setting. Some of the responsibilities and opportunities of this internship that we have already implemented are

Rotating the interns to various departments within the college—to maximize their exposure to different responsibilities of ministry.

Scheduling them to preach in churches around the region—to be both a blessing to those pastors and churches, as well as develop their ability to minister to the saints through the preaching of the Word.

Ministering alongside Heartland staff members not only at Heartland but also in ministry positions at Southwest Baptist Church—this allows them to not only see the college ministry setting, but also be intricately involved in the ministry at SWBC.

Teaching in adult Bible classes at SWBC—this allows them the opportunity not just to learn how to minister to kids (bus, Sunday School, junior church) but also to develop in their ability to help adults grow in Christ.

Accompany staff on preaching trips—both for the interaction with the staff during the trip itself, but also to learn how to adapt to different situations that arise in each unique church.

Participating in “sharpening time” with the Administrative Team member—rather than just passively allow them to observe everything, we want to actively “reprove, rebuke, and exhort” as needed, in an effort to help them to keep them engaged and constantly thinking and growing as they develop a ‘ministry mindset’.

A secondary purpose of the internship program this summer is that we are diligently taking time to create a solid resource to share with churches who desire to improve and add value to their own summer internship program. We are documenting and developing a program designed to expose interns to day-to-day ministry in an intentional, effective, and profitable way to help them grow and develop as ministry leaders. We look forward to using what we learn this summer, and in future years, to be a help to many local churches in the future. Please pray for these interns and the men they are serving alongside this summer. We are so thankful to be involved in training and mentoring coming generations of “servant leaders.”

Rotating the interns to various departments within the college—to maximize their exposure to different responsibilities of ministry.

Scheduling them to preach in churches around the region—to be both a blessing to those pastors and churches, as well as develop their ability to minister to the saints through the preaching of the Word.

Ministering alongside Heartland staff members not only at Heartland but also in ministry positions at Southwest Baptist Church—this allows them to not only see the college ministry setting, but also be intricately involved in the ministry at SWBC.

Teaching in adult Bible classes at SWBC—this allows them the opportunity not just to learn how to minister to kids (bus, Sunday School, junior church) but also to develop in their ability to help adults grow in Christ.

Accompany staff on preaching trips—both for the interaction with the staff during the trip itself, but also to learn how to adapt to different situations that arise in each unique church.

Participating in “sharpening time” with the Administrative Team member—rather than just passively allow them to observe everything, we want to actively “reprove, rebuke, and exhort” as needed, in an effort to help them to keep them engaged and constantly thinking and growing as they develop a ‘ministry mindset’.

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The Structure of Life at Bible College Builds Discipline

In my estimation, the world is given to the disciplined.

Perhaps that is a secular statement to make, but it seems to bear true, right? Think of any position of power and you know it is run with discipline.

The military is built on discipline. Strong businesses thrive on discipline, whether the personal discipline of each employee or discipline built into the structure of the company (i.e. policies and procedures.) Any professional in a field knows that talent alone will not make a person rise to the top. The topmost spot belongs to the one who has disciplined himself to work hard enough to get there.

While we are not after the “top spot” in Christianity, we can definitely learn a lesson from the world when it comes to discipline. If, in every area of life, the world knows that a lot of hard work pays off, why would we think any less of our lives as Christians?

In the Bible, nothing about following Christ talks about it being easy. Words like daily, cross, persecution, labor, steadfast, early and more are used to describe one’s walk with God and relationship with Him.

Is following God easy? No way! It is simple, but it is not easy.

Following God is simple in that we are to simply know what He says in His Word and then obey Him. That is simple. Know and obey His Word.

The hard part is not in understanding what to do, but in doing it! Actually obeying takes, like, discipline! Ugh! (…note the sarcasm!)

Do you know what Bible college helped do for many young men and ladies who came through it? It helped them build discipline in their lives. It helped them learn about priorities, time management, energy management, sleep deprivation, and focus.

The structure, the non-stop pace, the imposing schedule, the mandatory involvement in so much and the new thought processes force each student to stop and think about life in a whole new way. No more happy-go-lucky high school. This is real life.

Bible college is a good place to learn discipline. If boot camp helps prepare a soldier for battle through strict discipline, Bible college helps prepare the student for the discipline needed for life. Is the intense schedule of boot camp kept up through a soldier’s entire career? No. Same with Bible college. It is short, intensive training time on purpose.

I have yet to endure a week or month like I endured in college and graduate school. My four years on campus, especially, were the most grueling, sleep-deprived years of my life. (Although my wife, having birthed and nurtured a child, begs to differ!)

Strangely, they were some of the most enjoyed years of my life, too. What I remember of them, that is.

Bible college is intensely structured and requires each student to be rigidly disciplined — for his own good!

You might read that and think, “No way! I’m out of here! I don’t want anything to do with that!”

Before running away, consider what is at stake. God has called us to be radical followers of Him. Even the world knows that anything worth having is worth working for. Even the world knows that the way to the top requires a lot of hard work, and it is not going to come easy.

Are you going to say that God’s way is too hard? That He requires too much? That you are not tough enough to handle learning some self-discipline?

Bible college is not the military. It is actually boot camp. In some respects, it takes more self-discipline than boot camp. In other respects, it is not nearly as rigid.

Bible college demands discipline, but disciplined and structured environments are not automatically “un-fun.” Discipline doesn’t mean boring. That is not the point of what I am saying.

The point of this…was simply to say that the structure of Bible college helps to develop discipline in students, and discipline is always helpful. Consider attending Bible college and you will have to consider the discipline aspect, as well.