The Experience
The Northeast Houston Baptist Church (NEHBC) Senior Pastor Apprentice Program affords young men called by God to the pastorate, a once in a lifetime, 12 month experience in a thriving church that will be invaluable to them as they earn their seminary education and become the pastor of their own local church.
The apprentice program lasts the course of NEHBC’s ministry year, July-June, an entire one year cycle in the life of a local church so that the apprentice gains a thorough perspective of the local church and the life of a senior pastor. This intense apprenticeship is the equivalent of several years of unsupervised, personal experience, learning through trial and error and will put the apprentice far ahead of his peers in local church ministry.
Additionally, the apprentice program will be as valuable to the budding pastor as his seminary education. What a young man will learn in our intern program in the areas of practical theology, sermon prep/delivery, personal evangelism, missions, biblical counseling, leadership, personnel management and issues related to a medium size church staff, church budgeting/finance, church administration, vision planning/casting, conflict resolution, etc, cannot be gained outside real, local church experience. Furthermore, the apprentice will continue to develop his communication skills, decision making, time management, organization, and social skills. It is one thing to learn how to pastor in theory and in the friendly confines of a school campus; it's quite another to learn how to pastor by being thrown into the deep end of the pool and learning through observing and practicing in a live local ministry, knowing the lives of real people hang in the balance.
The apprentice will have a wide array of experiences. At NEHBC, the apprentice will have an all access pass to Pastor Nathan’s role in the church. The apprentice will both observe and practice the various responsibilities and duties of a senior pastor, all under the tutelage of Pastor Nathan. He will help lead both domestic and international mission trips. He will travel with Pastor Nathan to his International Mission Board trustee meetings. He will go with Pastor Nathan to the annual meeting of the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention (SBTC) and Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) where Pastor Nathan will teach him about Southern Baptist life. The apprentice will travel with Pastor Nathan to his preaching engagements around the country. Throughout these travels, the apprentice will meet and have access to Pastor Nathan’s national network of friends and colleagues.
In return, the apprentice is expected to work hard at tasks, projects, and responsibilities assigned to him as a special assistant to the senior pastor.
NEHBC’s financial and time investment in the apprentice is no small thing. It is a significant and lasting ministry that will bear fruit in the
