The Mission and Vision of the Prestonwood Network: The Prestonwood Network exists to equip and encourage pastors while working together to plant and revitalize churches.
There is a three-fold strategy for meeting the mission and vision of the Prestonwood Network. First, we must raise up and develop leaders. We do this by inviting church planters into our network. These are qualified men who have been assessed in their spiritual gifting and leadership by the North American Mission Board and have some type of relationship with Prestonwood Baptist Church.
Secondly, we invite church partners into our network. These are senior pastors in established churches who already have or desire a relationship with Prestonwood. We provide resources and encouragement and simply ask that they help us plant churches!
The third and final way we meet the mission and vision of the Prestonwood Network is by raising up and developing future church leaders. The Network is doing this through what we like to call the Prestonwood “Farm System.” The goal of this “Farm System” is to equip ministry students by training them to become leaders in the church and by multiplying disciple-makers and missional Christ-followers who have a passion to achieve the Great Commission. Whether students come to Prestonwood in high school, college or seminary, they will be mentored, trained, and given the opportunity to experience real-life church ministry involvement under the leadership of Prestonwood Baptist Church pastors and staff. There are four levels in this “Farm System,” so whichever path students take, they will be equipped with practical hands-on understanding of what true, biblical ministry at the local church looks like.
LEVEL 1 – High School Call to Ministry
The purpose of the Prestonwood High School Call to Ministry is to assist any student considering some form of ministry as a vocation, offering a number of activities and resources to support students’ theological exploration of ministry. In addition, the Prestonwood Student Ministry staff, ministers and key lay leaders engage in monthly meetings with students about the many paths to ministry and the sacrifices and rewards of a life of ministry. One of the goals of the program is to foster community and connections that can support pre-ministerial students on their journey. We believe that these connections cannot replace the foundation, formation and direction one finds through participation in a local church, but they provide many avenues for involvement in Christian leadership, theological study and reflection, worship, devotion and service.
LEVEL 2 – Gap Year Program
The Prestonwood Gap Year Program is a 35-week (nine-month) program designed to biblically train recent high school graduates who are working through a call to serve in vocational ministry. Gap Year students commit to serve a minimum of 20 hours per week. The Gap Year Program is not an internship, whereas interns are exposed to a wide variety of tasks within a ministry, Gap Year students focus on the depth of a specific role within ministry. Gap Year students gain their training through one-on-one, classroom-style settings. Students are given the opportunity to choose which ministry track they desire. These tracks are designed for students to be exposed to all facets of their desired ministry, learning the ins and outs of the ministry.
Option 1: Men and women who have received a calling by God to full-time vocational ministry but are unsure of which ministry they feel called to serve, can choose five different ministries to serve over the 35 weeks (seven weeks per ministry).
Option 2: Men and women who have received a calling by God to full-time vocational ministry and are sure of which area of ministry they are called to serve, can serve the full nine months in that ministry.
The goal is to mentor, train, and give students the opportunity to experience real-life church ministry under the leadership of Prestonwood Baptist Church pastors and staff. This program will allow students to experience ministry on a deeper level, helping them to explore God’s call on their life through mentoring, discipleship and community.
LEVEL 3 – The Prestonwood Fellowship
The Prestonwood Fellowship is a Christ-centered internship program offering college and university students (regardless of their major) the unique opportunity to work at Prestonwood Baptist Church. The goal of The Prestonwood Fellowship is to biblically train undergraduate students who are called to serve in vocational ministry. The Fellowship is a part-time, semester-long internship program. Fellowship interns must commit to a minimum of 15 hours per week and a period of approximately four months.
Students are also given the opportunity to choose a specific ministry track. These tracks are designed for students to be exposed to all facets of their desired ministry.
Ministries at Prestonwood in which students might serve:
- Pastoral Ministry
- Preschool/Children’s Ministry
- Student Ministry (junior high & high school)
- College/Young Singles Ministry
- Adult Ministry
- City/Global Missions
- Worship Ministry
- Discipleship Ministry
- Media Ministry
- Women’s Ministry
The Prestonwood Fellowship is designed to offer students a true-to-life ministry experience. As part-time interns, they develop vocational and leadership skills for future ministry positions under the mentorship of a seasoned Prestonwood ministry staff member. They receive hands-on ministry experience by serving as part of a team of qualified ministers in their respective fields.
One of the keys to the Prestonwood Fellowship is that Prestonwood partners with colleges and universities across the nation in order to give each student course credit for service at Prestonwood. The Fellowship program is not meant to take away from a student’s college or university training but to complement it by providing real-life ministry experience. The program does not duplicate what students are learning; it aims to build on it. The training is practical, hands-on and geared to the needs of the local church.
Finally, as in the Gap Year program, housing is provided to all students, either through a host home or an apartment complex with which Prestonwood has contracted, in order to offer safe and excellent housing for our students.
LEVEL 4 – The Prestonwood Intern Program
The Prestonwood Intern Program is a one-year internship program designed for seminary students who are in good academic standing at a local conservative seminary or in a masters-level program with a biblical studies emphasis. The student must be within 10 years of their high school graduation and must have obtained their undergraduate degree. We ask all interns to commit to one year of service. When the year is complete, we will evaluate whether an opportunity exists to extend the internship for the student to move up within the organization or to place them in a like-minded church.
This is a paid internship program. Interns will also receive a matriculation benefit of $450 each semester to assist them with the cost of purchasing books and materials. Prestonwood interns commit to work about 25 hours during the week; in addition, interns are expected to participate in services on weekends. Due to the nature of ministry, there will be times when more is asked of all staff. The supervising staff minister will work with the intern to coordinate the work/school semester schedule.
The purpose of this program is to provide a unique opportunity for young men or women who are called to serve in vocational ministry by providing them with practical church ministry experience and leadership training under the supervision and mentorship of the pastors, staff and members of Prestonwood Baptist Church.
Finally, housing for full-time interns is not provided. However, all interns are encouraged to live close to the church and commute to school. If an intern cannot attain local lodging, our office keeps an active file of Prestonwood families who are available to serve as host homes. The intern is responsible for his/her food costs. This is a paid internship.
While at Prestonwood as an intern you will experience dynamic worship, excellent ministry practice, and a myriad of service opportunities that will enhance your calling and prepare you for a lifetime of effective ministry leadership. You will also take part in a personal discipleship and mentorship program that will allow you to deepen your faith and strengthen the uniqueness and influence of your calling. — Pastor Jack Graham
The Prestonwood Network – LAUNCH
No matter which program a student chooses at Prestonwood, the overarching goal is to either move him or her up through the organization or launch him/her out into ministry through the partnerships of the Prestonwood Network. One of the major benefits of being a part of the Prestonwood “Farm System” is that students will forever be a part of the Prestonwood family. If a student participates in any of these programs and is in good standing with the church, we will stand by that person and do everything we can to assist him or her in finding a church in which to minister.
This is one of the major benefits of being a part of the Prestonwood Network. Network partners and planters get “first dibs” on all students who wish to minister in a like-minded church. And we can firmly stand by our students and say that they have been biblically trained to become leaders in the church, multiplying disciple-makers, and missional Christ-followers who have a passion to achieve the Great Commission.