When students step into ministry internships through SCBaptist’s summer internship program, many expect a season of learning and serving.

But for Shelby Totherow and Josh Self, their time at Utica Baptist Church in Seneca, South Carolina, became an experience that clarified their calling, shaped their next steps, and gave them a deeper understanding of what it means to serve the local church. 

Travis Brian works as a Worship Strategist for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, but he also is the worship pastor at Utica Baptist Church and is involved with the ministry internships there. “Our desire is to be a training ground for the next generation and to give people hands-on experience here,” he said. Although the interns are the ones serving in dedicated ministry capacities, he believes the entire church is benefitting from hosting interns. From his perspective, the internship is bringing new energy to the church. “I’m seeing the life brought back to our church because of these college students and their influence in our church,” Brian said.  

These internship opportunities are made possible through the Janie Chapman Offering for State Missions. “Because of that generosity, we’re able to invest in students who are exploring God’s call and also see new energy brought into the life of our church,” Brian said. “It’s incredible to watch how this offering helps open doors for students like Josh and Shelby, and for churches like ours that get to walk alongside them,” Brian said. 

Growing in Discipleship Skills 

One of those interns, Shelby Totherow, saw her role at Utica stretch beyond her initial expectations. Totherow was a senior at Clemson University studying marketing when she began her internship at Utica through the South Carolina Baptist Convention. Using her marketing skills, she filled a social media role, capturing content at events, creating graphics, and posting to social accounts. She also helped out with a girls’ Bible study, where she got to attend SummerSalt, an SCBaptist summer camp for middle and high school students. This led to the highlight of her summer: seeing a girl in her Bible study accept Christ.  

Her time at Utica led her to engage naturally in discipleship with the high school girls, something she realized she had a passion for. She even had one student ask her to step into a more intentional mentorship role with her. “I think it was impactful for me to work with that student because just meeting with her and pouring into her life was just a good practice that we should be doing at any age,” Totherow said.  

The internship also impacted her plans for after graduation, specifically that she would enroll at North Greenville University and be hired as a Graduate Assistant while pursuing a master’s degree. On campus, she works in Campus Ministries and Student Engagement, where she uses lessons learned at her internship as she does outreach on campus. Looking back, Totherow sees how God used the internship to shape her trust in his plan. “Throughout this whole process, the Lord has been showing me how he is sovereign over all of our plans,” Totherow said. “What I thought was going to be a fun summer working at the church was so much bigger than I could have ever imagined for myself.” 

Confirming a Call to Ministry 

While Totherow discovered a passion for discipleship, fellow intern Josh Self found confirmation of a growing call to worship ministry and opened the door to a role on staff at Utica. Self was pursuing a degree in finance when he began to sense the Lord calling him to ministry as he served with an on-campus worship ministry and had that calling confirmed by several leaders in his church. “I knew that finance was not where my heart was, and I knew that ministry—in some capacity—was,” Self said.  

He gained hands-on experience leading the worship team, building tracks, teaching volunteers, and more during his internship at Utica. His experience even led to his accepting a part-time role at Utica as the Technical Director while he finished his degree. “Everything that I learned in the internship I’m using continually every single day that I’m here at Utica,” Self said.  

The internship gave Self more than technical skills; it gave him clarity and confidence. “I had a lot of doubts going into it about whether I was good enough to be able to do something like this,” he said. “But the Lord showed me this is where my heart is, and this is where I need to be.” Having grown up as a pastor’s kid, Self admitted that he once took that experience for granted. But through the internship and the encouragement of mentors, including his own father, he began to see it as a blessing and a foundation for the ministry he’s now stepping into. As he approaches graduation, Self continues to trust that God will open the right doors for full-time ministry. “The Lord’s got me,” he said. “I trust that he will still have me no matter what happens.” 

Experiencing a Ministry Internship 

As both Totherow and Self look forward to their next steps, they look back fondly on their time as ministry interns. Both would encourage students to pursue an internship whether they think they will pursue full-time ministry or not. “An internship at any church is going to bless you and cause you to really understand what your local church staff goes through day to day,” Self said. Totherow echoed this, saying, “You could just end up having a fun summer using your gifts and serving the Lord, but you could also end up changing your plans or whatever’s next for you.” Both agree that it was worth taking the chance. “Put your yes on the table, and go for it,” Totherow said. “You just never know what the Lord has in store for you.”