If you asked me a year ago whether or not I saw myself becoming a 28 year old intern, I probably would have scoffed and said something along the lines of ‘Tell ’em they’re dreaming’. Interning is something you do fresh out of school, when you want to get a foot in the door of an industry, or try out a job before you commit to it long term.

Well here I am – 28 years old, fresh out of school and a newly appointed full-time intern at CrossCulture Church of Christ in Melbourne.

How did I get here?

After teaching for five years in the same school, I found myself pretty burnt out. This part of my story isn’t unique – 1 in 3 Australian teachers leave teaching within the first 5 years of teaching¹. In the last two years especially, I was finding that I wasn’t the person I wanted to be or that God designed me to be. So with a lot of love and support from the people around me, especially Mark, I decided to leave teaching and not work for one year.

I dedicated 2020 to be a year of rest. In many ways it was and in other ways it wasn’t so restful. I caught up on a lot of sleep, I spent a lot more time reading the Bible and praying, and I reconnected with a lot of people – albeit in more digital ways than I originally expected. But as you know, 2020 also brought many other unexpected things. At the end of June, Mark lost his job and so for a while we found ourselves both unemployed in Melbourne’s second lockdown.

Holding hands at our wedding in 2018.

But maybe more unexpectedly, we found an immense peace in the uncertainty. For the first time in my adult life, I understood what it meant to surrender my next steps to God and trust that He would make a way. It was equal parts scary, liberating and comforting. Now this isn’t to undermine other people’s experiences in 2020, especially the stress of unemployment, I’m only sharing our experience during this time.

If I’m honest, I think God has been pulling me towards ministry (using our skills and time to bless and help others) full-time for a long time, but I never felt qualified or even worthy enough to follow through. Working with young people has always been a passion of mine, but it’s also all I’ve ever known. What if there were other areas and skills that God wanted me to develop? Trusting that God had already made a way for us, I started praying about what would come next and the answer came in the form of a WhatsApp message.

I received this WhatsApp message from my life group leader in August after I started praying about what I should be doing in 2021.

The internship seemed like the perfect space for me to explore what a future role in ministry might look like and learn some new skills along the way.

What will I be doing?

This year I will primarily be working in the following areas:

• Creative and Music Team: Learning about how to communicate information in a clear and engaging manner through the use of different media and technologies. I will also continue to be a Music leader for Sunday services.
• World Missions Team: Supporting the team with the organisation of events such as the Global Missions Convention and other programs like Perspectives that teach people about what God’s mission is and how we can be a part of it.
• Women’s ministry: Learning how to connect, support and disciple women within our church.
• English Corner ministry: Facilitating English conversations with people wanting to practise and improve their English.

I will also be taking part in a leadership course run by Churches of Christ Vic/Tas called Accelerate Leadership.

What now?

There are a few ways that you can partner with me during my internship.

Prayer

• Please pray that as I start this internship that I will have a humble and teachable spirit, to focus on what God is teaching me through my experiences and not on my own works.
• That God will use the experiences from the internship to not only develop my skills in different areas but also to reveal future pathways for me whether that be in ministry or not.
• That God will continue to lead and provide for Mark and myself, guiding us in our marriage, especially as we adjust to my new schedule.

Introducing myself as the new intern for 2021 at our English service at CrossCulture, Melbourne.

Financially

As part of my internship, CrossCulture has committed to fund half of my salary ($35,000/year) and it is my responsibility to fundraise the remaining half. There are a few reasons for this.

Firstly, fundraising provides me with the opportunity to rely on God’s provision for my financial needs through the support from brothers and sisters in Christ. Just as Jesus and his disciples relied on the partnership of other Christians as they worked in their ministries, I would love for you to partner with me and do the same.

Secondly, it provides me with a point of accountability to share my journey with you as you support me not only financially, but more importantly through prayer. I am especially excited about the prospects of developing strong ministry partnerships with people who will be supporting, encouraging and praying for me throughout this internship.

If you are able to support me financially, you can give to the General fund via the CrossCulture website with the description, “AbbiK_Intern”

Finally…

I’m ready and excited for all that 2021 will bring, unexpected twists and all! I will be aiming to post at least once a fortnight so please check back regularly for updates. You can also subscribe to my blog to get email updates when new posts are available.

I would also love to hear from you! Please leave a comment or send me an email abigailkwan@crossculture.net.au

Header image: fotografierende

¹: Moore, 2019, The Canberra Times