On a recent Sunday morning, Ryan Shepard could be found wearing a suit of armor and holding a shield while a child nearby waved a (fake) sword. It might be surprising to discover where he was doing this: in church.

Shepard, a 2024 graduate of Donegal High School who now attends Columbia International University, is one of five summer interns at Community Bible Church in Marietta. He donned the costume as part of a lesson he taught to children attending Sunday school at the church.

"I want to go into ministry and work in a church or work overseas as a missionary in the future, so I wanted to get ministry experience learning how to serve within a church," he explained. "I also really enjoy working with kids."

Community Bible Church has held a summer internship program since 2020. It offers an opportunity for college students to get some real-life experience on their resumes and get paid for it.

"We really believe in our young people," said Jim Hottenstein, associate pastor. "We think this is a win-win. It's a win for the church, because they help out with summer programming, and it's a win for them, because we get to invest in them for the summer. We made it paid because we wanted to attract college students, and college students need money. We put money in our budget to have a team of interns every summer, and we love it."

All of the interns this summer are members of the church. They interviewed for the position at the beginning of 2025 and lead worship on Sunday mornings for up to 50 children in grades one through five - among other responsibilities - from May through early August.

Joining Shepard as summer interns are Hannah Slobozien, Allison Fry, Lauren Nissley and Ava McAlonis.

"This a church internship. We do more than just work with kids, but it's mostly kids," said Slobozien, a 2024 Donegal High School graduate and current Penn State student returning for her second year as an intern. "I love building relationships with the kids, investing in them, becoming someone they can look up to."

Along with leading the Sunday worship program, the interns help with Backyard Bible Clubs, the church's program that brings lessons out into the community, as well as Junior Camp, where they spend a week with students in grades three through five. They also visit with senior citizens at the church, help with events such as the church's Fourth of July celebration and attend staff meetings.

"The first two weeks is orientation, where we go over strength finders, so they learn their strengths and how to best work with each other," said Cindy Gardner, director of children's ministry. "We do a spiritual gifts course, life mapping, team building and getting to know each other. They also read two books and discuss the chapters once a week. One is a ministry book, and the other is for spiritual enrichment."

For Nissley, a 2024 Penn Manor High School graduate and current student at Liberty University, the internship has provided an opportunity to not only work with children, but also learn something new.

"I've been super involved in children's ministry my whole life," she said, noting that she started assisting her mother in Sunday school classes as an elementary school student. "I want to be a teacher, so this fit into my desire to teach kids. I have also enjoyed seeing more of the inner workings of the church. I've gone here my entire life, but being able to see behind the scenes has been interesting."

McAlonis just finished a year where she participated in the OneLife Institute in South Carolina, and she learned about the internship through Slobozien.

"I wanted experience with ministry, and I wanted to get more involved with the community here," said the 2024 Elizabethtown High School graduate.

Fry, a 2023 graduate of Donegal High School who now attends Cedarville University, said she's been enjoying working with the children and learning about the inner workings of the church she's attended for a decade.

"We try to keep everything engaging and relevant for the ages and kids we're working with," she said, noting that the interns have a summer Sunday school curriculum that they use as a basis for their classes. "We want to be sure what we're teaching really speaks to these kids and what interests them, and we want to play into our own strengths as well."

Overall, the internship program has given young people a chance to take an active role in ministry while building skills for future success, Gardner said.

"Everybody who puts their faith in Jesus has a spiritual gift to give back to the church," she remarked, encouraging other churches to consider an internship program. "Even if they can't do a paid internship, they can encourage young people to use those gifts to serve the Lord."