Articles

The Impact of an Internship

October 1, 2019
The Impact of an Internship

The first sights of fall have arrived, but there are still precious stories ready to be told about what God has already done. This summer, Oasis Church welcomed the idea of bringing their first summer intern onto the team in order for that college student to experience what church planting is like behind the scenes.

Seth Haile, a junior at Williams Baptist University, was truly an answer to Oasis Conway’s prayer. Seth had expressed an interest in church planting to a professor at his university and was soon connected with Dave McClung at Arkansas Baptist State Convention. After a quick call from Dave, Todd accepted the opportunity to add another younger member to his growing team. When they all met up for lunch, there was an “immediate connection” between Seth and the Oasis Conway team.

“From the beginning, I was so impressed with Seth. His maturity level, teachability, creativity, and problem solving skills are something you rarely find [in such a young man.] He was always the guy who knew when to speak and when to listen,” said Todd West.

“The process happened so quickly. This only confirmed my pursuit in the calling of church planting.” Seth was known and recognized by the group for how quickly he jumped in to help in whatever ways he could. He wasn’t just in it for the connections; he was truly excited and eager to learn.

“Overall, I learned a lot from these guys about discipleship. Getting to be a part of a church plant that recently launched – learning & working with Todd & Ryan Anderson – there’s so much knowledge,” said Seth.

Before the summer internship ended, Seth was encouraged by Todd and his team to preach one Wednesday night. As a young adult, this can be terrifying. So easily the enemy can fill your mind with insecurities, but Seth reached for the opportunity to share. He spoke in front of many people in the room about the correlation of revival and prayer – growing not only in his knowledge, but also sharing what he’s learned with others.

The team at Oasis truly invested in Seth’s life – not just because they felt that it was their role, but because they genuinely wanted to. They saw such a light in Seth, and they could see how he will grow to make a difference in future generations.

 “Through this experience, I learned just how challenging church planting really was, but I also got to see what stances [the leadership] took when facing challenges. Todd would always encourage me to ‘Fight for the Vision.’ This experience was truly a blessing from God that I will always remember,” said Seth.


We are hopeful that this will not be where the story ends for Seth in regards to church planting. We are praying for him and his journey as he continues to trust God and become obedient to whatever the Lord has in store for Seth in the years to come.