Intern with Lifelines

Explore. Experience. Share.

What if you could combine your love for the outdoors with a passion for reaching college students with the gospel?

Come discover the heart of outdoor ministry with Lifelines! Explore new places, friendships, and skills. Experience trips, expeditions, and guide schools. Learn to share your faith as you build meaningful relationships and grow in your love for God and others.

More than developing outdoor and group facilitation skills, you’ll become part of a community where adventure creates opportunities for spiritual growth, authentic relationships, and gospel conversations.

Two Ways to Intern with Lifelines

1. Yearlong Cru Internship

Give a year to adventure, community, and gospel ministry.

Join a Lifelines team for a year of hands-on outdoor ministry. Grow in your faith, develop leadership and technical skills, build meaningful relationships, and learn how to use outdoor experiences to reach college students with the gospel.

You’ll participate in trips, expeditions, guide schools, and the everyday life of a Lifelines team while gaining valuable ministry experience.

2. Internship for Academic Credit

Combine your education with meaningful outdoor ministry experience.

Looking for an internship that connects your academic studies with real-world experience? Lifelines offers opportunities for students pursuing degrees in outdoor leadership, recreation, ministry, and related fields.

Gain practical experience in outdoor programming, leadership, group facilitation, and ministry while working toward internship credit through your university.

Benefits include:

• Outdoor ministry experience
• Most internships are paid
• Earn academic credit
• Be a valued part of the Lifelines community
• Attend our Facilitator and Backcountry Guide Schools
• Join an expedition

Our Locations

Lifelines offers internship opportunities through our teams located in four outdoor-rich regions:

• Colorado — Boulder
• Pacific Northwest
• Maine — Portland
• North Carolina — Asheville

Internship placement depends on team opportunities and availability. We welcome your location preferences as part of the process.

Cru internship for Credit

All of our internships our facilitated through Cru, the interdenominational ministry that Lifelines belongs to. Many of our interns are seeking degrees in outdoor leadership, outdoor education, recreation management, youth ministry, or exercise physiology. We consider candidates from other majors as well. Lifelines will assist you in earning academic credit for your internship through your university.

Additional Internship Responsibilities

Besides helping with our trips and attending our guide schools and trainings, you will learn responsibilities of an entry level recreation manager such as programming, marketing, financial management, facility operations, and personnel management. You will also be encouraged to explore areas of interest including video, photography and web design.

More About Paid Internships

Many of our internships are paid. The resources come the same way all of our staff members, trips and expeditions are funded: through the generous support of ministry partners. It may sound intimidating to cultivate a network of individuals, churches and other organizations for your support, but there are many positives. First of all, you will receive training and coaching through Cru. Second, fundraising is a useful skill that looks good on your resume and will serve you in whatever career you choose. The best benefit is that it will push you to rely on God—which is key experience in serving with Lifelines. You can also access these resources for the biblical basis of missions or finding God’s will for your life.

The Lifelines Community

As an intern, you will join our community, and be a valued member of our team. This is one of the best experiences of our internship. As part of it, you will live in an environment of grace and truth, one filled with acceptance and what is true, modeled after John 1:14, “(Jesus) came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” With the Word of God as our guide, you will be encouraged to grow, and to help others grow, in character, leadership and other attributes, like trust and honesty.

Ready to Take the Next Step?

Explore the opportunities, learn about the application process, and discover how God might use your gifts and love for the outdoors through Lifelines. To start an application, visit apply.cru.org.

Select these three options:

Applying for which positions? Internship

Ministry Preference? Campus Ministry

Sub Ministry Preference? Field

Space is limited. The earlier you apply, the better! Looking for more help with the next step? See the Five Steps to starting an internship with Lifelines.

Important dates:

• March 1 application deadline
• Intern kickoff weekend in April

Questions? 

Contact Amy Geist, Lifelines Intern Coordinator

FAQs