Westmont Magazine Students Learn Faithful Service through Internships

Campus leaders who place Westmont students in internships at local ministries selected John Corbett ’22, a pre-med student, for the cover of this issue of the magazine. John serves at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission in a variety of roles, such as preparing meals, arranging social welfare services for clients and connecting them with more sustainable housing. During his work shifts, he responds thoughtfully to the needs of each individual. His interactions bear witness to his FAITHFUL commitment to loving others and serving them.

“I’m so uncomfortable. I don’t know what I’m doing or why I’m here,” Sydney Hess ’21 thought as she stood rigidly in the doorway. A group of children in wheelchairs sat silently in front of her. They only responded when someone rubbed their back or held their hand. She took a deep breath and walked over to a little boy.

God gave Sydney a passion for ministry to the special needs community through a mission trip to El Salvador as a high school student. The group visited a home for people with special needs. “I realized I wasn’t there for myself,” she says. “I couldn’t focus on how uncomfortable I was.”

Sydney brought this passion to her college church, where she’s starting a special needs ministry. Many people in the special needs community feel excluded from churches. “We need to make it clear that we want them to seek after Christ with us and develop their gifts,” she says. She served at Anthem Church through the ministry internship program at Westmont during the spring of 2021.

Campus Pastor Scott Lisea loves watching students like Sydney discover a passion for ministry. “We do so well with academic theology at Westmont, but practical theology is just as important,” he says. Scott and his wife,Jamie,teachtheministryinternshipclass with Byron and Robin Beck, who own Solid Rock Construction and Fine Carpentry Inc. in Santa Barbara. “The Becks model running a business with a ministry mindset,” Lisea says.

At the end of the semester, the students present something powerful they’ve experienced. “It’s always inspiring to hear what God has done,” Lisea says. “I think of Sydney. She really grasps the need and value of special needs ministry and the challenge of it.”

Scott and Jamie began their ministry with Young Life in an area without trainers or staff members. “We got to dive in and try to survive,” he says. “Since then, we’ve been passionate about training people for ministry.”

Anna Senft ’21 came to Westmont with experience in ministry but no formal training.

The internship class bridged the gap between the historical and theoretical education she received in her classes and the practical, hands-on service she had practiced for years.

Anna has served the homeless community throughout her life and was eager to get engaged with a ministry in Santa Barbara. She interned at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission during the fall of 2019 and the spring of 2021. “This experience made me realize I’d been looking for something like that,” she says. “I had faith, and I did service, and I knew those were related. It was beautiful to have Scott, Jamie, Byron and Robin as mentors to help us make that connection.”

Anna processed her experiences with other students in the class. She loved laughing together and hearing others share their stories from the past week.

Students serve at a variety of sites throughout the county. Abi Bradshaw ’23 works with Young Life Capernaum Club, Syd Brown ’22 with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Joe Lorentsen ’21 with the Santa Barbara Alliance for Community Transformation. Last year, Anna Wheeler ’22 interned at Ocean Hills Church.

John Corbett ’22 is one of three pre- med students interning at the Santa Barbara Rescue Mission. He helps get the guests situated, coordinates dinner and distributes donations. He also seeks to resolve conflicts and tests people for COVID-19.

Throughout the semester, students in the ministry internship class hear from several speakers with relevant experiences in business or vocational ministry. Jim Yost, a Southeast Asia missionary who has spoken in chapel, focused on what it means to view people as subjects of ministry rather than objects. This stuck with John.

“It’s really easy to get in the pattern of seeing things as a problem to solve,” John says. “Sometimes people just need a relationship. You may be the first conversation they’ve had all day. You may have seven things to do, but it’s really important to stay so they feel heard. Some don’t get to process.”

A pre-med biochemistry and religious studies major, John appreciates putting his doctrine and theory to work in practical ministry. “The internship class helps me take orthodoxy and make it orthopraxy,” he says. “It’s my religious studies lab, where I get to practice everything I’ve learned, like I do in biochemistry.”

Forty students signed up for the first ministry internship class, which thrilled the Liseas. They had prayed for 25. With more requests for interns than they can fill, they hope to add another class soon.

“The church needs Westmont people to lead,” Lisea says. “The college started as a place preparing well-educated missionaries. We want to expand that vision. Everyone can pursue ministry, not just those who get paid to do it. We’re all supposed to be involved serving others.”