(Aug. 22, 2014 - by Penny Hughes)  There’s a lot of hype circulating on the web these days about internships. Do they truly help students develop useful experience outside of their academic world? Or are they stuck with menial tasks like making coffee, filing and collating?

This summer three college-age students from Reach Beyond (formerly HCJB Global) joined 11 young people in a media internship in the U.K., taking classes and gaining hands-on experience in various aspects of media outreach. But that’s not what set the program apart.

The 14 media interns were challenged professionally, socially and spiritually in a cross-cultural setting during the course, giving them opportunities to get involved in reaching those far from God via media.

The internship program—launched four years ago as a way to expose youth to non-traditional media missions, ministries and cultural experiences with a focus on spiritual development—was a joint effort of Reach Beyond and Radio Worldwide. The two organizations have partnered together for nearly two decades, sharing each other’s talents and expertise.

“I would recommend this experience to anyone interested in growing spiritually or learning more about media and missions,” stated one of the interns.

Run by Radio Worldwide and approved by the International Communications Training Institute (ICTI), the training program provided classes on radio, Internet broadcasting, social media and video production to participants from across Europe and the U.S. Upon completing the “Radio:Active” course, graduates received a certificate of achievement from Radio Worldwide.

David, one of the leaders of the media internship program and executive director of Reach Beyond’s Europe/Eurasia Region, said the youth had the chance to put theory to practical use as they ran a temporary radio station during the annual Rothwell Carnival.

“Organizers of the carnival came to us and said the station really added value to the event,” David related.

The Rothwell Carnival is a one-day festival in a park that has been held annually for more than 600 years, attracting people from across the community. Radio Worldwide and Reach Beyond-UK again ran the temporary FM radio station that was on the air before, during and after the event.

The interns produced special programming, putting out a signal that had a radius of about 8 km (five miles). “We were live on air for eight days as a community radio station, and interns got real broadcasting experience,” said David.

The first week of the internship focused on spiritual growth, ministry and missions. Participants also had numerous opportunities to interact with staff from the Reach Beyond-UK World Office as well as missionaries Roger and Carey Basick who serve in the Republic of Ireland. Working in a personal, small-team environment, they learned from committed missionaries—most who have served overseas—on ways to use media to draw in non-Christian listeners.

For the first time, this year’s Reach Beyond interns took part in a four-day section on video production led by missionary Emily Ibarra from Reach Beyond’s Ministry Service Center in Colorado Springs, Colo. She showed the students how to create quality videos that focus on engaging the audience when telling stories about ministry topics.

“The best way to learn is hands-on, and the students really grabbed on to that,” Ibarra said. “By the end of the course they produced some impressive videos that they can use to promote their ministries.”

Lydia Pullen, a team member from Radio Worldwide, commented on the cooperation of the two organizations. “Thank you again for your valuable help and insight which you brought to the course and for the blessing you were to us as a team,” she related. “It was a joy to work with you again.”

Interns agreed that the program better equipped them to use media to share Christ’s love, leaving them ready for more. As one intern from Ireland put it, “I was inspired to believe God for more.”

Photo credit: Danny Isenring

Sources: Reach Beyond, Radio Worldwide