Students testing out seating in the circus tent at VBS.

For Noah Mutzenberger, this summer's Samuel Internship was an opportunity to look beyond Sunday morning and discover what it takes to make ministry happen behind the scenes.

A senior at West Fargo High School, Noah spent the summer serving as an intern at Fargo First United Methodist Church, where his father, Rev. Ryan Mutzenberger, serves as the lead pastor. While he has been involved in his congregation in many aspects, the internship gave Noah an opportunity to take on new responsibilities and gain a deeper understanding of the work that goes into ministry.

“I applied so I could learn more about the behind-the-scenes of the church, especially children and youth ministries,” Noah said. “I hoped to learn about the way decisions are made, and how I can be an active member in my congregation.”

His main project for the summer was organizing, creating, and leading Vacation Bible School. From developing lessons and activities to thinking through how to communicate Scripture to children, Noah found himself learning what it means to lead a ministry from start to finish.

“Planning VBS, I had to think about how to explain Scripture and faith in a way that was easy to understand for the students,” he said.

The experience challenged Noah to think about his own faith from a different perspective. Rather than simply studying Scripture for himself, he had to consider how a younger generation might hear and understand the same message.

That perspective became especially meaningful on the final night of VBS.

“I was shocked when one of the students came up to me and asked if they could help lead worship that night,” Noah said.

The student's request reflected one of the themes Noah had incorporated into VBS: sharing God's love with others.

“It showed me that they were growing in their faith and wanted to live out the theme from the previous night by ‘sharing God's love with everyone,’” he said. “It was really cool to see that the lessons I had planned were making an impact on the students.”

For Noah, the moment was a reminder that ministry is not simply about planning lessons or leading activities. It is about creating opportunities for people to encounter God and then watching them begin to live out their faith.

Through the internship, Noah also gained a greater understanding of the many responsibilities that happen behind the scenes at a church. He helped update Fargo First's website and, during the final week of his internship, was invited to sit in on the church's committee meetings.

Noah attending LTC with a group of high school students.

“One thing that I didn't know anything about before my internship was what goes on at all of the church committee meetings,” Noah said.

He attended meetings covering different areas of church life and learned how each group contributes to the congregation. During the finance meeting, he even learned how to read a budget report—an unexpected but practical lesson in how churches make decisions and steward their resources.

Not every internship assignment was quite as structured. Like many summer interns, Noah found himself helping with some unexpected projects, including assisting the church's janitorial staff with disassembling an upright piano.

While the piano project may have been an unusual assignment, it was part of the larger experience of discovering that ministry involves a little bit of everything.

Most importantly, Noah discovered a ministry area where he would like to continue serving.

“I really enjoyed Children's Ministry,” he said. “It was something I had helped with briefly in the past, but now, being more involved, I can see myself volunteering to help out more.”

The experience helped Noah grow not only as a leader in children's ministry, but also as a member of his congregation.

As he enters his final year of high school and also fulfills his role as the president of the Dakotas Conference Council on Youth Ministries, Noah is taking with him a deeper understanding of the work that happens behind the scenes, greater confidence in his ability to lead, and a renewed desire to serve his church.

His advice to other young people considering a Samuel Internship is simple:

“I would tell someone considering the Samuel Internship that they should just do it!”

Learn more about becoming a Samuel intern here.