What the HCL Intensive IS: 

• Practical: Practical ministry & leadership experience in ministries at Westside Community Church or your local ministry setting.  
• Next Step Support: Westside will support a participant with guidance, support, networking, and prayer as they complete the intensive and pursue their next step.
• Fun: We want this experience to be fun, stretching, and invigorating. We will challenge you, push you, and high five with you. Why would anyone of us give our lives to this if it wasn’t fun? 
• Clear but flexible: While we understand that things change every participant should know what "red barn*" they are walking toward. Defining your timeline and your next step will be essential. 

What HCL Intensive IS NOT:

• Internship: The Intensive is not an internship where you bounce around exploring your ministry options. Participants will be stretched through high-level experiences, decisions, and responsibilities in a specific ministry area.
• Classroom Theory: While a participant will spend a lot of time reading and learning, we will roll up our sleeves and put that theory into practice.

What does the time commitment look like? 

• Pre-session Work: Prior to each session participants will review the content of each module in preparation for discussion with the group. 
• Monthly Cohort Session: Each month we will meet for a 1.5-hour session, typically on a Sunday afternoon. (Monthly cohorts are either all online or all in person.)
• Post-session Assignments: Each session will include an assignment to be completed prior to the next Cohort Session. 
• Monthly Reading Assignments: Most modules will include some additional reading or research. This will typically be a book, article, and/or podcast.
• Intensive Length: This is an 8 to 9-month commitment.

Does it cost anything?

• Yes and no. Yes, there is a cost but because of some very generous Westsiders, this cost is covered for each participant.

*Red Barn: Imaging you are walking down a path through a thick forest. You can't see much on your left or on your right, as the trees are in the way. You hear Jesus saying to you, "Do you see that RED BARN down the path?" "Yes, I can see it" you reply. "Good," he says, "walk toward it." With the RED BARN as your clear and visible goal you start marching down the path. After walking for some time you find yourself at the edge of the forest, you are entering a clearing. Now you can see much more than you could before. The RED BARN is still visible but you hear Jesus speaking again. "I know you can still see that RED BARN, but I asked you to walk towards it so that you would move down this path toward the clearing. Look to your left, now. Do you see the WHITE BARN? That's where I wanted you to go."

Sometimes we need a goal to get moving toward so that we can get to a new place of clarity. You may not see everything that's ultimately coming, but movement helps you get to where Jesus wanted you all along.