Part of being an Ogallala Intern is not only learning about our communities but also giving back to them. Last year, for my community service, I had volunteered at a community garden called the Harvest Center. It was a lot of fun working in a garden, but this year I was given the opportunity to serve at an informal church called Untitled and being as I am currently attending Bible College this seemed like the perfect outlet.
Over this internship we were asked to set some goals and one of my goals was to develop and grow in the area of leadership. I wanted to grow in this area because the church (Untitled) I had been attending had asked me to step into a leadership role. Volunteering at Untitled consisted of going to meetings, organizing events, and ministering to people.
Going to the meetings was more difficult than I had anticipated, there was much that I hadn’t realized about what happens “behind the scenes”. Often times, meetings entailed dealing with very difficult situations. However, despite dealing with challenging issues, the gatherings were one of my favorite parts of leadership. Organizing events was very easy since almost everyone in our small church was more than willing to help. Having the opportunity to minister to people was very intimidating at first, I was afraid to have people look to me. However, through it all, ironically, I realized people don’t have to have the title of a leader to be a minister. One of the most beautiful parts of Untitled was seeing people rise up as leaders and help one another through thick and thin.
Through my volunteer hours I learned a lot about what being in the ministry really looks like. And I reached my goal, I learned what being a true leader is. A leader is not always someone who paves the path or someone telling people what to do. A leader is actually someone who is willing to be last, not self-seeking but seeks to build up others and someone who truly values people and is also able to stand alone. Through my volunteering at Untitled I learned that the most important aspect of being a true leader isn’t actually “leading,” its serving.
