We offer internships at ENCM in several different fields.  See below for details.

*All internships, except the full-time Urban Gardening Internship, require a weekly investment of 10-15 hours.  Alternative arrangements can be made in advance.

MINISTRY – To apply for Ministry Internship Positions, please fill out the Internship Contact Form

Compassion Ministry

The Compassion Ministry internship serves as an introduction to compassion ministry in the urban setting.  This is our most general internship opportunity.  Potential interns interested in local missions, social justice, or compassionate outreach but not precisely sure in what capacity are encouraged to fill this position and get a variety of different experiences in the social service ministry field.  Interns can expect to participate in daily operations, donor development, devotions, youth organizing, event planning, and leadership meetings, and small-scale program management.

Available positions: 2
Required Education: N/A
Supervisor(s): Ryan Fasani, Director; Julianne Jarrett, Director of Programs

Social Service Ministry and Food Security

ENCM is fundamentally a social service.  But operationally and organizationally we are a Christian non-profit, which means that everything we do is shaped by our theological commitments and our identity as a community “run” non-profit.  Our Social Service Ministry internship will focus on how practitioners can understand non-profit service work as ministry and how this understanding demands a different nature of engagement in and with the community.  Most of the intern’s work will relate to food security development and emergency food assistance.

Available positions: 1
Required Education: N/A
Supervisor: Ryan Fasani, Director

Ecumenical, Para-church Ministry

As the only ecumenical ministry in East Nashville that commits to collaborating local faith communities in service, we run into peculiar challenges balancing ministry to our churches and to our neighborhood(s).  Ministry in this setting requires a unique combination of theological aptitude, deep conviction to a mission and its effect in a local setting, and flexibility of work environment.  The Ecumenical Internship will focus on organizing and ministering directly to our supporting churches and their constituencies.   (There is optional inclusion of participation in Emmaus Fellowship, our first-ever collaborative worship service with Nashville First Church of the Nazarene.)

Available positions: 2
Requires Education: N/A
Supervisor: Ryan Fasani, Director.

Food and Health Ministry

In the Spring of 2009 we will have three large community gardens, a budding farm enterprise, and a thriving Eden Project (a gleaning program that reclaims thousands of pounds of fresh produce and gardening related material).   These efforts coupled with our hope of launching cooking classes are at the heart of our ministerial call to heal bodies and communities with food. The Food and Health Intern will dive into our work on said programs.  Responsibilities will include community organizing, education, and event facilitation concerning food and health issues in East Nashville. Emphasis will be put on experiencing the different intersections between food and ministry both in and outside the parish.

Available positions: 1
Required Education: Bachelors
Supervisor: Ryan Fasani, Director.

Eco-Ministry

ENCM takes up a very narrow scope of responsibility in the broader ecological ministry field.  But we are explicitly apart of radically re-envisioning a more economic and ecological just society and are therefore intentional about strengthening our ties (and ultimately our effect) with like-minded individuals and organizations.  The Eco-Ministry intern will participate in ecological ministry as it is engaged at ENCM (with food and growing) but will also participate in the newly found Oikos Initiative, a partnership in Nashville that “endeavor[s], in particular, to be reconciled in our local economic, ecological, and ecumenical life together, beginning amongst the suffering poor and afflicted earth.”  The intern can expect to get practical experience in “hands-in-the-dirt” ministry in the garden, organizing experience in institutional collaboration, and education experience in eco-theology.

Available positions: 1
Required Education: Bachelors
Supervisor: Ryan Fasani, Director

FARMING -To apply for Farming Internship Positons, please download the Internship application, fill out the Internship Contact Form and attach your completed application.

Urban Gardening

The Nashville Cooperative Gardens is the network of community gardens managed by ENCM.  The gardens are the linchpin to all the work we do, from food relief to alternative food allocation to food education.  The Urban Gardening internship will include differing duties according to each growing season (see PDF for a more detailed description of duties according to season).  In addition to hands on gardening, each intern position will incorporate an education component, which includes, but is not limited to, selected readings, attending forums on food production and related topics, and touring other gardens and farms.

Available positions: 4 (3 seasonal internships: Spring, Summer, Fall; 1 full- or part-time internship spanning the entire growing season)
Required Education: N/A
Supervisor: Justin Owings, Garden Manager.

Soil Science

The Nashville Cooperative Gardens depend on the procuring of raw organic matter to fuel its compost system.  These gardens are managed with the strictest commitment to sustainability, and therefore require keen awareness of the content of the soil created and used. The Soil Science internship will be an opportunity to dive into urban soil production and organic maintenance.  In addition to hands on gardening and composting system development, each intern position will incorporate an education component, which includes, but is not limited to, selected readings, testing soil and researching soil science, and touring other gardens and farms.

Available positions: 3 seasonal internships: Spring, Summer, Fall.
Required Education: N/A
Supervisor: Justin Owings, Garden Manager.

ENTREPRENEURIAL – To apply for Entrepreneurial Internship Positions, please fill out the Internship Contact Form

Social Enterprise and Food Security

We are embarking on two agricultural social enterprises. As we work to broaden our contribution to food security in East Nashville, we are also trying to make ENCM more financially sustainable. All of these can be accomplished while creating new jobs in our community. The Social Enterprise Internship will contribute to these budding enterprises while working with local faith institutions in food related community development. Most of the intern’s work will engage the development of our farm and mobile market enterprises, related marketing, and value-added efforts.

Available positions: 1
Required Education: Bachelor or currently studying in related field
Supervisor: Ryan Fasani, Director