Book of Church Order
19-7. The Holy Scriptures require that some trial be previously made of those who are to be ordained to the ministry of the Word, both concerning their gifts and concerning their ability to rule as teaching elders, in order that this sacred office may not be degraded by being committed to weak or unworthy men, and that the Church may have an opportunity to form a better judgment respecting the gifts of those to whom this sacred office is committed.

To provide for such a period of trial, a candidate for ordination must serve an internship. This period of internship shall be at least one year in length, and may be longer at the discretion of the presbytery so as to give sufficient time for the presbytery to judge the candidate’s qualifications and service. This period of internship may occur during or after the candidate’s formal theological education. When it occurs during his formal theological education, it may include an intern year in addition to his time of academic training or it may run concurrent with his academic training.

The nature of the internship shall be determined by the presbytery, but it should involve the candidate in full scope of the duties of any regular ministerial calling approved by the presbytery. It is to be both a time of practical instruction and testing by the presbytery, and may be in any work which the presbytery deems to be a suitable ministry to test the intern’s gifts. The intern should be closely supervised by the presbytery throughout this trial period.

19-8. An applicant for internship must be a candidate and may be a licentiate in the presbytery in which he is seeking to become an intern. He may, however, become a candidate, and an intern at the same meeting of presbytery. If an applicant for internship is already a candidate in another presbytery, that presbytery should dismiss him as a candidate to the Presbytery in which he is seeking to become an intern.

19-9. Examination for Internship
Before the applicant begins his period of internship, he shall give to the presbytery a written and/or an oral statement (at the discretion of the presbytery) of his inward call to the ministry of the Word.

19-10. When an applicant is approved for internship, the moderator of the presbytery shall offer a prayer suitable for the occasion, and shall address the applicant, if present, as follows:

In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and by that authority which He has given to the Church for its edification, we do declare you to be an intern of this presbytery as a means of testing your gifts for the holy ministry wherever God in His providence may call you; and for this purpose may the blessing of God rest upon you, and the Spirit of Christ fill your heart. Amen.

Record shall be made of the internship in the following or like form, namely:

At _________________, the _____ day of _______________, the presbytery, having received testimonials commending ____________________, having received him as a candidate for the ministry, has placed him under internship at his request in order to test his gifts for the holy ministry.

19-11. When any intern shall have occasion, while his internship is in progress, to remove from the bounds of his own presbytery into those of another, the latter presbytery may, at its discretion, on his producing proper testimonials from the former, take up his internship at the point at which it was left, and conduct it to a conclusion in the same manner as if it had been commenced itself. Presbytery shall repeat any portion of the previous presbytery’s examination it desires, but it must at least examine the intern on:

a. his Christian experience,
b. his call to the ministry,
c. his views in theology, and
d. church government.

When God gives the intern the providential opportunity to serve the church and to receive part of his training within the bounds of a presbytery other than the one in which he has been declared an intern, the presbyteries involved may develop a cooperative agreement to assure the proper training of the intern. In such cases the home presbytery retains the final responsibility for and authority over the internship, but may rely to any extent considered necessary and proper in the circumstances, on the assistance of the sister presbytery. When regular preaching of the Word is involved, care must be taken to comply with BCO 19-1.

19-12. Presbyteries should require interns to devote themselves diligently to the trial of their gifts; and no one should be ordained to the work of the ministry of the Word until he has demonstrated the ability both to edify and to rule in the Church. Reports on every intern in the presbytery should be presented at each stated meeting of the presbytery by the committee of presbytery charged with the oversight of interns, and these reports shall become a part of the minutes of presbytery. The presbytery shall also require every intern himself to make a report to it at least once a year describing his ministerial experiences. If the intern is still in school, the presbytery shall secure from his instructors an annual report upon his deportment, diligence, and progress in study.

19-13. At the end of the period of time set by the presbytery for his internship, an intern shall have his internship either approved or disapproved. Even if it is approved, he cannot be ordained without a call to some specific work. If the internship is disapproved, the presbytery may either extend it for another definite period of time or it may completely rescind his intern status and may revoke his internship. If the intern shall devote himself unnecessarily to such pursuits as interfere with a full trial of his gifts, it shall be the duty of the presbytery to rescind his intern status, and to record its reasons therefore in the minutes of presbytery.

19-14. An intern, who, during his internship, is to serve a congregation in the capacity of the minister of the Word must be called by the congregation in the same way that a regular minister is called. A congregation may later call such a man as its pastor. This call must be approved by presbytery prior to the time of ordination. In the event a congregation does not desire to call such a man as its pastor as determined by a congregational vote, notice should be given as early as possible. Interns may be called to serve as assistants to ministers during their internship, by the Session of a church with approval of the call by presbytery.

19-15. Restrictions.
The intern may be asked by the moderator of a Session temporarily to chair the meeting of the Session. In such cases the moderator shall supervise this activity and may overrule the intern or re-assume the chair at will. The intern is not a member of Session and may not vote in the meetings unless he has previously been ordained a Ruling Elder and elected to the Session by the congregation. Normally, he shall serve in an advisory capacity to the Session and Diaconate when he has been called to work out his internship by a congregation. He shall have the right to conduct funerals. An intern may not administer the Sacraments. He may serve on committees of the church he serves.

19-16. When circumstances warrant, a presbytery may approve previous experience which is equivalent to internship. This equivalency shall be decided by a three-fourths (3/4) vote of presbytery at any of its regular meetings. Such equivalent experience shall be decided only after the presbytery’s internship committee has determined and reported that the candidate has met the following requirements:

a. he has had at least (1) year of experience in comparable ministry;
b. he has satisfactorily performed the full scope of ministerial duties;
c. he has the manifest approbation of God’s people in a local church as having the requisite gifts of the pastoral ministry.