Impact Intern Spotlight: Olivia Carter

Olivia Carter is a recent graduate of Messenger College, an
employee for Impact Ministries, and an incoming grad student.
Olivia has loved her experience at Messenger and cannot wait
to serve as an RD this fall. Olivia loves to dab, was a star in a
rap video, and is a fantastic singer.

 

Impacted to Impact

 

 

I am what you call an intern veteran. I’ve been on this internship three years in a row, and now I am a part of the Impact Student Ministries Staff! For the past three years, I’ve been able to see first-hand, the amazing work that God does in the lives of the Impact interns through this program as well as the work which takes place in students across the nation through the interns as well. The experiences I’ve been able to store up throughout these internships have changed my life. 

I wasn’t really expecting to be a part of the Impact internship the first time around. Randy had asked me to help with worship as the team traveled to various camps across the country. It’s not that I didn’t want to go, it just wasn’t a part of my original plan for the summer. However, I’ve come to find that God tends to meet us often in the unexpected. Looking back on that summer, I can say it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. By no means was it particularly easy or comfortable, but challenging. I had minimal worship leading experience at this point, but what better way to break someone in than to have them lead a team of strangers while being responsible for some of the most important worship experiences of kids and teens lives across the country? Well, at the time, I could think of a lot of better ways, but looking back I wouldn’t change it! The discomfort of it all produced growth; growth that I don’t think could have happened any other way. I now look at the things that used to make me feel like I could throw up in the offering plate as simple tasks. We can’t expect to grow if we aren’t willing to be uncomfortable. Growth lives in discomfort. 

The second year was another growing experience. This year I was being placed as a leading member of the team. Well, I was still an intern…but a bit more of a leader-y intern, ok? Just let me have this. Anyway, the team this year mainly consisted of people I had already known from school. My biggest take away from this summer was a huge lesson in leadership. It’s really easy to be biased, and extremely difficult to lead your friends. This particular internship not only gave me first-hand ministry experience, but equipped me with leadership skills that would carry with me throughout my next year at Messenger College. 

Then there is this summer. I’m a part of the Impact internship not as an intern (for real this time), but as a staff member. I was hired on this past May as “Executive Administrative Assistant” for Impact Student Ministries, and I absolutely love it. Not to be overly sappy, but sometimes I just cry because I am so thankful for the opportunity to do what I get to do. I don’t take it for granted, and count this blessing every single day. I am thankful for the countless amount of times I’ve been poured into by this ministry growing up, and thankful now to be the one pouring. From summer camps to Summerfest to Fall retreats and youth rallies, Impact Student Ministries played a major role in my spiritual development. I can’t say I’d be qualified to work for Impact if God hadn’t already worked in me through Impact. We don’t just call ourselves this, we actually do this, and I stand today as a product of what those before me have already done!