RICHMOND — Not many self-employed computer programmers would risk giving their clients less than three weeks' notice that they would be unavailable for almost three months. But despite the potential loss of business, that's exactly what Daniele Podestà, a member of the Baptist church in Genova, Italy, did last spring when offered the opportunity to spend the summer as a youth ministry intern in the United States.
As part of Virginia Baptists' partnership with the Baptist Union of Italy, Webber Memorial Baptist Church in Richmond requested an Italian youth ministry intern for the summer. Podestà, who has been a volunteer youth worker at his church for the past two years, was planning to lead a summer youth camp in Italy. But when he heard about the internship opportunity in Virginia, he expressed his interest to leaders of the Baptist Union of Italy. “They said if I really wanted to come, they'd find someone else for the camp position,” Podestà explained.
Daniele Podesta
Webber Memorial gave Podestà an honorarium for the internship, and a host family from the church provided meals and lodging. His responsibilities as youth ministry intern included traveling with the youth to the Impact Virginia! mission camp on the Eastern Shore, serving as a children's craft leader during Webber's VBS and doing the majority of the planning for the church to host a group of 20 Italian youth and leaders for a week while they were in the Richmond area, including organizing day trips to Virginia Beach and Washington, D.C. Every Sunday in July Podestà also taught an intergenerational Italian language class.
Greg McCormick, minister of youth at Webber, already knew the value of internships, having previously hosted two American interns and an Austrian intern. Although he tried not to have too many specific expectations, McCormick did have a clear overarching goal.
“What I really wanted,” he said, “was for God to use this experience to broaden Danny's vision of youth ministry, however God might want to, so that he could take that back to Italy and for him to share with us in a way that our church understood a God who is not just the God of America but of the world and through that to feel connected to the Baptists in Italy and to understand how we're different and how we're alike and to really and truly be brothers and sisters in Christ.”
By the end of the summer, the experience had impacted the intern and the congregation, both of whom felt a new sense of connection to a larger community of faith. At Webber, Podestà's presence generated excitement about continued partnership with Italian Baptists. The church is planning to send a team of youth and adults to Italy next summer for a joint mission experience of some type, after which the group will travel with the Italian youth to the Baptist World Youth Conference in Leipzig, Germany.
And several experiences helped expand Podestà's vision for youth ministry in Italy. At Impact!, he was moved by watching so many youth praising God together. After the worship service, he remained in the church, asking God for guidance. A youth he hadn't met came up to him and said, “God bless you. Whatever you have in your heart, go ahead, because God blesses you.” “I was speechless,” said Podestà. “I didn't even ask his name.” But Podestà heard God's calling in this anonymous youth's words of encouragement. “I've started to feel that I can do something not only for my youth group but for Italy,” Podestà said.
On the bus ride back from the trip to Washington, Podestà had the chance to talk at length with one of the young adults in the Italian group. He was encouraged that his countryman shared his enthusiasm for developing youth ministry in Italy, where Baptists often reach out to young adults but have few specific ministries to teenagers. “By the end of the two hours we were both in tears at what God had showed us,” said Podestà. “I was amazed at how God put all the pieces together.”
Podestà returned to Italy in August with a message for his fellow Italian Baptists: “God's plan isn't just for us to survive, but for the Kingdom to advance.”
“And Danny doesn't even know about Virginia Baptists' Kingdom Advance,” said McCormick with a laugh.
Nevertheless, Podestà does know that Virginia Baptists are eager to partner with Italian Baptists and to pray for them, and he appreciates this support, as well as the warm hospitality that he was shown by the congregation at Webber.
Although he does not yet know what form his future youth ministry might take, Podestà hopes to identify other Italian Baptists who are doing youth work and to help develop a network for mutual support. And he downplays his own sacrifice and hard work during the internship. “Everything that's happened has been God's work,” he said. “I haven't done anything. I've just been blessed to be a part of God's plan.”
Podestà's passion for youth ministry and his openness to God's leading were an inspiration to McCormick. “He's been a tremendous example to me,” said McCormick. “This has truly been what I think an ideal partnership should be.”