When Beth Qin arrived at OneHope in Pompano Beach, Florida, for a summer internship, she expected to gain professional experience that would strengthen her résumé. Two months later, she left with something more: a new perspective on how graphic design can serve others and advance the gospel around the world.
Qin, a senior visual communication design student at Cedarville University, spent the summer working as a graphic design intern through OneHope’s Cultivate internship program. She created digital advertisements for Meta and Google and helped develop a concept for an interactive online game designed for an Asia-Pacific audience, contributing to the organization's mission of bringing the gospel to all children of all nations.
Founded in 1987, OneHope reports reaching more than 2 billion children and youth in more than 150 countries through Scripture-based programs and digital resources. Its Cultivate internship program gives young professionals ages 18 to 26 hands-on career experience while emphasizing spiritual growth and leadership development.
Interns formed groups that explored ways to use their careers to share the gospel with specific age groups and countries as their target audiences. They then worked together to research each region and consider how to effectively use their skill sets to bring the message of the Bible to different cultural contexts. At the end of the project, teams pitched their concepts to OneHope for consideration.
Qin's group was assigned an Asian country where government regulations and communication restrictions can limit access to certain online religious content and make it difficult for individuals to connect with online missionaries. The team needed to consider those restrictions while developing culturally appropriate and accessible digital content.
The result was a browser-based escape-room game exploring themes of identity, disillusionment and success. The interactive experience incorporates Scripture references and provides users with the opportunity to connect with an anonymous online missionary though a safe, low-barrier digital channel.
Qin, an international student from China, brought a personal understanding of how visual preferences and communication styles can differ across cultures. Her perspective helped guide the team as they researched their audience and made stylistic decisions about visual design, messaging and user experience.
“Different cultures have different standards for design,” said Qin. “Some countries favor words, while others are drawn to graphics. Designing for some regions requires not only knowledge of the stylistic standards of the area but wisdom to safely share the gospel. All these cultural differences influence our decisions as we design in a ministry context.”
[Photo Credit: Beth Qin ] OneHope’s Cultivate internship program gives young professionals hands-on career experience while emphasizing spiritual growth and leadership development
During her time at OneHope, Qin experienced both the opportunities and challenges of nonprofit ministry work. Finding the work rewarding, she began reconsidering what she wanted from her career.
“This internship caused me to reconsider my career path,” said Qin. “This past summer, I saw a lot of children find Christ through the content that we produced, and it challenged me to consider working in a ministry context.”
As she prepares to graduate in May, Qin said she is praying about her next steps after college and plans to maintain her connections with OneHope.
“It’s so exciting to see how I can use my degree and skills to change people’s lives,” said Qin. “I learned a lot about how ministries work and can't wait to see where the Lord leads me in the future.”
Cedarville University, an evangelical Christian institution in southwest Ohio, offers undergraduate and graduate residential and online programs across arts, sciences and professional fields. With 7,542 students, it is among Ohio's largest private universities and is ranked among the nation’s top five evangelical universities in the Wall Street Journal’s 2027 Best Colleges in the U.S. Cedarville is also known for its vibrant Christian community, challenging academics and high graduation and retention rates. Learn more at cedarville.edu.
