Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla
and I'm the online engagement director here at Trinity. And at Trinity back in September,
we started this brand new program called the Discipleship Year Program, which is a gap year
opportunity for students to come and spend a year diving into Scripture, learning some ministry
skills and just sort of getting a sense of what it might be that God is calling them to,
whether that's ministry here in the church or out in the community. And so I am excited this
week to sit down with two of our DY students. So thank you for joining me on the podcast folks.
Yeah, thanks for having us. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so maybe we'll just start, I'll ask you to
introduce yourself and maybe say why were you interested in joining this program. So maybe
we'll start here. My name's Anorius. The reason why I joined this program was just to take the next
step in my spiritual and faith journey. So I felt like it was a good opportunity for me. And also
the last year, I wasn't here so much on Sundays because I had to work to look for tuition and
like so I feel like it would help me feel that gap that the what I missed between that time. And so
I felt like it was a very good opportunity for me to get back on track. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
really good opportunity to grow deeper in your faith and get more connected to the church, right?
Yeah, yeah, that's great. And what about for you? Well, I'm Johanna and I, when I was graduating,
I knew I wanted to take a gap year. It was just a matter of what am I going to do in that gap year,
I guess. So I thought about a couple different things, you know, like trip to Europe or whatever.
And I just decided that I wanted to be more involved at church. And so when I heard about the
discipleship program, I applied and I got it and I was like, oh my god, this is great. And I just
thought it would be a great opportunity for me to not just gain experience in the ministries I
chose. So like administration and media production, but also to be in church more. Because before I
used to find it a lot easier to skip every other Sunday, you know, I wouldn't be here as often.
Sure. And that kind of stunted, I think, my growth in faith. But now I'm here all the time. And it's
been really good for helping me feel more connected to God. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And for both of
you, you were sort of already connected to Trinity in some ways. But obviously through this program,
you've gone a little bit deeper and be able to get more connections. So that's really cool. So
what does this DIY program look like? So in a typical week, what do you do as part of the program?
Maybe we'll start with you, Johanna. What does it look like for you? Well, for me, I'm here
a lot. I pretty much live here. But if I'm not here in the office, helping out with like scheduling
volunteers or clearing files and things like that, then I'm probably in the sanctuary restocking the
pews with like our connect cards that we have and things like that. Or I'm in the little like
media production room, probably working on something on Adobe. And then I also volunteer
here and there in the church. So like we have our community meals, of course, I have volunteered
there or like just a lot of little things at the church that happen. I kind of just float around
and help where I can. So yeah, typical week is really, it really depends. But I try to be here
a lot because I really enjoy it. Okay. Yeah. Great. What about for you, honor? For me, I'm here
mostly with media. So on Sundays, I volunteer with the media department and a little bit
in the different departments. I've done volunteering at coffee hour and Christmas in the village.
So yeah, a little bit here and there. But basically, we have eight to 10 hours of class.
So we do two days of class per week. And then we have eight to 10 hours of volunteer work. So
that's what it looks like. Okay. Yeah. And so you mentioned you have, you know, these eight to
10 hours of class time. So what does that typically look like? What are you talking about or learning
during that time? In class, there's a lot. It's scripture focused. So so far, we've looked at
discipleship, what it means, how to go about it, prayer, how to pray, the different kinds of prayer.
And also we've looked at hospitality, because of course, being a volunteer, there's a lot of
hospitality and a lot of things you do around church, around hospitality, right? So yeah,
that kind of, but most of it is looking at the scripture and how it connects to all these different
aspects of life. Right. Yeah. We also just kind of get to also chat. Like we do a lot of, how it's
typically structured, I guess, is like, we pray at the beginning, we check in with each other. It's
just very like, just almost like a small group, but just our own. And lately, we've been watching
movies too. So I've been really enjoying that, just like some Christian movies and talking about
what we've learned through them. Okay, cool. Yeah, just, Erica is a great teacher. And I've really
learned a lot since starting the program and stuff that I didn't even know I didn't know,
just comes off her tongue like so fast. And I was like, well, I never thought about that ever in
my life. Thank you for saying that. So yeah. Yeah, I think it's really amazing how the classes go.
Like she said, you just talk about life, pray, worship and praise sometimes, although
Erica can basically does most of that. Because she sings like, she sings like, what did she call
them? Like, I think yeah. Okay. And I have zero experience with that. Yeah. Okay. So when she's
singing, I'm just like, hmm, this is great. But I never actually joined it. Yeah. That's okay.
Yeah. And, and it's always helpful, like, you know, to talk to her about what's going on and get some
spiritual as well as elderly advice on the different aspects of life. So yeah, I think it's,
it's amazing, not just learning about the scripture, but also knowing how to go about with life. So
yeah, I think it's really amazing. It's an amazing program. And Erica is a great teacher.
Yeah, she's very supportive. Yeah. That's awesome. So you're learning all these things,
but you also sounds like you're really building a community, right? And you're learning to support
one another and, and to find that help and direction that you need, which is that's super
awesome. You know, that I feel like as we, as we go through life, we like accumulate these different
leaders and mentors in different moments. And so yeah, to have this experience where
Eric Ken becomes like a mentor to you is, is yeah, something that's really good. And it's going to
help you as you move forward for sure. So as you think about all of these different things
that you have learned, these different things that you've been doing, is there one sort of
lesson or one key learning that stands out to you? For me, let's see, I will start with the media.
It has been amazing learning stuff out of the class, like in the media room,
learning how to switch cameras, how to drop a shoot. And I have an amazing trainer
in Alex. So it has been amazing. He does, he talks a lot of technical terms, which is crazy
and hard to keep up with, but, but I'm trying my best. And I think I've learned a lot from that.
The next for me this year is editing. So I'm looking forward to that. But I, I, I think
it has been amazing learning a lot in a lot of what goes on in the media room and
learning to drop a shoot and be able to not have him or depend on him, you know, to show me around.
Yeah. So that has been amazing. And in class, I would say learning how to pray. I still don't
think it's something I'm good at. But, but the fact that we had a couple of lessons from both
Eric and Pastor Rob. And what I learned from that is that prayer is not like, it's not something
you have to learn to do right. It's just speaking what comes from your heart and just speaking
honestly and authentic, authentically with God and, and just letting him know how you feel.
So I think that was an amazing part of that, that I learned. And I think I'm slowly building that up.
And yeah. Yeah. And I think you're underselling yourself a little bit. I think about your own
growth in our, in our media production to be going from, you know, not, not doing too much to,
you know, running our cameras. And now when Alex is away, you run our Sunday morning live
stream, right? Right. And so to be able to learn all of those skills in a few months is amazing.
Thank you. Yeah. And what about for you, Johanna? What are some of the big learnings?
Okay. So in class, Erica, just she has a way of teaching words like,
I don't know, she just says these things and she always ties it back to the Bible. It's like, she
has it like back of her hand, like she just knows everything. But it feels like it. And so I just
have a bunch of quotes that she said in class. Like one of them that I really liked was that
it's impossible to come to Christ and not be changed in some way. If you remember that one.
Yeah. And that was like towards the beginning of the program. And I was like,
yeah, but like, it's only been like five months. And I don't know, I really do feel like I have
changed. And just yesterday, we were talking about how Christians are differentiated from the world.
And that's such a big topic and such a big question, like, how am I different from the world?
But through talking about it and just everything that I've learned in the past five months, I can
comfortably say that I think I'm on the right path. And so yeah, that's been something that I really
enjoyed learning and discussing in our Bible classes. And for my placement, Adobe Premiere Pro,
it's so like it's so good. And I'm learning so many shortcuts that I didn't know you could do. I
always take the long way because I don't know the buttons. But now I do. And it's just, it makes
things a lot faster. So I've been doing a lot of editing for stuff. And like, oh my gosh, I get to
take pictures for like, just random things. And it's just nice to see, I guess, my work being put
on the Instagram page, on the Facebook page. And yeah, I just really enjoy that placement.
Yeah, for sure. Yeah, so both of you have sort of done your placements in the media productions of
world and as well as some of the administration stuff. But of course, there are lots of options.
There are lots of different things that are happening in a church. So if there's other
students who are interested in our DIY program, you know, there's children's ministry, there's
hospitality, there's, you said you helped with community meals and things like that. So there's
lots of different ministry options for sure. Yeah, a lot. Like when I was first, I guess,
applying for the program, and I was scrolling on the website to see what the options were. It was
like paralysis. Like, there's so many choices. Which one do I pick? So I picked two because I
couldn't decide on just the one. And I've been enjoying those two. So I'm glad with the choice
I made. Yeah, no, that's great. So you mentioned that Erichan said, you know, it's impossible to
come to Christ and not be changed. And so as each of you sort of reflect on these past five months,
how have you seen your relationship with Christ or your relationship with God
change? What sort of growth have you seen? Mostly I'm learning more and more how to pray
authentically. But also, whenever I pray, I've learned to let God and let go. Yeah, that is
something that learning from class, a lot of times through our faith, we want God to do what we want.
Yes. At whatever time we want. Yeah. Right. So I've learned that usually his answer is yes,
no, or not yet. But also to let him take control and his timing is the best. So I'm learning to
depend on him for that and not always, you know, be stressed out about something and
want it whenever I want it. Right. Sure. Yeah. And that can be really hard lesson to learn.
Yes. And I think it's one of those lessons that we keep learning throughout our whole life, right?
Right. You know, we think we've got to figure it out and then the next big challenge comes and we,
oh wait, no, I'm still trusting in me again. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I'd say sort of the same,
I guess, because I'm just someone naturally I like to be in control, but I'm a control freak,
you know, people say like, go the flow and I'm like, what time does that start? Because I can't
just let it happen. And so I just, I've been learning to just trust in God more and just rely on him
more versus my own understanding of what's going on. Cause I have no idea what the future looks like
only he does. And Eric, can says, uh, what was it? Push the acronym, pray until something happens.
And that's been really good for me because I get to just pray, give it to God and like whatever
happens happens. And I just try to accept the answers that he gives me to my prayers and it's
worked out pretty good so far actually. So I'm going to keep doing that. Yeah. No, that's great.
What would you say has been your favorite part of being part of this DY program?
Is there a particular memory that stands out to you or just something that you're continuing to
think about? I'd say the media has been amazing. We have a great team and has been really fun to
interact. And also I remember Christmas in the village that was fun too. Yeah. Yeah.
Um, being able to help out and, you know, see all the people come together and interact with
all different people. You learn a lot interacting with different people, especially in church.
Yeah. So I think one is media and then the other one is interacting with people in church. It's
amazing. Yeah. It's an amazing feeling. Yeah. Definitely the people part as for like a specific
memory, there's so many, but a more like general thing is I I've been coming to this church for a
while now, like a year or so ish. I'm not sure. But I don't know. It's just like you go to the
service and you go to coffee hour and then you kind of just go home. But now that I'm here all the time,
I get to see people so much more and I get to remember their faces actually. And also remember
their names because I'm more of a faces than names person. And like, but it's also a little bit hard
because, you know, there's only one me. They only have one name to remember. I kind of, there's so
many people I can't remember everyone's names. I'm sorry if I don't say hi to you. I'd probably
just if I were to because I don't know what to say to you. But probably that's what everyone says,
right? Yeah, I feel so much more connected to this congregation because it's like,
I don't know, I'll see someone or even like a freaking like shoppers drug mart. I'll be like,
Oh my God, hi, you know, or just like after service, it'll be someone that I spoke to at
coffee hour the other day, or someone that I volunteered with for like, we had the welcome
dinner thing a while ago, like just seeing people and being I don't know, just like friendly with
them. It's just really nice to have. And it's just a nice point of like social interaction that I
just get all the time and it's great. Yeah, it gives us this opportunity to build community. You
talked about building community, you know, with with the two of you and Eric and but also you get
to build community with the rest of the church to right, which is super cool. Yeah. So we this is
our first year in the DIY program. But of course, it's something that we're continuing and we want
to invite more folks to join us in. So if there's someone out there who's listening and thinking
about this DIY this discipleship year program, what might you say to them? Do it. Okay, just
do it. Don't hesitate. Don't overthink it. Just join and you'll have a great time because I
I don't know. Like when I started, I was I had all these thoughts of like, how's the program
going to go? What am I going to do? Am I going to learn a lot or a little like I don't know just
so many thoughts about like an anxiety is too. But once you just like the only way to do something
is to just do it. The only way to start is to start. So you might not know everything at the
start. I knew a lot of nothing. But afterwards, you get really good. And then you build on that
good until you're great. And then it's like, you leave the program. And you're like, wow,
I actually grew a lot more than I even expected to. And yeah. Anything you want to add to that,
honor? Nope. That's it. Just do it. Yeah, I think it's an amazing program.
We need more students though. So that would that would be more fun. I think. Yeah. But
it's an amazing way to grow spiritually and learn about the a fun way to learn about the
scriptures. So yeah, just do it. Yeah. Yeah. Fun way to learn about scriptures to build community
and to learn some like really practical skills. Right. Like learning how to use Adobe Premiere
for all. Yeah. Do video switching and all of these cool things. Yeah. Yeah. Lots, lots to be gained.
Yeah. participating for sure. And so if you are listening and you're interested in learning more
about this discipleship year program, you can check out our website, trinity streetsville.org.
And there will be a link in the video description, the podcast description that will take you
directly to our discipleship year page so that you can learn more and hopefully join us in September.
So we will see you next week.