1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:07,680 Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla 2 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:12,960 and I'm the online engagement director here at Trinity. And at Trinity back in September, 3 00:00:12,960 --> 00:00:18,960 we started this brand new program called the Discipleship Year Program, which is a gap year 4 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:26,240 opportunity for students to come and spend a year diving into Scripture, learning some ministry 5 00:00:26,240 --> 00:00:30,720 skills and just sort of getting a sense of what it might be that God is calling them to, 6 00:00:30,720 --> 00:00:35,920 whether that's ministry here in the church or out in the community. And so I am excited this 7 00:00:35,920 --> 00:00:42,400 week to sit down with two of our DY students. So thank you for joining me on the podcast folks. 8 00:00:42,400 --> 00:00:47,200 Yeah, thanks for having us. Thanks for having me. Yeah, so maybe we'll just start, I'll ask you to 9 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:51,520 introduce yourself and maybe say why were you interested in joining this program. So maybe 10 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:58,240 we'll start here. My name's Anorius. The reason why I joined this program was just to take the next 11 00:00:58,240 --> 00:01:05,680 step in my spiritual and faith journey. So I felt like it was a good opportunity for me. And also 12 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:13,120 the last year, I wasn't here so much on Sundays because I had to work to look for tuition and 13 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:21,280 like so I feel like it would help me feel that gap that the what I missed between that time. And so 14 00:01:21,280 --> 00:01:27,120 I felt like it was a very good opportunity for me to get back on track. Yeah, yeah, yeah, 15 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:32,400 really good opportunity to grow deeper in your faith and get more connected to the church, right? 16 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:39,120 Yeah, yeah, that's great. And what about for you? Well, I'm Johanna and I, when I was graduating, 17 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:44,800 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, 18 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:50,800 I guess. So I thought about a couple different things, you know, like trip to Europe or whatever. 19 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:57,120 And I just decided that I wanted to be more involved at church. And so when I heard about the 20 00:01:57,120 --> 00:02:03,520 discipleship program, I applied and I got it and I was like, oh my god, this is great. And I just 21 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:08,400 thought it would be a great opportunity for me to not just gain experience in the ministries I 22 00:02:08,400 --> 00:02:15,840 chose. So like administration and media production, but also to be in church more. Because before I 23 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:21,760 used to find it a lot easier to skip every other Sunday, you know, I wouldn't be here as often. 24 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:28,640 Sure. And that kind of stunted, I think, my growth in faith. But now I'm here all the time. And it's 25 00:02:28,640 --> 00:02:34,720 been really good for helping me feel more connected to God. Yeah, for sure. Yeah. And for both of 26 00:02:34,720 --> 00:02:39,600 you, you were sort of already connected to Trinity in some ways. But obviously through this program, 27 00:02:39,600 --> 00:02:46,080 you've gone a little bit deeper and be able to get more connections. So that's really cool. So 28 00:02:46,640 --> 00:02:52,240 what does this DIY program look like? So in a typical week, what do you do as part of the program? 29 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:56,880 Maybe we'll start with you, Johanna. What does it look like for you? Well, for me, I'm here 30 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:03,440 a lot. I pretty much live here. But if I'm not here in the office, helping out with like scheduling 31 00:03:03,440 --> 00:03:10,640 volunteers or clearing files and things like that, then I'm probably in the sanctuary restocking the 32 00:03:10,640 --> 00:03:16,160 pews with like our connect cards that we have and things like that. Or I'm in the little like 33 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:22,480 media production room, probably working on something on Adobe. And then I also volunteer 34 00:03:22,480 --> 00:03:26,800 here and there in the church. So like we have our community meals, of course, I have volunteered 35 00:03:26,800 --> 00:03:33,440 there or like just a lot of little things at the church that happen. I kind of just float around 36 00:03:33,440 --> 00:03:40,400 and help where I can. So yeah, typical week is really, it really depends. But I try to be here 37 00:03:40,400 --> 00:03:48,160 a lot because I really enjoy it. Okay. Yeah. Great. What about for you, honor? For me, I'm here 38 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:58,000 mostly with media. So on Sundays, I volunteer with the media department and a little bit 39 00:03:58,720 --> 00:04:08,480 in the different departments. I've done volunteering at coffee hour and Christmas in the village. 40 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:17,360 So yeah, a little bit here and there. But basically, we have eight to 10 hours of class. 41 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:25,200 So we do two days of class per week. And then we have eight to 10 hours of volunteer work. So 42 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:31,280 that's what it looks like. Okay. Yeah. And so you mentioned you have, you know, these eight to 43 00:04:31,280 --> 00:04:36,080 10 hours of class time. So what does that typically look like? What are you talking about or learning 44 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:46,880 during that time? In class, there's a lot. It's scripture focused. So so far, we've looked at 45 00:04:46,880 --> 00:04:54,720 discipleship, what it means, how to go about it, prayer, how to pray, the different kinds of prayer. 46 00:04:54,720 --> 00:05:03,440 And also we've looked at hospitality, because of course, being a volunteer, there's a lot of 47 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:10,480 hospitality and a lot of things you do around church, around hospitality, right? So yeah, 48 00:05:10,480 --> 00:05:17,200 that kind of, but most of it is looking at the scripture and how it connects to all these different 49 00:05:17,200 --> 00:05:24,480 aspects of life. Right. Yeah. We also just kind of get to also chat. Like we do a lot of, how it's 50 00:05:24,480 --> 00:05:28,800 typically structured, I guess, is like, we pray at the beginning, we check in with each other. It's 51 00:05:28,800 --> 00:05:35,440 just very like, just almost like a small group, but just our own. And lately, we've been watching 52 00:05:35,440 --> 00:05:40,240 movies too. So I've been really enjoying that, just like some Christian movies and talking about 53 00:05:40,240 --> 00:05:46,640 what we've learned through them. Okay, cool. Yeah, just, Erica is a great teacher. And I've really 54 00:05:46,640 --> 00:05:52,080 learned a lot since starting the program and stuff that I didn't even know I didn't know, 55 00:05:52,080 --> 00:05:56,560 just comes off her tongue like so fast. And I was like, well, I never thought about that ever in 56 00:05:56,560 --> 00:06:02,800 my life. Thank you for saying that. So yeah. Yeah, I think it's really amazing how the classes go. 57 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:09,760 Like she said, you just talk about life, pray, worship and praise sometimes, although 58 00:06:10,800 --> 00:06:15,440 Erica can basically does most of that. Because she sings like, she sings like, what did she call 59 00:06:15,440 --> 00:06:23,840 them? Like, I think yeah. Okay. And I have zero experience with that. Yeah. Okay. So when she's 60 00:06:23,840 --> 00:06:29,920 singing, I'm just like, hmm, this is great. But I never actually joined it. Yeah. That's okay. 61 00:06:29,920 --> 00:06:37,920 Yeah. And, and it's always helpful, like, you know, to talk to her about what's going on and get some 62 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:45,680 spiritual as well as elderly advice on the different aspects of life. So yeah, I think it's, 63 00:06:45,680 --> 00:06:54,000 it's amazing, not just learning about the scripture, but also knowing how to go about with life. So 64 00:06:54,000 --> 00:06:59,280 yeah, I think it's really amazing. It's an amazing program. And Erica is a great teacher. 65 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:04,080 Yeah, she's very supportive. Yeah. That's awesome. So you're learning all these things, 66 00:07:04,080 --> 00:07:08,800 but you also sounds like you're really building a community, right? And you're learning to support 67 00:07:08,800 --> 00:07:14,320 one another and, and to find that help and direction that you need, which is that's super 68 00:07:14,320 --> 00:07:19,920 awesome. You know, that I feel like as we, as we go through life, we like accumulate these different 69 00:07:19,920 --> 00:07:25,120 leaders and mentors in different moments. And so yeah, to have this experience where 70 00:07:25,120 --> 00:07:29,840 Eric Ken becomes like a mentor to you is, is yeah, something that's really good. And it's going to 71 00:07:30,480 --> 00:07:36,880 help you as you move forward for sure. So as you think about all of these different things 72 00:07:36,880 --> 00:07:41,440 that you have learned, these different things that you've been doing, is there one sort of 73 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:49,200 lesson or one key learning that stands out to you? For me, let's see, I will start with the media. 74 00:07:49,200 --> 00:07:56,400 It has been amazing learning stuff out of the class, like in the media room, 75 00:07:57,120 --> 00:08:04,720 learning how to switch cameras, how to drop a shoot. And I have an amazing trainer 76 00:08:06,000 --> 00:08:14,800 in Alex. So it has been amazing. He does, he talks a lot of technical terms, which is crazy 77 00:08:14,800 --> 00:08:20,240 and hard to keep up with, but, but I'm trying my best. And I think I've learned a lot from that. 78 00:08:21,680 --> 00:08:29,520 The next for me this year is editing. So I'm looking forward to that. But I, I, I think 79 00:08:30,080 --> 00:08:35,600 it has been amazing learning a lot in a lot of what goes on in the media room and 80 00:08:36,640 --> 00:08:43,200 learning to drop a shoot and be able to not have him or depend on him, you know, to show me around. 81 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:53,440 Yeah. So that has been amazing. And in class, I would say learning how to pray. I still don't 82 00:08:53,440 --> 00:09:01,920 think it's something I'm good at. But, but the fact that we had a couple of lessons from both 83 00:09:01,920 --> 00:09:09,520 Eric and Pastor Rob. And what I learned from that is that prayer is not like, it's not something 84 00:09:09,520 --> 00:09:17,440 you have to learn to do right. It's just speaking what comes from your heart and just speaking 85 00:09:17,440 --> 00:09:24,640 honestly and authentic, authentically with God and, and just letting him know how you feel. 86 00:09:25,200 --> 00:09:32,480 So I think that was an amazing part of that, that I learned. And I think I'm slowly building that up. 87 00:09:32,480 --> 00:09:39,360 And yeah. Yeah. And I think you're underselling yourself a little bit. I think about your own 88 00:09:39,360 --> 00:09:45,520 growth in our, in our media production to be going from, you know, not, not doing too much to, 89 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:51,120 you know, running our cameras. And now when Alex is away, you run our Sunday morning live 90 00:09:51,120 --> 00:09:56,640 stream, right? Right. And so to be able to learn all of those skills in a few months is amazing. 91 00:09:57,200 --> 00:10:01,200 Thank you. Yeah. And what about for you, Johanna? What are some of the big learnings? 92 00:10:02,160 --> 00:10:07,440 Okay. So in class, Erica, just she has a way of teaching words like, 93 00:10:07,440 --> 00:10:12,720 I don't know, she just says these things and she always ties it back to the Bible. It's like, she 94 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:20,240 has it like back of her hand, like she just knows everything. But it feels like it. And so I just 95 00:10:20,240 --> 00:10:25,760 have a bunch of quotes that she said in class. Like one of them that I really liked was that 96 00:10:25,760 --> 00:10:31,360 it's impossible to come to Christ and not be changed in some way. If you remember that one. 97 00:10:31,360 --> 00:10:34,640 Yeah. And that was like towards the beginning of the program. And I was like, 98 00:10:34,640 --> 00:10:42,880 yeah, but like, it's only been like five months. And I don't know, I really do feel like I have 99 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:48,640 changed. And just yesterday, we were talking about how Christians are differentiated from the world. 100 00:10:48,640 --> 00:10:53,680 And that's such a big topic and such a big question, like, how am I different from the world? 101 00:10:53,680 --> 00:10:59,760 But through talking about it and just everything that I've learned in the past five months, I can 102 00:10:59,760 --> 00:11:05,280 comfortably say that I think I'm on the right path. And so yeah, that's been something that I really 103 00:11:05,280 --> 00:11:12,640 enjoyed learning and discussing in our Bible classes. And for my placement, Adobe Premiere Pro, 104 00:11:12,640 --> 00:11:18,800 it's so like it's so good. And I'm learning so many shortcuts that I didn't know you could do. I 105 00:11:18,800 --> 00:11:23,520 always take the long way because I don't know the buttons. But now I do. And it's just, it makes 106 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:28,720 things a lot faster. So I've been doing a lot of editing for stuff. And like, oh my gosh, I get to 107 00:11:28,720 --> 00:11:35,680 take pictures for like, just random things. And it's just nice to see, I guess, my work being put 108 00:11:35,680 --> 00:11:40,880 on the Instagram page, on the Facebook page. And yeah, I just really enjoy that placement. 109 00:11:40,880 --> 00:11:47,920 Yeah, for sure. Yeah, so both of you have sort of done your placements in the media productions of 110 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:53,040 world and as well as some of the administration stuff. But of course, there are lots of options. 111 00:11:53,600 --> 00:11:57,520 There are lots of different things that are happening in a church. So if there's other 112 00:11:57,520 --> 00:12:02,480 students who are interested in our DIY program, you know, there's children's ministry, there's 113 00:12:02,480 --> 00:12:08,080 hospitality, there's, you said you helped with community meals and things like that. So there's 114 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:14,560 lots of different ministry options for sure. Yeah, a lot. Like when I was first, I guess, 115 00:12:14,560 --> 00:12:18,480 applying for the program, and I was scrolling on the website to see what the options were. It was 116 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:24,400 like paralysis. Like, there's so many choices. Which one do I pick? So I picked two because I 117 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:28,960 couldn't decide on just the one. And I've been enjoying those two. So I'm glad with the choice 118 00:12:28,960 --> 00:12:34,640 I made. Yeah, no, that's great. So you mentioned that Erichan said, you know, it's impossible to 119 00:12:34,640 --> 00:12:41,440 come to Christ and not be changed. And so as each of you sort of reflect on these past five months, 120 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,000 how have you seen your relationship with Christ or your relationship with God 121 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:52,720 change? What sort of growth have you seen? Mostly I'm learning more and more how to pray 122 00:12:52,720 --> 00:13:01,280 authentically. But also, whenever I pray, I've learned to let God and let go. Yeah, that is 123 00:13:01,280 --> 00:13:09,200 something that learning from class, a lot of times through our faith, we want God to do what we want. 124 00:13:09,200 --> 00:13:16,640 Yes. At whatever time we want. Yeah. Right. So I've learned that usually his answer is yes, 125 00:13:16,640 --> 00:13:28,320 no, or not yet. But also to let him take control and his timing is the best. So I'm learning to 126 00:13:29,840 --> 00:13:34,960 depend on him for that and not always, you know, be stressed out about something and 127 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:40,480 want it whenever I want it. Right. Sure. Yeah. And that can be really hard lesson to learn. 128 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:46,080 Yes. And I think it's one of those lessons that we keep learning throughout our whole life, right? 129 00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:50,560 Right. You know, we think we've got to figure it out and then the next big challenge comes and we, 130 00:13:50,560 --> 00:13:58,160 oh wait, no, I'm still trusting in me again. Yeah. Yeah, for sure. I'd say sort of the same, 131 00:13:58,160 --> 00:14:04,080 I guess, because I'm just someone naturally I like to be in control, but I'm a control freak, 132 00:14:04,080 --> 00:14:09,280 you know, people say like, go the flow and I'm like, what time does that start? Because I can't 133 00:14:09,280 --> 00:14:16,160 just let it happen. And so I just, I've been learning to just trust in God more and just rely on him 134 00:14:16,160 --> 00:14:22,480 more versus my own understanding of what's going on. Cause I have no idea what the future looks like 135 00:14:22,480 --> 00:14:28,960 only he does. And Eric, can says, uh, what was it? Push the acronym, pray until something happens. 136 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:37,360 And that's been really good for me because I get to just pray, give it to God and like whatever 137 00:14:37,360 --> 00:14:43,520 happens happens. And I just try to accept the answers that he gives me to my prayers and it's 138 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:47,440 worked out pretty good so far actually. So I'm going to keep doing that. Yeah. No, that's great. 139 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,840 What would you say has been your favorite part of being part of this DY program? 140 00:14:54,480 --> 00:15:00,640 Is there a particular memory that stands out to you or just something that you're continuing to 141 00:15:00,640 --> 00:15:12,400 think about? I'd say the media has been amazing. We have a great team and has been really fun to 142 00:15:13,360 --> 00:15:22,400 interact. And also I remember Christmas in the village that was fun too. Yeah. Yeah. 143 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:30,240 Um, being able to help out and, you know, see all the people come together and interact with 144 00:15:30,240 --> 00:15:38,560 all different people. You learn a lot interacting with different people, especially in church. 145 00:15:38,560 --> 00:15:46,640 Yeah. So I think one is media and then the other one is interacting with people in church. It's 146 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:53,360 amazing. Yeah. It's an amazing feeling. Yeah. Definitely the people part as for like a specific 147 00:15:53,360 --> 00:16:00,240 memory, there's so many, but a more like general thing is I I've been coming to this church for a 148 00:16:00,240 --> 00:16:07,520 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 149 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:13,440 service and you go to coffee hour and then you kind of just go home. But now that I'm here all the time, 150 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:19,920 I get to see people so much more and I get to remember their faces actually. And also remember 151 00:16:19,920 --> 00:16:25,200 their names because I'm more of a faces than names person. And like, but it's also a little bit hard 152 00:16:25,200 --> 00:16:30,080 because, you know, there's only one me. They only have one name to remember. I kind of, there's so 153 00:16:30,080 --> 00:16:34,560 many people I can't remember everyone's names. I'm sorry if I don't say hi to you. I'd probably 154 00:16:34,560 --> 00:16:39,680 just if I were to because I don't know what to say to you. But probably that's what everyone says, 155 00:16:39,680 --> 00:16:47,280 right? Yeah, I feel so much more connected to this congregation because it's like, 156 00:16:47,280 --> 00:16:51,760 I don't know, I'll see someone or even like a freaking like shoppers drug mart. I'll be like, 157 00:16:51,760 --> 00:16:56,880 Oh my God, hi, you know, or just like after service, it'll be someone that I spoke to at 158 00:16:56,880 --> 00:17:02,320 coffee hour the other day, or someone that I volunteered with for like, we had the welcome 159 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:08,960 dinner thing a while ago, like just seeing people and being I don't know, just like friendly with 160 00:17:08,960 --> 00:17:14,960 them. It's just really nice to have. And it's just a nice point of like social interaction that I 161 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:23,200 just get all the time and it's great. Yeah, it gives us this opportunity to build community. You 162 00:17:23,200 --> 00:17:26,960 talked about building community, you know, with with the two of you and Eric and but also you get 163 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:34,960 to build community with the rest of the church to right, which is super cool. Yeah. So we this is 164 00:17:34,960 --> 00:17:39,520 our first year in the DIY program. But of course, it's something that we're continuing and we want 165 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:45,600 to invite more folks to join us in. So if there's someone out there who's listening and thinking 166 00:17:45,600 --> 00:17:54,800 about this DIY this discipleship year program, what might you say to them? Do it. Okay, just 167 00:17:54,800 --> 00:18:01,600 do it. Don't hesitate. Don't overthink it. Just join and you'll have a great time because I 168 00:18:01,600 --> 00:18:06,800 I don't know. Like when I started, I was I had all these thoughts of like, how's the program 169 00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:12,640 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 170 00:18:12,640 --> 00:18:18,880 so many thoughts about like an anxiety is too. But once you just like the only way to do something 171 00:18:18,880 --> 00:18:24,640 is to just do it. The only way to start is to start. So you might not know everything at the 172 00:18:24,640 --> 00:18:30,560 start. I knew a lot of nothing. But afterwards, you get really good. And then you build on that 173 00:18:30,560 --> 00:18:35,360 good until you're great. And then it's like, you leave the program. And you're like, wow, 174 00:18:35,360 --> 00:18:42,080 I actually grew a lot more than I even expected to. And yeah. Anything you want to add to that, 175 00:18:42,080 --> 00:18:49,760 honor? Nope. That's it. Just do it. Yeah, I think it's an amazing program. 176 00:18:52,960 --> 00:18:58,800 We need more students though. So that would that would be more fun. I think. Yeah. But 177 00:18:58,800 --> 00:19:07,680 it's an amazing way to grow spiritually and learn about the a fun way to learn about the 178 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:15,280 scriptures. So yeah, just do it. Yeah. Yeah. Fun way to learn about scriptures to build community 179 00:19:15,280 --> 00:19:21,200 and to learn some like really practical skills. Right. Like learning how to use Adobe Premiere 180 00:19:21,200 --> 00:19:28,560 for all. Yeah. Do video switching and all of these cool things. Yeah. Yeah. Lots, lots to be gained. 181 00:19:28,560 --> 00:19:34,560 Yeah. participating for sure. And so if you are listening and you're interested in learning more 182 00:19:34,560 --> 00:19:40,640 about this discipleship year program, you can check out our website, trinity streetsville.org. 183 00:19:41,280 --> 00:19:46,880 And there will be a link in the video description, the podcast description that will take you 184 00:19:46,880 --> 00:19:52,800 directly to our discipleship year page so that you can learn more and hopefully join us in September. 185 00:19:52,800 --> 00:20:15,440 So we will see you next week.