METRO traineeships help people determine if God might be equipping and calling them to serve Him in full time gospel ministry in the future, and is a commitment to obey Jesus’ command to “make disciples.”
Trainees will be intentionally discipled by trainers experienced in gospel ministry. The traineeship usually involves a mix of practical ministry experience, along with some study to support the growth of the trainee. Depending on the trainee, their training may have a particular focus in the areas of pastoral, university, children's, youth or women's ministry.
All METRO trainees are encouraged to examine and reflect on Jesus' approach to ministry as they develop in three strands of training:
- Being Like Jesus — Developing of personal godliness through the strengthening of faith by the encouragement of daily Bible reading and prayer. There is also specific attention given to personal evangelism and family life.
- Thinking Like Jesus — Promoting Biblical thinking through reading the Bible, helpful books and scholarly articles. Trainees will be set essential reading that prepares them for college, stimulates their thinking in relation to life & ministry, and equips them to teach others.
- Serving Like Jesus — Introducing and developing thinking and skills in certain core areas of gospel ministry, as well as some elective areas. Fundamental to the progress made, will be the transition of the trainee into a trainer role as they pass on what they have learnt to another person – learning through teaching others.
These ministry training opportunities are ideally suited for people moving towards gospel ministry roles such as church pastors, youth ministry, women's ministry or children's ministry. It is expected that if the apprentice eventually goes to theological college and resides in Victoria at the time, that strong consideration will be given to the Presbyterian Theological College as their training college.
Would you like an opportunity to “test drive” METRO - to see how it fits with your situation without leaving your work/study?
You can get a taste of METRO by meeting with a trainer, committing to a ministry and beginning to be equipped for ministry at a deeper level. This is called a prep year and it will allow you to taste something of METRO to help determine whether you should take that next step.
To do a prep year the trainee needs a trusted trainer or mentor. The trainee should start meeting one-to-one on a regular basis with their trainer to read the Bible and pray together. There is no better way to grow a training relationship. This meeting one-to-one forms the basic shape of any METRO training experience.
During the prep year some thought should be given to spending time on each strand.
Reading also forms an important part of your training in METRO. As such, we recommend that in a METRO prep year the trainee and trainer work through the two introductory ministry papers and the trainee read a book each term with their trainer.
Pathways & Funding
MTS bring a great deal of experience and also administrative advantages in helping churches and individuals undertaking ministry apprenticeships. One of the benefits in doing our traineeships through MTS means that there is the potential in getting tax deductibility for those financially supporting apprentices. MTS apprenticeships also provide a number of different ministry pathways that can be understood here.
The METRO Committee will commit $5000 per year to each approved trainee to help churches and individuals seeking to make disciples for Jesus.
Application Process
Save the date! METRO Orientation will be held on Saturday November 15th, 2025.
- Available Apprenticeship Notice Form. Select "METRO MTS" under "Apprenticeship Type." This must be completed by the church before other forms are submitted.
- Apprentice Application Form. Select "METRO MTS" under "Apprenticeship Type."
- Trainer Application Form. Select "METRO MTS" under "Apprenticeship Type."
- Ensure your session clerk receives the Session Information document attached at the top of this page and sends METRO the minutes extract.
Is your church looking for a trainee to join your team, but don’t have anyone currently interested in your congregation?
The session may want to consider filling out an available apprenticeship application form, expressing your church or ministry’s intention to offer a traineeship. This list is publicly accessible here, and gives potential trainees currently worshipping elsewhere an opportunity to apply to your church.
When completing the form, select the "METRO MTS" option in the "Apprenticeship Type" menu.