Duan Ziegelaar
I have always been passionate about sharing Jesus with others as well as being a passionate sports fan. I love watching the Wallabies play and love doing gruelling training sessions (not really). After graduating with a business degree from RMIT I worked as a tax accountant in the Melbourne CBD. I love working with people and being part of a team no matter what the team is doing.
My METRO traineeship has involved preaching, bible study leading, Sunday school teaching, one-to-one’s with other men and personal bible reading and prayer that is more intentional. I have also thoroughly enjoyed all of the other aspects of training and being trained by my trainer.
Through the METRO traineeship I have gained a wealth of knowledge and experience for ministry and about ministry.
The traineeship has actually taught me that there are so many things that I don’t know. It has allowed me to better evaluate my skills in ministry and see where my weaknesses and strengths are. Overall, the traineeship has taught me to think like Jesus, serve like Jesus and live like Jesus.
In the short term future I hope to be trained and equipped for full time ministry at theological college. After that I am hoping to serve God in whatever opportunity that He opens for me. I currently have the heart and passion to serve overseas or in cross cultural ministry. Right now I don’t know the best ministry that I am suited to. But I do know that God in His sovereignty has plans for me that I cannot comprehend.
Robert Koh
My name is Robert. I’m a follower of Jesus, husband of Rebecca and father of Samuel. Before starting my traineeship at Donvale Presbyterian Church, I worked in a law firm.
As part of my traineeship, I preached a couple of times each month. It was challenging to think not just about the meaning of Biblical texts, but the practical implications – for me, and for a variety of different audiences.
I also met a few people from church for one to one Bible reading. It became clear that discipleship is not about laying down the law about how we should live. Instead, it’s about getting alongside people, and discovering together that God’s word tells us to spend our lives finding joy in Jesus Christ.
Another part of my traineeship was being on the youth group leaders’ team. It was a real blessing to see God being about growth in spiritual maturity through it all.
My traineeship have me opportunities to see a wide range of church life, from co-leading small group Bible studies, to accompanying my trainer on pastoral visits, to reading and discussing a bunch of really helpful books.
Overall, METRO has confirmed my dependence on God, and my desire to pursue church ministry as my full time job. So I am planning to study theology at the Presbyterian Theological College next year.
Michelle Buckley
This traineeship hasn’t just grown me in my ministry skills but it had also given me a strong foundation in Bible knowledge, helping me to think theologically about things and better equipping me to serve God in my day-to-day living.
I did my METRO traineeship at Drouin Presbyterian Church in the area of Children’s and Youth Ministry. This has been home church since my late teens and it’s played a huge part in helping me grow as a Christian.
I became a Christian when I was 8 but it wasn’t until I was 17 that I really started to understand what it means to live my life in service of Jesus, who gave his life to save me from my sin and bring me into a restored relationship with God.
I started this traineeship after working at a bank for over 3 years. Serving and training in full time ministry was a huge change for me. In the bank I was always around so many people and always had set tasks and deadlines that were predictable. I quickly found that while you spend a lot of time with people in ministry you also work on your own a lot and have to manage you own time. But after a long while I started to settle in and get into a routine.
My traineeship involved writing and lead Bible studies, meeting with girls one-to-one, helping to organise and lead youth group events, giving talks and devotions, teaching Sunday school, giving kids talks, instructing an SRI class, organising and helping run our youth services, and organising and running our kids school holiday program, as well as doing the set METRO curriculum.
My aim for the future is to be an intentional Christian in the workplace, to continue serving in our church by helping coordinate our youth ministry, and to be doing what I can to share the gospel with my non-Christian friends.
This traineeship has been the hardest but most rewarding experience of my life. Whether I end up doing theological training and/or full time ministry in the future or not, the things that I have gained are of great eternal benefit and I am so grateful to have had this opportunity.
Matt Deroon
My time as a METRO Trainee has been an encouraging, joyous and challenging experience. It has provided me with a greater understanding and passion for discipleship and evangelism.
Throughout these two years I have had the joy of doing ministry full-time. I have been able to develop ministry skills such as preaching, service leading, mentoring, training, bible study leading and more.
The most significant way I have grown and been challenged is with the importance of relying on a sovereign God in the midst of doing ministry as a flawed human. Before I began the Traineeship it was a very difficult decision to resign from my job as a primary school teacher. Thinking back over my decision and knowing what I have been able to do and be a part of has made me ever grateful for these two years.