Faith, Friends, and Finding Your Way: Discipleship Year | Trinity Talks Podcast

Hello everyone and welcome to this week's episode

of Trinity Talks. My name is Kyla and today I

have a full house of students who are part of

our Discipleship Year program at Trinity, which

is this gap year program for those who are interested

in just taking a year to dive into scripture,

to learn some practical skills and what it means

to work and to volunteer in a church and really

grow in faith and community together. And so

I am excited to hear from all of these students

about their experience so far just started in

september um so we're just a few months into

this and have lots more to look forward to um

but yeah excited to hear about your guys's journey

so far um so maybe we'll start with some introductions

and i'll start over here do you want to just

introduce yourself and say what made you interested

in being part of this program yeah absolutely

so i'm rylan and uh it started back um in the

spring actually i I'm from a different background,

a different church background. And for Ash Wednesday,

my dad and I visited this church and really just

loved the service. And like, I just really experienced

the presence of God here. And meeting Pastor

Robbins, talking to him, basically, I'm actually

not in a gap year. I'm in my second year of Bible

college. And part of my college, we have, these

placements that we do every semester and every

year. So I had asked him, I said, Hey, I'm, I'm

a Pentecostal, but would you have me at your

church to learn from you guys? And, and he was

open to it. We met, we kept talking and yeah,

there were a few things that worked out. And

one of them, I'd say like the main one was this

discipleship year program that he said, like

this, this seems like the perfect thing to just

jump into. So I honestly did not know much of

what to expect, but I'm, I'll save my thoughts

for later, but I'm, I was pleasantly surprised.

Okay. Okay. Awesome. Yeah. You want to go ahead?

Yeah. Um, so my name is Naraya and, um, the first

time actually I entered this church was sometime

in February I was visiting. Uh, and then I came

in because one, uh, one of the members of the

congregation He's known as James here, but I

know him as Richard. He introduced me and he

was like, hey, why don't you go check out this

church? And I was like, OK, cool. And then when

I did, I got to talk to Rob and a few other members

as well. And I remember praying, God, I can feel

your presence here. Like, I would love to be

a part of a church like this. And then a few

months later, Rob reached out saying, hey, there's

a DIY program. Would you like to be part of it?

And one of the main prayers I had was. about

being part of a community and like being able

to serve because ever since I surrendered my

life to Christ, it felt like very alone. I didn't

have anybody to like lean on. And then it just,

well, it became like a domino effect and God

brought me here. Okay. Okay. Very cool. Awesome.

Yeah, go ahead. My name is Daniel. I've been

a member of Trinity Church for about over a year

now. I was taking my year off, a gap year before

starting university. And I was curious to learn

more about Christianity, its customs, practices,

traditions, when Rob recommended me the discipleship

year program. So here I am. Okay, awesome. Yeah.

Hi, my name is Christabel and I've been going

to Trinity for like a year or two now. So actually

Rob reached out and he was like, oh, we have

a DUI program. But beforehand, I already knew

about it because I had some friends or I had

a friend who was already in the program that

year. And she was like, yeah, it's good. I should

definitely go for it because I was planning on

taking a gap year. And yeah, so I ended up signing

up. I talked to my mom about it. I prayed a little

about it. And I was like, yeah. I'm here right

now. Okay, yeah, very cool. Yeah, it's a need

to hear all of these different entry points,

right? Like, you know, whether you're sort of

coming to Trinity for the first time and not

really sure, you know, you've been around a little

while. It's, yeah, this sort of leaning into

faith and community together. That's really cool.

Yeah, so what does the Discipleship Year program

look like? What do you do on a regular basis?

So I know right now you're gathering on Thursdays

together. So what does that look like? Yeah,

it looks like, uh, well, like how Ryland likes

to call it is a mini Sabbath in the mornings.

So we do gather together. We do a little bit

of worship, a little bit of prayer, uh, before

we jump into what we want to learn for the, like,

there's a topic that we cover for the week. Uh,

and it, we do like the, um, uh, what's the course

of practicing the Sabbath, I guess. Yeah. It's

a practicing the way. And then we talk a little

bit of the Sabbath and everything and how, what

that looks like and what, basically kind of disciples

us into understanding how to walk with Christ

and be with Christ. Okay. Yeah. Very cool. Yeah.

So what are some of the different topics that

you guys are talking about and learning about

together? Yeah. So as I said, yeah, right now

it's the Sabbath, which is like. One of my favorites.

I love the Sabbath. I'm a strong advocate. Um,

not because I'm super spiritual because it's,

it's literally a lifeline for me. If I don't

rest, it's just, things don't go well. Um, but

yeah, I mean, we, so the first one, yeah, practicing

the way, so there's a book and then there's also

this course that we're doing. Uh, there's like

so much that, uh, John Mark Comer has just for

free. Um, if you don't buy the book or if you

do. Uh, but yeah, then there, we finished with

the scripture practice. So that was just learning.

It's the whole thing is kind of just like learning,

um, in community together, like the basics of,

of what it means to follow Christ from, but from

so many years, like looking from the early church

to today, all these different traditions and

perspectives. So it's like, it feels like just

like a treasure chest of wisdom and, um, like

just, yeah, it's, I'd say most of what it is.

we have this outline, but it's, it's really just

showing up together and doing things together,

which sounds so simple, but it's, it is night

and day difference when you're doing it. Like

I said, like I can just say for the first year

or so of me following Christ, like a lot of these

things I figured out with God, with my dad walked

me through a lot of them, but like, it's so different.

Sure. So different. Even the basics of the faith,

just you start to realize how deep they are and

how rich they are when you have people alongside

you. Sure. For sure. Yeah. Yeah. So that's sort

of what you're doing together Thursday mornings

and then Thursday afternoons and sort of on Sunday

mornings. Like what does that look like for you

folks? In the afternoons, we get our ministry

placements. I think we rotate every four weeks,

right? Sounds about right. Four different ministries,

tech, worship, kids ministry, and online outreach.

Right? Got it right. It's great. Personally,

I get to experience how it feels working in all

these different environments and contributing

to different parts of the church. How this whole...

How these ministries work in synergy to kind

of to make the church work, to sort of make it

alive, if you will. And I'm enjoying that. Yeah,

awesome. Yeah, it's also a pretty nice way to

like help the community or like put yourself

in there. Because along the line, like I just

finished like two. placements now and so far

it's like opened my eyes to see like how actually

the church comes together like the importance

of each role and every person and what they're

doing when they come early in the morning to

church like most of these things we just I just

come to church and like oh it's nice that you're

doing this but now like I really understand like

it takes effort and it's like kind of like a

way of saying like the love for the community,

love for church, love for Jesus. Like we're ready

to put up like our mornings and like just come

and help and like just get to know each other

and follow along and everything. Yeah. Yeah.

You get to see church from a whole other angle,

right? Yeah. Yeah, for sure. So in the midst

of all of this, obviously this is a year for

you to learn and to grow. So what have been some

of your biggest learnings so far? Oh, a lot.

I don't think we can pinpoint one specific thing.

But what's the first thing that comes out to

you? The importance of rest, I guess, because

right now we're in the middle of the topic. But

it's only because we're in such a culture and

a pace of work lifestyle where it's like everything's

so fast. And we're all just trying to chase that

dopamine kind of thing. and right now we're like

okay we're understanding how we can implement

that and like navigate our day -to -day and like

make sure that we do have that rest or like look

forward to that how do we prepare for that and

that that has like really made me understand

the importance of slowing down and intentionality

and and of course even like the joy and the delight

of being in that dress sure yeah this is like

so many parts also for me it's like um i started

like habits now like meditation like scripture

reading it's like most of these things i wouldn't

normally do but now that i've seen like oh it's

like a fun it's like a good way to like apprenticeship

with god in a way and see like you can like normal

lives i've seen like my life improving like i'm

doing better at some things now like i'm actually

finding strength to do some things and like the

days i take off rest and like i have my sabbath

it's also nice to like just feel connected with

one and like just you and god in your own space

and you're talking to him and it's fun to like

also like we also learned importance of like

community how it's important to gather as one

and like just God is one talk is talk all together

and like just understand where our faith is leading

us to at the end of the day yeah yeah for sure

uh my big learning was even the mere fact that

there are so many different practices in Christianity

that I uh previously was not even aware of for

example the many times mentioned Sabbath um the

scripture practice how many how many of them

are in total like about nine yeah about nine

okay um so that's definitely quite eye -opening

for me that i was totally not aware of that and

i think it for me personally it's very curious

to dive in deeper into the christianity and learn

about that as opposed to um just you know just

checking things off the checks like i'm going

to church check um i do something else check

right this is a more of a of an opportunity to

um open the heart more to to the christianity

and to um to the practices that underlie it sure

yeah and like bring your whole self into it right

not just yeah like you said not just like oh

i did it done but like seeing yeah how it it

requires more of you and and like you said christabel

that it sort of transforms in your relationship

with God and yourself as well. Yeah. Yeah. If

I could, I would love to add on to that. That's,

it's so, there's so many good points, but yeah,

like the checklist thing is a big one for me.

Um, I think I'm very prone to like kind of seeing

my relationship with God as these things that

we have, I have to do to like, um, yeah, to,

to measure up. But it's like, um, it, it, it's

something I've really learned from this program.

It's not treating these disciplines as the end,

but like a means to an end that the point is

always God. I'm loving God. I'm loving others

is like basically, basically it. And it's just,

it's been for me and I'm sure for many others,

it's, it's helped me. be less intimidated with

the idea of these disciplines and habits and

yeah instead of seeing them as this whole list

like this overwhelming it's actually breaking

them down and seeing like look some of these

are gonna work better for some people sure less

for others um but yeah that's been big and just

just one other thing has been on my mind it's

like I've really really learned how much I have

to learn from other people. Like, and I, I know

it's like, it's the right thing to say like,

Oh yeah, we all got to learn from each other.

But like, like really it's, it's been humbling.

Like honestly, we're, we're all at a relatively

the same like stage of life. Um, and like, yeah,

just, yeah, just our different perspectives and

where we're coming from. Like it's, it's, it's

mind blowing when we, we catch ourself in our

pride and just say like, Hey, I'm actually going

to humble myself and listen. And like, pretend

maybe this person has something helpful to say

and then it's like wow that's that's literally

what i've been that's answered a question i've

had for months like sure i think yeah that's

been big for me yeah yeah yeah for sure yeah

yeah that's a lot of really good really cool

learning lots of new sort of life transforming

i think in some ways right yeah because it's

like i mean we've all come from such different

um walks right and so to like finally like be

together and like kind of reprogram our brains

to understanding oh this is how it is it's not

what we thought it was sure right which is which

is very like it changes a lot of things for all

of us personally yeah for sure yeah and it's

kind of like a big thing for me too because i'm

normally a person who like i like being by myself

like i really didn't think that oh i'd need to

like talk to people or something like that because

i'm more of like a i want to say inverted person

like kind of like just in me and then just going

through all this i kind of say like the importance

of like meeting other people it's important it's

just as important as listening to yourself too

and like it kind of helps me in that position

of like oh i'm now feeling a little more better

when i'm with a group of people sure so yeah

that's amazing yeah totally So when you think

about your relationship with God, how has being

part of this program for the last few months

transformed that or enriched that in some ways?

Yeah, what has that looked like for you folks?

I know, Christabel, you already sort of talked

about this idea of like apprenticing with God

and just thinking about that relationship differently.

Yeah. Also, it kind of like my relationship with

God now, it's more of a, it's not more of a,

oh, I have to do this thing because, oh, I'm

Christian. I just have to do it. Like it's an

obligation. But now it feels more like something

I want to do. Like I naturally feel like I should

do, like I should at least get time to like talk

to him, meditate, pray, you know, as like. me

alone or with a group of people it's also like

held me in like knowing what's important and

having like a stronger faith in like god it's

god himself and it's just great all around because

i feel more connected spiritually physically

emotionally and it's keep like it keeps me grounded

especially now and like i'm about to go to university

it's like this is going to be a little big change

for everything so it's like i needed this relationship

to be like to grow stronger in me yeah yeah for

sure I think it's also like, I did mention that

most of my Christian journey was very alone.

And so being finally like vulnerable with others

who also want to grow and enjoy God and the Christian

walk, right, has been super enriching, super

enriching. And I feel like I'm finally somewhere

like I can belong, right? Uh, and also definitely

a place where I can finally serve because I have

all this, this inept need to serve and like love

and be growing together. And so now that it's

there, I'm like, okay, I want to enjoy it a lot

more. And I am a lot more grateful than before.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I don't want to sound like

a broken record, but like the, the community

thing that it's just like. the idea in the Bible

of the body of Christ has become more and more

alive to me. And I feel like for so long, I just

didn't see, uh, I didn't see community done super,

super well in the church. Like, um, this is not

one particular church's fault. It's just like

kind of the age where, and they were so individualistic

and like my faith, my spirituality. But, uh,

I, I don't know how exactly to explain it, but,

um, there's a lot of things like, obviously the

Lord will teach us on our own learning with him,

just reading his word and stuff. But, um, there

is a big difference when we come together as

the body of Christ, that whatever it means, like

the, he's just here in the, in a unique way.

It's like, this is how it's meant to be. Like

Jesus taught, he, he taught 12 disciples. Like

he did this in a group. And I just think it's,

it's just something about it feels so right.

And it's, it's something. Yeah. I don't know.

I, I can't exactly explain it, but another thing

it's like the difference between, um, something

my dad taught me, but it's really come alive

in this, this, this program. It's like the difference

between when Jesus says, come to me, you who

are weary and burdened. He says, um, he said,

come learn from me. It's like the difference

between learning about, you know, you can show

up on Sunday at a sermon, you learn about him,

but. I think when we come together, we learn

from him and I don't know why that is, but I

don't know if you guys know what I mean. It's

different. And, and a lot of that goes to Libby's

leadership. She's done a great job. And through

her, like, I think we are learning from her,

but also from, from the Lord. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. There's something about creating that space.

Like Christ comes and fills in the space in between

all of you. Right. Like, like in the, like, okay,

we're going to come together and like talk about

Jesus, but. through our worship, through our

prayer, through our conversation, we're also

inviting Jesus into it, right? Sorry, but it

reminds me of this one passage that says, when

two or more are gathered in my presence, I am

there. So it kind of like emphasizes that when

you come to learn, not just about him, but you're

like, your intention is, oh, I'm going to open

my heart to him. It's like, and that moment in

that presence, it's like, he's there, you're

learning from him. And like, he's using like

our teacher Libby, she's amazing. He's using

her to like, talk to each and every one of us

like we all here we're all hearing the same things

but in our heart we're all feeling it differently

like it's filling up spot like different spots

for us like where we needed to be and so yeah

it's like really amazing yeah yeah true and every

like thursday somehow we always feel like the

holy spirit just kind of like leading us through

it and then we're all like sitting there going

like wow god just did that which is really nice

yeah that's awesome Yeah. What about for you,

Daniel, when you think about like your relationship

with God, how has that been impacted through

this program so far? Oh, it definitely made me

know more about God. Um, we naturally want to

know more about people who loves us, who love

us and God loves us. So why wouldn't we want

to learn more about him? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For

sure. For sure. What about your other relationships,

like relationships with friends or family or

even like your own relationship with yourself?

How has that been impacted through this program

so far? You think about what that looks like?

I know that there's probably this sense of being

in community together that obviously like you

four didn't know each other before this, really.

So there's that introduction of new relationships.

Yeah. What's, what's that been like? I think

it was family specifically, like once they got

to know that, okay, I made the decision to join

the DY program, they were like, oh, okay, you

have a community, you'll be fine. Right. But

as the weeks progressed and I would talk to them

about like, hey, this is what I learned. Oh,

then, you know, we kind of like share scripture

together. And I can see that, you know, with

the DY program pouring into me a lot, it's been

I'm able to pour out a lot more to my family,

my friends, and even my coworkers at my work.

And that joy is kind of contagious. Sure. And

that, that need to like learn and grow is also

very contagious. And like, Oh, okay. We want

to like learn a little more. We want to know

what you learned this week. Right. And so, and

then, and then like my parents, for instance,

they've kind of had that seep into their own

spiritual life as well. And it's kind of like

the butterfly effect, right? And I can see it

happen to my best friends as well because I'm

being poured into spiritually. And I see that

even with my parents. So it's very fulfilling

and enriching. Yeah, that's awesome. I think

one of the biggest things I think I'm learning

that's helped a lot of my relationships is just

learning the power of confession. And I don't

just mean like, Like we're not coming here confessing

our deepest, darkest secrets or anything, but

you know, there's, there's, as we're talking

about Jesus, I mean, we're always going to be

like, oh yeah, I'm not him. You know, we see

all the ways we fall short inevitably, but just,

you know, confessing kind of regular sin and,

and also, but also, I mean like confessing weakness

and just confessing like this is where I'm at.

Um, it's not always just about confessing sin.

It's like this, just being vulnerable with each

other. Yeah, exactly. Just sharing, like, exactly.

Um, sharing like who you are and where you're

at. Um, it's really powerful. And it's, it, I

think it's, it's often like we, there's maybe

some pressure to either not speak up about where

we're at or. not maybe not ask questions that

we might think like they're dumb questions, but

like, I just think again, going back to some

of the foundations of the faith and we're all

having these things come up and like, we're just,

I just feel like, I don't know if you guys would

agree. Like it feels just so like real, like

we're not trying to put on an act for anybody.

That idea has really helped. Like it's important.

It's overflowed into my other relationships where

like I'm trying more and more to just, Just realize,

yeah, like I can just be honest with where I'm

at and encourage others to do the same, like

almost take the lead. Sure. Yeah. Yeah. Because

I think there's a lot of spaces, a lot of people

who are afraid to be vulnerable and like feel

like they can't be honest or authentic. And so

when someone takes that step and it it opens

up space for other people to be like, oh. Yeah.

Nobody shot Ryland down. So I guess, I guess

it's okay for us to like be real here. I see

it as like a, a bridge almost. Cause you know,

Jesus says like, come like that's the phrase,

like come, come as you are. Like a lot, I think

a lot of people, especially outside of the church,

but even sometimes maybe who are a part of the

church, but feel outcasted. It's like, they just

don't know how to get from where they are to

like. the ideal spiritual like sure you know

we're never gonna reach that in this life but

like still I I see it yeah exactly like you said

it's it's kind of like a welcoming hand to say

hey like there's more for you like there's more

there is this abundant life and and freedom yeah

yeah also for me like I'd like to say like relationship

wise it's like me personally it's like helped

me like most days feels like filler days like

you're just going by and then everything feels

slow and drowsy but recently like i've been like

every day feels like something important has

happened like just me being there like even if

nothing greatly important happened i just feel

like each day has so much value to it now now

that like relationship with myself it's like

i can feel like i'm being more like mentally

healthy like i'm more healthy with myself now

sure i know how to like value my emotions now

and i know when to like just stop for a minute

i know when to take a breather when like i should

know when things are getting a little bit overwhelming

i know how to handle situations with that i could

just stop you know talk or like read or something

and then it's like it's brought me to a place

where i'm like wow life is actually great guys

it's amazing actually yeah yeah yeah yeah for

sure yeah anything you wanted to add to that

to neil i would agree with christabel that um

emotions have definitely become much more structured

and managed personally for me um i think that's

great yeah yeah for sure Um, so we've talked

about all of this learning, like for yourselves

and for like your, your faith and your spirituality.

What about like practical learnings? Like the

things that you're doing in your ministry, what,

what have you been doing? What have you been

learning in, in those ministry placements? Each

ministry has like a lot. And I know like I've

throughout my walk of like through education

and stuff, I've learned a lot of things. but

to finally kind of implement them, use them and

then kind of like nurture it into getting something

out of it. It's so nice. So for instance, my

first placement was with the children's ministry

and I've worked with kids before, but to finally

talk to them about God's love and then sit down

and make it like. understandable and as simple

as it is because the gospel is just that simple

it's so nice and then they're like oh okay we

understand and like you know they're also trying

to pay attention and like play the games whatever

it is but we're also like understanding the bible

together in the simplest forms it's so nice and

then the same thing with the tech team and i

know with the tech team it was like i got to

learn like a lot of um the production side of

it because I've always done post -production.

Okay. So to finally like be behind the camera

and be like, okay, this is how I could do it.

And like, you know, what's keen? How is this?

That's so cool. And then the last one right now,

I'm on the worship team. I did get to do like

a lot of readings. I did get to be in the practice

with them as well. Like they have Thursday evenings

as practice. And seeing the amount of effort

and then the quality that they're trying to bring

back into the church and show it to God because

they're like, okay, God gave us this. So we're

giving this quality back. I love that. I love

that so much. Yeah. I think you were also doing

some camera stuff. Yeah, for me, like each placement

has like taught me something valuable, like for

like the tech, because I started off with the

tech. It kind of taught me like the importance

of each person and how it's important that as

each person is walking together, like every how

everything comes together, like the importance

of like teamwork, the importance of like just

being there and like having better communication

because communication is important. We have to

tell each other what to do. We have to like receive

back feedback. And it's like. that's taught me

like basically community teamwork, how that's

important. Then for like, cause I just finished,

like I was doing the outreach too. Kind of showed

me like how it's important, like getting information

out there to like other people and how it's like,

not just in the church where we have to think

outside too. We have to know, like understand

that, Oh, we're trying to reach out to like everyone,

the gospels for everyone. Right. And it's like,

It's just amazing to see that and like to participate

in that. It's like truly amazing. And now I'm

with the kids, learned like patience. For sure.

We'll do that. Exactly. And it's just. so much

how you can see this little kids and when they're

teaching about god and how like they're so into

the lesson like into the lesson like you can

see like the pure innocence in them and how they're

like really excited to like know more about god

they're like asking questions they're like oh

he did this he did that and it's like they're

so happy it's like trying to meet up with like

it's trying to like show them how important god

is and in that moment you also remember what

it was like as a kid sure like hearing about

this great miracles god did and like the stories

and you're like oh this was the importance back

then now that i'm teaching it i fully understand

what i'm teaching sure so like yeah all together

it's like amazing really yeah yeah for sure yeah

what about for you daniel what's you've been

learning and doing um from reading the scripture

to hang out with the kids and teaching them lessons

uh we're doing pretty much Everything. The technical

side of the things, the production part, as Naraya

mentioned, teaching the children, spreading the

gospel, connecting with people outside of the

church and those who watch us online. Every ministry

has its own thing. And as I mentioned previously,

the four ministries work synergetically to...

to bring life into the church. And the discipleship

here has shown me and keeps showing me all these

different parts of the church system and how

we can contribute in each part to keep it working.

Yeah, yeah. And I like that, like synergistically,

like they all work together and build on each

other. Yeah. Yeah. Well, for you, Riley, I know

you've been doing a lot of work in youth ministry,

right? Yeah. So I'm a bit of a outsider here.

No, not an outsider. So I got to do two placements,

one with Kyla and then one with Libby as well,

who does the music. But then I actually kind

of opted out of this portion just because I'm

also, yeah, like I said, I'm also a full -time

student. So that's a lot. And I'm also, yeah,

I am also a co -youth director here. So I, Mia

and I, we lead youth every Friday evening and

then Sundays as well. After service, we, well,

after the message, we talk about it with the

youth. Yeah. But I, it's, it really is. Yeah.

That's been like amazing. I mean, talk about

like, I guess, nostalgia. I'm talking to them

and I'm just like, wow. Like I was once. like

you guys. And it's just, yeah, it's, it's crazy

how much we have, like how much opportunity we

have to, to love them and push them in the right

direction when they're so young, right. Their

minds are in hearts are so malleable and, and,

um, there's so many, the world is working in

the opposite direction, but yeah, it's, so there's

that. And it's also, I, I really. I love that

we've done this. Um, even, even if I only got

to do about half of it because it's, it, it's

totally like you guys are saying it's, it's all

works together to make like you show up on a

Sunday morning. Um, and you'll see, you know,

the, the production, everything, and then the

message and we take communion, but to see all

the stuff that goes into that, that sure hours,

the hours and the, the heart and the soul that's,

that's poured into it. Um, it just helps you

realize like, yeah, it's, you know, what's the

scripture say? Like the hand can't save the foot.

I don't need you. Like it, it actually, we actually

need each other and we need every single member.

So I hope like what it's been for me is an encouragement

and I hope it is for, for all of us that like

every member of the body is so precious and every

person who maybe does show up on a Sunday and

feels like, Oh, I want to serve, but I, I don't

have anything to give. It's like, that's a lie

from the enemy. Like come forward and, Like you,

you've been given a gift to give back to the

church, right. To build up. So it's really beautiful

how, um, we had a ministry fair like a month

or two ago where there's just, there's so many

different ways that you can serve. Yeah. Um,

which I love. So yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. For

sure. Yeah. So when you think about these last

few months, is there one highlight that stands

out to you? And one thing that's like, ah, this

has been my favorite part of this program so

far. One favorite part? Okay, let's start with

one. See where we go. Anyone else can answer.

I have to think about where I can go. Well, for

me, I'd probably say the whole teaching about

Sabbath. Because I've heard about it before.

I've heard what it is. I know what it is. But

now that I'm actually... They're teaching us

about it and its importance. And they're going

into such a great depth where it shows you that...

This isn't just spiritually beneficial, which

is nice, but it's also physically beneficial.

Like if you do this, it's like you're finding

something in yourself that you're like, oh, this

is amazing. I like this. I like the feeling of

like finally taking a break. And sometimes you

don't even realize you actually need a break.

And then when you do it, you're like, oh, I guess

I was only feeling anxious and stressed because

of like I had so much going on. But now like

I have. I've started to take a day to like not

do anything and just be where I am. It's like,

oh, now I know what I did wrong. I know where

like this emotion is coming from. I know how

to regulate it properly. And it's like, it shows

you just how much, because even God himself had

a Sabbath, like after he created the word and

everything, like it shows you like. I just needed

to take a break with God. I just need to take

a break with my family. I just need to take a

break with community, with myself. Like it's

just so important. And I think that's a very

good key for me now and like a good highlight

for me, especially most of us are like about

to be students or we are students. It's like

hard to like navigate resting and then study

and everything. So it's really just nice to know

that you should take a break. it's important

like for you physically mentally emotionally

just take that break speak to god speak to yourself

know what you really want to do know where the

problem is and then just let it go from there

yeah for sure the learning environment and the

environment the environment of practicing all

the christianity customs in uh in a small group

is certainly unmatched um it is we are Certainly

becoming more vulnerable with each other as we

progress throughout our studies, our ministry

placements. We become closer to ourselves and

to God and to each other. And that's certainly

one of the biggest advantages I find of doing

this. As small groups are kind of more, what's

the word for it? Close -knit? Yeah, that's certainly

more of a closed -knit community rather than

a big stage and a big crowd of people. Yeah,

for sure. You ready? Go ahead, Ryland. Go ahead,

go ahead. I'm going to go very specific. Like,

yeah, I mean, I keep talking all day about this,

but the scripture practice, the first, like,

spiritual discipline. Um, we did, it's weird

even calling it that it's, it was such a, such

a gift to me. Um, we, we talked about, it was

read, um, meditate, study and memorize. So for

memorize, um, like I'm someone, I, I, I have

a good memory when I'm interested in something.

If I'm not interested, it's hard to remember

things. But so I, I, I've never struggled too

much with, um, memorizing scripture, but I, I,

most of the time it's just, I remember something

I read, but trying to stop and memorize something

has, to me, it's just always felt like, oh, that's

just, that's so like, it's just felt off to me.

Like, I'm just going to sit here and say something

over. But the way that we've been taught to do

it is like, he describes it as like, John Mark

Homer describes it as, as like chewing on something,

like slowly, as opposed to just like, like I

do when I eat, I just eat so fast. But taking

your time. So I this just a specific practice

I'll share briefly. It was to pick a passage

of scripture to memorize. And then week by week,

you choose two verses per week. And like, I just

need to say this. I was so like, I was almost

like insulted. I can memorize more than that.

But it's actually so beautiful what God has done.

I chose Psalm 139 to try to do the whole thing.

But like just these, like you're just memorizing

a few verses at a time and like just saying them

over and over again, the amount that God has

shown me and just that, like just saying those

over and over in my head and throughout the day,

it's been like the most enriching thing in my

life, in my spiritual life in general, like in

so long. So, yeah. And there's a lot of stuff

like that that we're learning here where we're

just, it's very practical, but you have no idea

what's waiting on the other side until you just

like, just go for it. Yeah. Jump on in. To add

on kind of like about the chewing scripture in

a way, it just made me think about a passage,

which will help me concise everything that I

want to say. you know, the part where Jesus goes

like, Oh, if a son asked the father for bread,

which father would give them a stone? Right.

Right. And so it's like, I'm in this DIY program.

I'm finally understanding how to not like his

perspective, like father's perspective. but also

how to delight in the fact that he wants to bless

us so much. Yeah. And also like how to enjoy

his presence a lot more and just, yeah, just

that part. I'm just going to leave that as that.

That's the passage in that. No, that's beautiful.

Yeah. Thank you. Yeah, this is so great to like

hear all of these different thoughts and like

glean all of these little bits of learning and

like, yeah, just to see how God is obviously

at work in each of your lives and in this ministry.

So if there's folks who are watching or listening

and thinking, well, I want to do that or. Maybe

there's folks who are listening and thinking,

well, that sounds cool for that. What would you

want to say to folks to sort of encourage them

to think about this a little more? Just do it.

Yeah, Nike. I feel like at first it might seem,

oh, it feels, oh, it's nice. I'm sure it's nice

to have people to communicate with. And they're

probably like, oh, but maybe I don't have time

for it. My advice would be like, it's worth it

trust me like there's this thing we learned um

anamkara something like that called a soul friend

where i feel like if you just do it you will

find your soul friend you will find your soul

people actually where you can just like this

like they're going to lead you through a lot

of things like they're going to help you out

through like maybe it's something you're going

through financially emotionally like something

you just want you just need to get it out there

they're like these people are going to help you

like they're going to be there they're going

to have your back when you stumble a little bit

they're going to tell you oh you stumbled we're

going to push you back up again and it's just

a great way to like find faith because in a in

the world we're leaving it now it's like so easy

to like have your fate like wither away slowly

but like in this setting group setting we're

in right now it's like kind of like watering

that plant to like help you grow more and it's

just really nice like just do it like just come

do it try it out and see for yourself like it's

amazing yeah give it a try you miss all the shots

you don't take well there you go just go for

it there you go see for yourself Cool. Well,

thank you so much, folks. This has been a really

encouraging conversation and really great to

just sort of get to know each of you a little

bit better. Yeah, and so grateful for your stories,

for your authenticity and vulnerability here.

And thank you for tuning in to this week's episode

of Trinity Talks. I hope that you are also able

to find spaces of community where you can learn

to follow Christ together. And I would love if

you find that here with us at Trinity, whether

you are part of a life group here, part of our

congregation, or if you are 18 to 25 and want

to try this program as well, you can check out

the Discipleship Year program on our website.

And we'd love to get in touch with you about

that. And we will see you again next week.