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March
2004 http://www.burwoodatfive.com/simon Issue 2
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Hi Everyone,
I checked the calendar and realized that 3 whole
months had passed since I started training for ministry!
The first few weeks went by quite slowly but things
have picked up as of late and now the time seems to be a blur of activity
with little time to spare.
I just want to take the time in this newsletter to
thank all of you for your generous support in thought, word, deed and
prayer. So many of you have kept me going by wanting to catch up, sharing
your thoughts on things I’ve written online, showing an interest and
concern in what I’m doing, supporting me with offers of prayer and offers
to help pay for living costs.
Ultimately it’s God who has been the driving force of
everything that I’ve experienced so far and for that goes the biggest
thanks and praise.
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It’s has been great to sit back, reflect on things as
I write this and see not only how God has worked to help me in my own
ministry but to see how God has used me to work in the ministry of others.
It’s a small glimpse in seeing how God uses his people
to accomplish his plans to bring people into a relationship with him – it
is my hope that I will be able to share this with you in this letter and
that you will be encouraged by it.
In Him,
Simon
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METRO
The Ministry of Evangelism, Training and Recruitment
Organisation (METRO) is basically the MTS arm of the Presbyterian church.
This month I had the opportunity to meet up with the other METRO trainers
and trainees in Port Macquarie for an orientation and induction conference
(before you get any ideas, it was far from being a holiday – although we
did get to go to the beach!).
Although there were only 5 other pairs of trainers and
trainees, it was really great to meet up with them and listen to them share
their experiences of METRO so far. There was a wealth of ministry experience
in the room and all the trainers were more than willing to impart their
wisdom about coping with full-time gospel work, keeping motivated and
learning about how to be effective in ministry.
 It was
really humbling for me to meet other trainees who were doing the same thing
I was doing but under circumstances much harder than my own. A few of them
had left their jobs even though they had families to support. Some were
doing the METRO program funding their own way and others had left the
comfort of Sydney to go out away from the city.
Eugene and I were the only people from Sydney which I
thought was unusual. Everyone else was from places such as Forster,
Newcastle and Lismore – to that end it was great to see well equipped,
gospel centered trainers and trainees from those places. Whilst it’s still
true that Sydney has the great teaching and ministry opportunities and much
is happening here, it was a sneak peak into what God is doing outside the
world we know and he is calling people for himself out there.
It’s a privilege to be part of METRO’s vision and plan
for equipping people all over NSW.
School Scripture
Teaching year 5 at Drummoyne Public has been a great
experience so far. In all honesty I really wasn’t too excited about
teaching school scripture but I know Dave Yu really enjoyed it when he did
it and it’s easy to see why. There’s about 18 kids in my class and all of
them are really keen to hear about what God has done for them. So far we
have looked at Abraham and Moses and each kid really enjoys learning about
them.
Cathy Tucker has been training and supervising Viv and
myself and she has really earned my respect and admiration through her
dedication to the children and willingness to teach us to be good teachers
of God’s Word to them. She’s constantly taking the time out to give us
great feedback and helpful hints on how to better relay God’s truth to the
kids.
 When
we started, there was a shortage of scripture teachers and the danger of
losing classes – the problem with losing a class is not only that a class
of kids do not get to have Christian teaching, but it also reflects badly
on the Christian teachers as bad organisers, and as such, makes it harder
to get back the class when teachers are eventually available. To this end
it was amazing to see God’s providence at work for the good of Cathy and
Drummoyne Public and it has been humbling to be used by God to help out
other people for the good of his kingdom.
I must admit that teaching school children has been one
of the hardest, if not the hardest, up front ministries I’ve been a part
of. The understanding that you’re in a really influential position over the
kids is a huge responsibility and the fact that they readily respond to and
accept everything you say, really makes it a challenge but also a great
joy.
Cell Group
 When I
started Metro this year I looked with great interest at cell group because
I knew it was the one ministry that I carried over from last year and had
some flow and structure in place.
It turns out God had something different in store for me
and I would go so far as to say that leading cell group this year has been
a totally new experience. Lack of a female co-leader and having to make
time to train 4 trainees has really pushed me and I’ve probably struggled
most with this ministry when I initially expected it to be a relatively
easy ‘bread and butter’ task.
Nevertheless God provides, and as I’ve come to find out,
not by my own strength, skill and will power. I’ve sorely missed the help
of a co-leader and because of that it has been a struggle to know how to
care for the girls in the group. Even so, they still come, are still
committed and still care for each other. It has truly been an answer to
prayer to know that God will care for his people in any circumstances.
We also grew in number as a small handful of people
joined our cell group at the beginning of the year. It certainly was
unexpected but it has been great to see them commit themselves to the group
this year.
We recently had a cell group retreat to Wollongong (yes, again!) and
it was fun to spend time with each other outside of cell group and church
time. It was humbling to see them serve and care for each other. It’s a
great joy in ministry to see people live out their faith in Jesus.
Training New Leaders
If there’s one thing that Burwood is strong in, it’s
identifying and training leaders in our church. In that regard it has been
an important task to keep the training going – to follow Paul’s direction
to Timothy:
And the things you have heard me say in the presence
of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to
teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
We’ve been working through a course called Two Ways to
Live which really is a course designed to help you think about evangelism
and sharing the gospel in a fluid way that really challenges people. So far
it has been really helpful and God has already provided me with a number of
opportunities to share the gospel with people. The amazing thing is that it
really works! The power of the gospel never ceases to amaze me and I truly
hope I will always be struck by its ability to change hearts and bring
people to God.
It’s been early days so far, but it will be great to
hear how people in our group have used it in their personal lives: please
pray for all of us that we will be able to seize the opportunities God
gives us and that the trainees will continue to be equipped for service in
God’s kingdom.
Prayer Points
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