We dream of seeing 5 gospel workers equipped and sent out into gospel ministry over the next 10 years through ministry traineeships at Scots.
“And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.” — 2 Timothy 2:2
Our mission at Scots is to grow disciples who go into our city and into the world. We want everyone at Scots to grow in godliness and gain insight into themselves, including their strengths and weaknesses, enabling them to make better choices about how to live their lives for Jesus and be useful in His service. Everyone at Scots is part of our informal ministry training program. As one specific aspect of our overall ministry training program, we take on formal Ministry Trainees.
What is a Ministry Traineeship?
At Scots Church, Ministry Traineeships, usually in partnership with MTS and/or METRO, is a two-year, hands-on traineeship designed to equip the next generation of gospel workers through practical ministry experience, focused training, and mentorship alongside a dedicated trainer. Our traineeship program exists to form disciples who are Christ-like in conviction, character, and competence, ready to serve faithfully in whatever season God leads.
The ministry training is centred on prayer, Bible study and practical ministry and will help you work out how you are wired and how you might plug in to grow God’s Kingdom with the rest of your life.
Qualifications for a Trainee at Scots Church Sydney:
Trainees are not expected to be the polished and well-rounded gospel worker, but they should have:
- Deep love for Jesus
- Strong commitment to seeing lives changed by the gospel via prayer and scripture
- Teachable, humble, open to serving God in vocational gospel work in the future
- A desire to grow not just in skills but in godly character and heart conviction
- A willingness to work alongside others in a team and under our Team Leader
Program Components
The Ministry Traineeship is built around four core components of training done in the context of the Scots community and with one-to-one mentoring with a ministry trainer.
- Observation
- Practical Ministry Experience
- Feedback
- Reflection
Goal of a Ministry Traineeship
The goal is for ministry trainees to grow in godliness and gain insight into themselves, including their strengths and weaknesses, so that they can make better decisions about how to live their lives for Jesus.
By the end of the program, trainees are encouraged and equipped to:
- return to full-time work better equipped to lead and serve in gospel ministry; or
- enrol in theological study to continue preparation for a lifetime of ministry
What does a ministry traineeship look like?
Gospel ministry is by nature flexible. The opportunities for ministry and mission are numerous and gospel workers build their week around these opportunities. As a result there is no typical week for trainees.
Trainees will be given a program tailor-made for them and their context, a trainer who will help them set goals to grow in three key areas:
- Christian conviction
- Christian character
- Christian competence
Our past trainees
Here are some of the faces who have completed a ministry traineeship at Scots.
Andrew Loh
Year: 2019-2020
Training focus: Connect & discipleship
Trainer: Craig Tucker
Now serving at: Church planter in training at Providence Church Bayswater, WA.
“Doing a ministry traineeship with Scots was essential for preparing me for ministry. Through personal discipleship with my trainer and hands-on experience in the trenches of ministry it helped mature my character, clarified how my convictions should shape my practice, and gave me lots of robust skills that I still use til this day. What a banger time!”
Abigail Kee
Year: 2021-2022
Training focus: Kids church & discipleship
Trainer: Jess Ngo
Now serving at: Full time mum duties and partnering with her husband, Andrew at Providence Church Bayswater, WA.
“Scots really meets people where they’re at and helps them grow into who God made them to be. For me, it taught me how to read the Bible with women from all kinds of backgrounds, which I’m so grateful for. It’s a skill I’ll keep using as we continue ministry in Perth.”
Dhanu Eliezer
Year: 2022-2023
Training focus: Connect & discipleship
Trainer: Jess Ngo
Now serving at: Scots Church Sydney while studying at theological college and writing for the Gospel Coalition Australia.
Read an article Dhanu wrote about her experience of doing a ministry apprenticeship in her thirties.
Eight reasons why you should consider MTS
Adapted from MTS Info Night Brochure
1. 82% of Australians are going to hell
According to the Australian Communities Report survey commissioned by McCrindle Research and Commissioned by Olive Tree Media:
- 50% do not identify with a religion
- 18% identify themselves as protestant/evangelical
- 23% of protestant/evangelical Christians ‘very regularly’ attend church
MTS wants every trainee everywhere aiming to prayerfully and dependently upon God, seeking to win 10 people (children, adults, family, friends, youth, seniors, workmates, teammates) for Christ in the 2 years of their training.
2. You’ll learn how to evangelise lost Australians!
Evangelism is about 3 T’s:
- Teaching – you’ll teach people the gospel that brings life
- Team – you’ll be part of a team passionate to reach the lost
- Time – you’ll have time to follow people up
3. Word ministry matters a lot
- Word-ministry is the key to helping God’s church grow (Mark 1:14-15, Matt. 28:18-20, Eph. 4:18-20).
- Therefore, it’s worth asking yourself: ‘Why shouldn’t I aim to do Word ministry full-time?’
- Alongside friends and ministers, a ministry traineeship is a great way to test out whether the Lord has gifted you for Word ministry.
4. Ministry traineeships prepare people for word ministry
- By doing Word ministry, a ministry traineeship gives a person a sense of the demands of full-time paid Word ministry (preaching, school chaplaincy, youth work, children’s ministry, evangelism, etc.)
- Because a person is strengthened by the doing of Word ministry, they are prepared for the test of their lives in all kinds of service.
- Whether a person goes back into the workforce or goes onto theological college, a trainee has not wasted their time doing an traineeship. Not at all!
5. Traineeships confront people with their strengths and weaknesses
One of the best things a trainee can learn is humility and their limitations. Isaiah, Jeremiah, John the Baptist and Peter were all horrified when they came face-to-face with God and realised how ill-equipped they were!
On the flip-side, a ministry traineeship helps identify strengths and gifts which can be nurtured through the traineeship.
6. Church-based traineeships prepare a person well for theological study
- Theological study without a local church context is likely to result in a minister who struggles to connect their theological learning to the multifaceted nature of local church life as they study.
- A good theologian is a person who can integrate life and doctrine in the context of building God’s church (1 Timothy 4:16).
- A ministry trainee who has already dealt with the stuff of life (old-age, new birth, struggling families, etc.) won’t study theology for academic qualifications, but for the extension of God’s church.
7. Church-based traineeships help a person with ministry skills, especially people skills
- A ministry traineeship helps develop a wide range of skills (preaching, leading, organising, administration, work with children, care for the elderly, cross-cultural work, etc.)
- One key thing a trainee will learn is people skills. They need to learn to be personal.
- Potential trainees will often say how much they love to teach the Bible, that’s good, but not good enough! The church needs ministers who love all kinds of people, and who love teaching the Bible to them.
8. Ministry traineeships equips people to start new ministries
- Starting new ministries is an essential part of the work of a church minister, there needs to be Gospel risk-taking!
- Dealing with fear of failure is an important part of ministry training. You will see failure, feel disappointment, experience sadness, and have highs and lows. These are the sorts of things needed for a lifetime of Word ministry.