Diary of an Apprentice - Week 1
Hannah O'Donnell, 27th September 2021
Hi all! I'm Hannah, the new ministry apprentice for 2021/22 at St John's. I'll be updating this blog weekly to keep you updated on what I've been up to and what the life of a female ministry apprentice looks like. But, before I get into that I'd like you to get to know me better. So, key facts about me...
#1 I LOVE Jesus - phewph!
#2 I love sport (especially netball).
#3 I love spending time with family - I have LOTS of teeny cousins.
#4 I'm an adventure seeker - being up a mountain or on a lake is my happy place.
Each week I'll be bringing you a new fact about me so you can continually be getting to know me better.
My main hopes for the year include:
• to grow in the knowledge of the Bible I have a mahoosive love for Jesus, but my knowledge is majorly lacking - that very often keeps me humble.
• to reach teen girls with God's Word and my love of Jesus. I'm hoping to set up a weekly teen girls bible study called GGANG (Girls Glorifying A Needed God) where we will all feel comfortable to learn, chat, ask questions and pray together.
• to grow in confidence - whether that's in 1-1 conversations with those I don't know or whether it's giving talks on the Bible to young people and women.
These three hopes also lead onto my prayer points for the beginning of the year. If you feel you could be praying for me, I would appreciate that hugely! :)
So, moving onto more about what the life of an apprentice looks like... My first week has been a gentle start, getting used to the hours of the job (not a regular 9-5 job but rather a variety of jobs throughout the day), starting off with a few youth groups after the summer break and getting to grips with the practicalities and logistics of running a church. Already from my first week, I've learnt a massive amount about what goes on behind the scenes and how much work goes into holding groups and services each week. My take-away for the week is feeling grateful to Christ for how he has blessed our church at St John's with such Christ-loving, servant-hearted people with a wide range of gifts and skills to best spread the GOOD NEWS of the gospel. I’ll be praying for clarity on the best ways I can use my God-given talents to glorify Him here at St John’s this coming year.