‘Metro Kingdom Builders’ is a series highlighting the partners and people that make up, and serve, at Metro Community Church. This week’s Kingdom Builder is Daniel Jin!

When did you start attending Metro?
I started attending Metro in September 2017. I had just moved to NJ and was looking for a church. A friend had recommended Metro and so I checked it out. I felt the church was a good balance of solid Biblical teaching, a good mixing of generations, and a heart for the outside community.

What stood out to you about Metro?
The vulnerability and honesty of the Metro leadership really stands out to me. Not many churches have leaders who so willingly and humbly share their pains and hardships in front of the congregation week after week. I have found it very refreshing and deeply relatable. I also enjoy all the various serving opportunities at the church. There really is something for everyone to get involved in.

What ministries are you involved with? What about those ministries made you want to serve?
I have served with the Metro Kids ministry. I had been toying with the idea of serving and it just so happened that there was a need and so I reached out to the leaders. I find it fun worshiping with kids and doing fun activities and crafts with them. The youthful innocence and genuine heart of the children has brought me a lot of joy and laughter each Sunday I spend time with them.

What do you do outside of Metro?
I have been going through a bit of a career change this past year. I had been working for a number of years in the legal, policy, and government sectors, running business operations and management consulting. But recently, I have been working from the bottom up at Chick-fil-A in Teterboro, with the hope and goal of becoming a franchise operator in the future. I am an avid CrossFitter, and love working out with my fellow community at CrossFit Giant, right across the street from Metro's church office. I love history! Nothing more to say there. And I am also a violinist and love attending classical concerts and the opera (albeit less these days due to my work schedule).

What does transformation mean to you? Have you seen or experienced transformation through Metro?Transformation is a life altering and painful process. It requires being real with one's self, flaws and all, and working to find the root causes and figuring out how to address them. With this comes healing, and healing leads to greater transformation, spiritually, emotionally and physically. My time at Metro has seen a lot of transformation, and the process is still ongoing. I am learning more about myself and the heart issues that I carry, and wrestling with how to deal with them in order to bring about true healing.

What is one thing you want people to know about you?
I love intimately connecting with people and hearing their real stories. I appreciate the hard tough questions, and being vulnerable soul searching with each other.

What brings you the most joy?
Spending deep quality time with people, words of deep encouragement, being able to share with someone the things I am passionate about, and beautiful gardens and relaxing under the cool shade of a tree all bring me joy.

Anything else you want to share?
I am not from New Jersey. I am a die hard Virginian. I will never understand why NJ has so many autonomous townships. What is the purpose of Bergen County??? And don't get me started on the roads...