Online Course for Summer 2010: Using the Internet and Social Media for Ministry
There is a need for those being trained in ministry to understand the full potential of the Internet. In their open letter to colleges, the Internet Evangelism Coalition states:
We thank God that some ministries and missions are already ‘seizing the day’ and using the Web effectively for outreach. But unfortunately, these are the exception. Although there are vast numbers of Christian websites and blogs, the overwhelming majority are only for Christians. Church websites can be very off-putting to outsiders. The situation is even worse in non-English languages. Most cross-cultural mission agencies are not using the Web for evangelism. The opportunities to use this God-given tool are immense, but not yet being grasped.
We wonder if this is a gap that colleges like yours could be poised to fill. With your vision, experience and resources, you could help to shape and establish a web evangelism movement that will impact the world for years to come. This new medium also offers many opportunities for student placements, assignments and research projects.
This coming summer (2010), I will be offering an online course in Internet ministry in my role here as a professor at Biola University. I am very excited about this course and hope it can become a regular course that I teach at Biola and possibly expand to other programs at other colleges. Click here to see the first draft of the course syllabus.
If you are a Biola graduate student and want to find out more about this course, please contact me via email.
If you are not a Biola student and you want to know how you can take this course, please read the letter I sent to dozens of other colleges regarding this possibility.
6 Comments to Online Course for Summer 2010: Using the Internet and Social Media for Ministry
I am an online mentor with PowertoChange / Truth Media for over a year. I am a community leaer of 15 other mentors. Prior to that I shared books of the Bible with 12 individuals over the course of 3 years (one on one – several verses at a time). I want to increase the effectiveness of our interactions with my/our mentees. Currently the duration of em exchanges is few. I am not interested in creating or managing the social media methods. I push for internet evangelism in whatever circumstance I find myself. I am interested in actual internet conversational effectiveness….any suggestions….do you know of any classes? There seems to be distinct differences in conversational approaches between age groups (ie technology use / eduational experiences) . However they do seem to be similar within a given group of age or interest.
Andy CarlsonFebruary 13, 2010
Thanks for reviewing my comment before posting…..
February 13, 2010
[...] an elective as part of a degree program at the graduate level.FINAL EXAMINATIONNo final exam.[HT: Lessons from Babel] Share Buzz it! tweetmeme_source = 'churchcrunch'; tweetmeme_style = 'compact';tweetmeme_service [...]
[...] God In the Tubes: Using the Internet and Social Media for Ministry in a Post-Web Site World (Dave Bourgeois) – From BIOLA professor Dave Bourgeois whose book will come out of a class he is teaching in Summer 2010 called Using the Internet and Social Media for Ministry. [...]
Andy –
I don't know of any courses that directly address this issue. My first reaction to your question is to tell you to select one or two target groups and do research on the most effective way to reach them. You may also be interested in the topic of "e-coaching". I heard a presentation by a gentleman from the "Why Jesus?" ministry when I was in Turkey, and his approach to engaging people online is a good one. See this page to get a quick overview of e-coaching. If you are interested in more info from this ministry, I can put you in touch with them.
Dave
May 3, 2010
[...] is the schedule for getting this done? Well, my first draft of this should be ready in time for my summer class on this subject. I will let my students read it and give me feedback and then, this fall, I will make changes as I [...]
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Welcome to Lessons From Babel
This blog is where I share the latest thoughts on my research in the world of Internet ministry. Feel free to join the conversation by leaving a comment. For more information on what I am doing in 2010, see my first post of the year. To find out more about me, my company, and this web site, or to see what resources are available on this site, click on the images right below this.
- Dave Bourgeois
February 13, 2010