The Web Ministry track
This track discusses issues specifically related to church or parish websites in the context of the mission of the Church and the Great Commission.
The first module in this track covers designing websites for believing members vs. unbelieving visitors. A few churches in the United States with the resources to do so have chosen to develop and maintain separate websites for each audience. Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, California, is an example. But most church and parish webmasters must learn to balance the competing needs of both audiences on one website.
Websites are not the only form of internet evangelism. Chatting, for example, is a way to share the Good News with non Christians without the use of a web browser. (Technically, browsers are part of the World Wide Web; the internet, however, existed for several decades before the invention of the browser and the resulting development of the World Wide Web.) A second module in this track, then, covers various ways that churches and parishes can evangelize the lost and minister to the hurting through the internet in ways other than via a church or parish website.
For churches or parishes with many ministries, maintaining and updating a website is truly a team effort. One person cannot do it all. Thus, the third module in this track addresses the subject of how to set up and maintain an effective web ministry in your church or parish.
Online forums are effective ways of building a sense of community among members of a church or parish. (Forums also can be effective for evangelizing the lost.) The fourth module in this track teaches students the basics of installing, administering, and moderating a forum. Covered are such topics as how to build membership, how to increase member participation in a forum, and security issues.
The fifth module covers communications theory for ministry, while the sixth module teaches students how to ensure their church or parish website can be understood cross culturally. This is because church or parish websites may be viewed by people from around the world, who are of different cultures and language groups.
The final module in this track focuses on online discipleship by teaching students the basics of instructional design and e-learning. With this knowledge, students can work with others in their church or parish to develop and deploy online Bible studies and/or online ministry training.
Modules in this track
Modules in the Basic Certificate program:
Module 1—Designing for Two Audiences
Module 2—Internet Evangelism
Module 3—Developing & Maintaining a Web Ministry
Module 4—Forum Administration
Modules in the Advanced Certificate program:
Module 5—Communications Theory for Ministry
Module 6—Cross Cultural Online Ministry
Module 7—Basics of Instructional Design & e-Learning for Ministry