This course is designed to introduce students to the online opportunities for gospel witness and effective relationship building. Special attention will be given to the exploration of existing online communities and tools that will help students not only enhance those communities, but also the ability to create and develop their own online community that helps strengthen the missional bond amongst the members of that community.
Online communities are being utilized in a variety of ways to connect people today (online churches, small groups, donors, volunteers, leaders, etc). This course will give students the opportunity to research and explore the variety of communities that already exist online, thus giving them the opportunity to see what's working, what's not and areas for improvement. Based on their research, students will have the opportunity to create their own online community where they can lead others in building a strong missional bond amongst the community members.
More and more people are connecting online in a variety of ways including: online churches, to specific groups/communities for leaders, volunteers, small groups, donors, etc. As missional leaders, it's important that students know and understand how they can create and build effective online communities that not only build relationships, but also move towards sharing the gospel with community members.
This course will be based on a biblical worldview. We will specifically focus on Hebrews 10:24-25 where it says, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching." We will explore what this verse looks like from an online perspective.
The goal will be to help students see and implement online communities for gospel witness and the building of relationships.
This course will helps students develop missional ministry approaches for their local contexts through the effective use of online communities.
Online communities give leaders and members the opportunity to learn and celebrate the cultural diversity that exists in this world. An effective online community brings together diverse cultures who have the opportunity to learn from one another.
This course will give students the practical tools and insights that they need to create an online community that makes a difference in the lives of others.
This course will not only focus on the ideas and concepts around creating an effective online community, but will also give students the opportunity to research and explore the many ways an online community can be used for gospel witness and relationship building.
