Christian Learning for Our Congregation INVIGORATING LIVES & CONGREGATIONS Introducing Online Christian Learning for Our Congregation Welcome to this presentation about our exciting new online school. During our time together we’ll learn more about how we can grow in Christ together, by taking courses online.

Here’s What We’ll Learn: Why online courses? Growth in online learning Overview of our school How to take a class How will we use our school? Here’s an outline of our presentation: First we’ll look at why we might want to take online courses. Second, we’ll look at the huge growth presently occurring in online learning Third, we’ll look at an overview of our school- Fourth, we’ll explain how to actually register and take a class. And we’ll end up with a discussion about how we, as a congregation, may want to use our school.

Why Online Christian Learning? First, you may be wondering why we would want to take online courses in the first place. Online courses are convenient, practical, and affordable. Nearly every industry in America now has some form of online learning available. They enable those who cannot make it to our building, to learn lessons another way. Online learning is not a replacement for our existing Christian educational offerings - but an enhancement, and a way to engage more people in the ongoing journey of discipleship. At the moment, there are several places to take online Christian courses: seminaries, universities, and several ministries, and the number of ways to learn online is growing all the time.

Online Christian Learning Nearly 7 million students in 2012 32% of higher education enrollment 89% of universities offer online courses Growing 10-to-1 to traditional courses In fact, here are some recent statistics: 6.7 million students enrolled in at least one online course in 2012 That accounts for 32% of higher education enrollment 89% of universities offer some type of online courses Online courses are growing at a 10:1 ratio compared with traditional courses Now congregations are discovering how we can grow in our faith by taking courses online as well.

An Overview of Our School An Internet connection is needed Open to church members and our guests Learn at your own pace Take breaks anytime Courses: reading, videos, quizzes, discussions Here’s an overview of our school. First, our school is on the Internet, so you will need a computer and Internet connection to take courses. Our school is open to church members and our guests. It’s our own private place to learn so we can let our guards down as we ask questions and answer them in discussion rooms. We can also learn at our own pace - and take breaks during classes and come back another time to finish up our work. And courses include reading, watching short video presentations, taking quizzes, and getting into discussions.

How to take a course Let’s begin with the sign-up process - it’s fast and easy. If you want to take a course, the first thing you do is contact our school administrator and ask to take a course. You’ll be sent an email inviting you to join a class. When you click on the link provided, you will be asked to register for the school by giving your email address and creating a password. Once you’re in the class you’ll have access to every other course in the school. It’s important to note that the company we use, an online educational company called ChurchNext, does not have access to your email address – it stays within the church.

Here’s what our school looks like. Each course takes about 45 minutes to work through, and you can take courses on your own time and at your own speed. You can Browse by Category on the left, or scroll through the courses and click on them to read more about them. Let’s click on the course called ‘Introduction to the Bible with Marek Zabriskie...’

Here’s what the course description looks like. We learn a bit about the course and the teacher. And we register for the course by pushing the $0/person button. The button in our school may just say ‘Register.’

And if we scroll down on this course description, we will see this outline - it shows us what we’ll be learning. The ‘Getting Started’ portion is always an invitation to community. In it, we give a general introduction to the course. We then invite students to upload their photographs and tell a little bit about themselves. Then they’re asked to introduce themselves to the rest of the class by answering a few questions like: What would you like people in this course to know about you? and What are you hoping to get out of this course? It’s also made clear that if you don’t want to interact - by engaging in discussions or even taking quizzes - that’s OK - those are optional. The important thing is for us to learn in ways that we feel most comfortable.

If you continue to scroll down this Course Outline, you’ll see that the 45 minute course is broken down into nice, manageable segments. So if you have to take a break from the course, for whatever reason, you can. Let’s say we begin with that first topic: What is the Bible? Step 1 is to read a few paragraphs of introduction. Step 2 is to watch a 6 minutes video. Step 3 is to take a four-question quiz, and Step 4 is to enter a discussion room - in here we’ll be able to ask and answer questions with other people who are taking the same course. Also, the administrator will only be an email away if we have any questions.

Each course ends with a step that urges us to move forward in our learning. First, we’re directed to bring our questions to our clergy. Remember, our clergy put this course in the school and have books and classes to recommend if we want to learn more. We’re also able to download a one-page document called The Takeaway. This is a synopsis of the course - containing all the key learning points of the class. We can print it up and carry it with us to help us retain what we’ve learned. There’s also a one-page document called ‘Discussion Questions’ which is really helpful if we want to come together as a group and process our learning - and we’ll talk about this in a moment. Also, we’re reminded that each course is part of a Learning Series, which means we’ll be directed to take another, related course, if we want to continue our learning.

The first class you may want to take is this one in the center: It’s called “How to Take a ChurchNext Class” - and it takes you step-by-step through the process, so we can get the most out of our online school. This course will only take you about 10 minutes to get through.

Some of our courses Scripture Introduction to the Bible Introduction to Matthew Introduction to Mark Introduction to Luke Introduction to the Gospels Introduction to Paul The Book of Revelation Christian Topics How to Forgive How to Have a Family Devotional Time Managing the Work/Life Balance How to Take a Sabbath How to Visit a Sick Friend Overcoming Sex Addiction Why is God so Angry? Stop Worrying How to Simplify Your Life How to Handle Strong Willed Children Being Single, Staying Faithful How to Share Your Faith How to Discern God’s Will Liturgy An Instructed Eucharist Introducing Episcopal Worship The Presbyterian Tradition The Lutheran Tradition The Episcopal Tradition How to Have a Family Devotional Time Introduction to Advent Introduction to Church History Here’s a look at some of the courses that may turn up in our school. They have to do with Scripture, liturgy, and a variety of other Christian topics. In addition to these courses, our school may be launching more courses every week. In fact, if there’s a course you’d like to see, mention it to our school administrator and this can be passed along to the people who design them.

Learning Series Exploring the Bible Building Healthy Families Liturgy An Instructed Eucharist Introducing Episcopal Worship The Presbyterian Tradition The Lutheran Tradition The Episcopal Tradition How to Have a Family Devotional Time Introduction to Advent Introduction to Church History Learning Series Exploring the Bible Includes: Introduction to the Bible and Introduction to Matthew Building Healthy Families Includes: How to Have a Family Prayer Time and Holy Habits for Children Exploring Personal Growth Includes: Stop Worrying! and How to Discern God’s Will Once you are enrolled in our school you are free to take any course, anytime. But, as you can see, nearly every course is part of a larger learning experience called a ‘Learning Series.’ Here are four Learning Series: Exploring the Bible, Building Healthy Families, Exploring Personal Growth, and Exploring Mainline Christianity. Each Learning Series includes around a half dozen courses. Just because you take one course doesn’t mean you have to take them all. Rather, these are intentional journeys intended to help you grow according to your interest and God’s call. Exploring Mainline Christianity Includes: Introduction to Church History and The Presbyterian Tradition

How Will We Use Our School? Here are six suggestions: Next we might want to consider how we’ll use our school. And there are several exciting alternatives to consider.

First, there’s individual learning. This is a fantastic way for those of us who are comfortable learning on our own, at our own pace. As we’ve mentioned, we will always invite people to interact, both online and in person, but this is never a requirement. So those of us who are happy learning on our own - or who have no other choice, given job and family constraints, will have a super alternative here.

A second way to use our school is with one-on-one mentoring. Online courses can be a great way to help believers grow by asking teacher and learner to take the course prior to a one-on-one meeting. Many teachers find this way of personal, discipleship training, helpful, especially with younger learners who may be more amenable to online learning vs. traditional forms of education.

Our online school can be of great benefit to our existing small groups. Group members can take courses individually at a convenient time, then when they come together, discuss the material in person. Every ChurchNext course comes with downloadable Discussion Questions specifically for this purpose. This allows small groups more time to discuss the material and also keeps those who cannot make a meeting from missing out.

Another way to use our school is with the whole congregation - on a regular basis. Some congregations have an ongoing schedule of courses and urge their membership to take a a Course-of-the-Month - a specific course during a specific month. Congregation members are then invited to come together once a month to discuss what they’ve learned. Our downloadable Discussion Questions are particularly helpful in getting conversations started.

Another way to use our school is to help us enhance our learning during special times of the year. Some congregations use their schools for special programming around Advent, Lent or at other times of the year. For example, one congregations may use the 6 courses that make up the Introduction to the Bible Learning Series during the 6 weeks of Lent. Congregation members are urged to take one course a week online, then those who can, will gather in person for weekly discussion.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, another way to use our school might be for evangelism. Most of us come across people who are not church members but are curious about many of the topics explored in church. Many congregations use their online schools to invite non-members to learn about the Christian faith in a safe environment that can be more comfortably accessed than an in-person visit. We remember that the majority of people who come visit us in person have first gone to our website - which suggests that people are more comfortable (at least initially) with our online presence than they are in person. When many of us searching for God's direction we often want the security of a trusted source alongside the anonymity that an online environment can afford. People who won't come to our church may be very interested in coming to our online school. How might our congregation use our online school to connect with non-members?

Discussion (Use this time for any questions)

Christian Learning for Your Congregation INVIGORATING LIVES & CONGREGATIONS Introducing Online Christian Learning for Your Congregation