Post by Patty David on Sept 27, 2011 15:37:00 GMT -5
| These courses are all offered ONLINE ONLY. Each course consists of 5 assignments, with the expectation that you will complete one assignment each day (M-F, if you are taking the course "live" in conjunction with other ministry professionals at a designated time). [Note: If you can't finish in one week, don't worry. You can finish at your own pace and your certificate will still be waiting for you when you finish. We understand that "life happens."] | |
| Assignments consist of viewing short videos or reading articles available on the Internet free of charge (updated links are provided for you), followed by "discussion" on our discussion board with other pastors about how to apply the principles to your current ministry setting. The goal is for you to read all posts by others and respond to several each day (a minimum of 20 posts for the week are required in order for you to successfully complete the course and receive your continuing education credit). There may be other elements, such as polls, inventories or quizzes, challenges and videos offering additional helpful advice for your consideration. | |
A live chat will be available at a designated time each day (determined by the moderator for the course) during "live" courses. This is an additional opportunity for pastors to discuss the challenges of ministry and how they can improve their ministry effectiveness using concepts learned in the day's assignment. It's also a time for camaraderie and fellowship and casual conversation.
Each participant will be required to fill out a questionnaire at the end of the course to verify that all elements were completed successfully.
Once a live course has been completed, it will be moved to our "archived courses" section. You may still register for the course, post your thoughts and read comments by others, but you may not receive feedback from other pastors on your posts, since we can't guarantee others will be taking the course at the same time. Archived courses can be taken any time and completed at your own pace.
IMPORTANT NOTE: In each assignment you are taken outside our discussion board to the Internet to view videos, take surveys or read articles. We have no control over popups from those sites or solicitations from them. Also, on Youtube, you'll normally see other videos by the same author listed to the right of the main video. For the purposes of your course, you are not required to respond to any third-party ad or to view any other video or article other than the one specifically described in your assignment. However, you are free to follow other links and do additional research on the topic of discussion if you so desire.
GRADING: Each course is pass/fail. In order to pass the course, you must work through each of the assignments, reading all articles and watching the videos. [Note: Some of the assignments include challenges to explore an area further by purchasing a product or starting something in your church These are for your consideration and are not required for the successful completion of the course.] You also must post 20 times in order to pass. The final requirement is for you to verify that you've done the work and that your posts were your own work (i.e. you didn't have your spouse or child do the posting for you). You must complete the course completion verification quiz/questionnaire at the end of the course in order to receive a CEU for the course.
POSTING GUIDELINES: You must post a minimum of 20 times in the discussion board for the class. A post (your reply to an assignment) should contribute something meaningful to the conversation or pose a question for others to reflect on. It should not simply say, "I agree," or "Amen."