Many congregations offer fewer opportunities for adult discipleship during the summer months. With more and more adult learning and growth opportunities moving from an on campus (church building, someone’s home, or a coffee shop) to either a blended (part on campus and part online) or online format, perhaps summer is the ideal time for your congregation to try something new online (or expand its existing efforts).
There are so many possible ways to begin that many people get hung up in analysis paralysis and never reach implementation. Since your congregation has a unique blend of people and technological know how, it is unlikely that any one size fits all (or most) approach will be ideal. Since more people affiliated with your church are likely already using Facebook than any other form of social media that could be leveraged for a Bible or book study, it may offer an easy starting point. (Here is a link to one recent conversation by ministers about the pragmatic issues related to holding such a study on Facebook).
So What?
All forms of ministry are moving from relying on people who are physically present with one another toward models that welcome such presence but either don’t require it or supplement it. Determining how to add (or, in the case of those who have already added such – to build upon) an online component to your congregation’s adult educational ministry should be a priority.
- Has your congregation ever used Facebook for an adult study? If so, what were the relative strengths and weaknesses of the platform? If not, would you consider doing so sometime this year?
- How do some of your adult study group teachers (regardless of whether the class meets on or off campus) supplement their in person class gatherings with online resources and asynchronous learning opportunities?