I wanted to let you know that we’ve extended the registration deadline for our Church Planting Movements Skype Training by 48 hours.  We have 5 spots left.  We need to receive your application within the next 48 hours if you want to participate.

For more information about the training, click here.

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2010 Online Summer Missions

by Paul on February 19, 2010

2010 Online Summer Missions

Summer missionaries will learn the principles of starting rapidly multiplying groups of obedient disciples – the same methods used to start over 7000 churches in Sub-Saharan Africa in the last four years!  They will learn how to use online tools to identify communities, meet felt-needs of those communities, identify Persons of Peace, and start Discovery Bible Studies – online and offline.  Each summer missionary will learn how to use blogs, MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, Plurk, YouTube, Ustream, and Viddler to minister to people online.  They will also learn how to use online technology to connect with lost people living in their geographical area.  Finally, each summer missionary will develop a prayer network of people they contact and pray for throughout the project.

Online Summer Missionaries can easily maintain a job during the summer.  We ask that they commit at least an hour a day to online missions.  Additionally, we ask that they meet with their online summer missions team for at least one hour each week.  The rest of the time, we ask that as they sit down in front of their favorite TV show or movie, that they do it with their laptop and search for online communities of lost people, find persons of peace, and start Discovery Bible Studies.

Training Dates: May 23-28.  We will meet for 2 hours, via Skype, in the evenings.  You will have 1- 2 hours of homework each night of the training.

Mobilization Dates: June 1 August 1 . We ask that you commit one hour a day to online summer missions and that you commit one hour a week to meet with your team.

Location: Online (Skype and Ustream).

Cost: We don’t charge anything for you to be part of the program.

Application Deadline: May 5.

Technical Requirements: You must have a computer, a high-speed internet connection, Skype, a webcam, a microphone, earphones, and a cell phone with a text messaging plan.

Application Process:

  1. Submit a standard resume with detailed contact information. (I want to know your history. Send it to onlinedisciples at gmail dot com.)
  2. Provide a list of your online social media profiles.  (It doesn’t have to be long.  I just want to see what you’ve been doing online.)
  3. Set up a time for an online interview.  I will interview you via Skype.
  4. Provide two references.  (I will need to actually talk with both references before you are accepted into the program.) I need one ministry reference and one friend reference.  They need to be familiar with your spiritual journey.
  5. I will let you know if you’ve been accepted to the program via SMS (that way you have my cell number).

Training Outline:

Training for the Online Summer Missionary program will be from May 23-May 28.  We will meet in the evening via Skype for two hours.  Each class will have two parts.  The first part of the class will be an inductive Bible study of passages of Scripture that teach us how to do ministry and missions.  The second part covers the application of those principles to social media and how to use social media to connect with communities of lost people – online and offline.

There will be 1 to 2 hours of homework each day of the training.

Topics covered by the training include:

  • An Introduction to Online Ministry and Missions
  • Developing a Prayer Ministry
  • Discovering a New Paradigm of Ministry and Missions from Scripture
  • Living an Openly Spiritual Lifestyle Online (Without Being a Troll)
  • God’s Love Language
  • Who Will Teach the Lost About Christ?
  • What Does the Great Commission Really Say and How Do We Live the Great Commission Online?
  • Identifying Online Communities
  • Hiding the Gospel in Plain Sight
  • The Difference Between Deculturalizing the Gospel and Contextualizing the Gospel
  • How Does Christ Send Us Online?
  • The 21 Critical Elements of Movements
  • Developing Leaders Within Movements
  • What is a Discovery Bible Study?
  • The DNA of Multiplying Groups
  • The First Three Discovery Bible Studies with Lost People
  • The Six Areas of a Mentoring Relationship
  • Six Strategic Elements of Online Ministry

Contact: Paul for more info.  His Twitter account is http://www.twitter.com/pauldwatson.  His Facebook account is http://www.facebook.com/pauldwatson.  His Skype ID is watsonpd.

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Small Groups that have the DNA of a Gospel Planting Movement

February 18, 2010

A Group Exercise
David Watson put an image up on the screen.  “I want you to take a look at this image.”  After a few seconds, he blanked the screen.  “Now, describe the image.”
People called out various things they remembered.  David allowed them to continue, just until they started repeating things that others said already.  He [...]

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Video: March 2010 Skype Course On Catalyzing Movements

February 17, 2010

(Yes, I know the lighting is weird.  I’ll work on that for next time! – Paul.)
Ministry and Missions That Catalyze Movements
Class Size: Class size is between 5-10 people.
Dates: The class will meet once a week in March.  I will talk with the applicants to set a weekly time and day that is best for them. [...]

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Growing Closer to God Through Facebook Prayer

January 28, 2010

Prayer is a critical element of ministry and of movements.  Whether you minister – paid or unpaid – online or offline, you need a net work of people who pray for you regularly.  You need their prayers to help you resist temptation.  You need their prayers to help you grow in your relationship with God.  [...]

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Funerals in the Digital Age

January 25, 2010

Last week, a 9 year-old boy from our offline church was killed in a horrible accident at school.  I heard the news within hours, via Facebook.  Because of social media, the whole church heard of the tragedy in a matter of hours.  The next day, the church staff called me to figure out the best [...]

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Starting Gospel Movements on Campus: Spritual Warfare

January 7, 2010

I received a text message from my wife while I was overseas:
“Really feeling down today. Don’t know why.”
Needless to say, her text caught my attention.  My wife had battled depression in the past, but there were always identifiable triggers.  This time it was unexpected and coincided with my overseas trip to train church planters who [...]

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Starting Gospel Movements on Campus: Persecution

December 22, 2009

Every once in awhile I like to create scenarios that require me to think about implementing Gospel planting strategies and applying tactics in new environments.  This is this is the seventh of a 21 part series talking about ways to use Gospel planting strategies with online and offline tactics to catalyze Gospel Planting Movements on [...]

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Starting Gospel Movements on Campus: Authority of the Word and The Holy Spirit

December 15, 2009

Every once in awhile I like to create scenarios that require me to think about implementing Gospel planting strategies and applying tactics in new environments.  This is this is the sixth of a 21 part series talking about ways to use Gospel planting strategies with online and offline tactics to catalyze Gospel Planting Movements on [...]

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Starting Gospel Movements on Campus: Communities and Silos

December 3, 2009

Every once in awhile I like to create scenarios that require me to think about implementing Gospel planting strategies and applying tactics in new environments.  This is this is the fifth of a 21 part series talking about ways to use Gospel planting strategies with online and offline tactics to catalyze Gospel Planting Movements on [...]

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