CRC Expands Webinar Use

A group of people in various places across North America recently spent an hour watching and listening over their computers to a former missionary for Christian Reformed Church World Missions give a webinar on “Ministry Among Muslims.”

"The purpose of this webinar is to understand a little bit about Muslims and how we can come to love Muslims better," said Bill Thornburg, CRWM Mission Resource Consultant, at the start of the webinar, which he conducted from his office in the CRC building in Grand Rapids, MI.  

In the last two years, some of the agencies and offices of the CRC have been using this technology to hold meetings and present programs to people in distant locations.  And the CRC personnel have not had to leave their office or their computers to communicate in this way.

"We did our first webinar in the spring of 2008. In the two years since then, the tools have improved and - more importantly - people are much more comfortable with using technology this way," says Tim Postuma, Web and E-Communication Manager for the CRC.

A webinar is essentially a two-way technology through which images and audio can be sent and downloaded over computer screens at remote locations. The technology allows for interaction with the person presenting the webinar.

"As a relatively small denomination spread across two countries, webinars are a practical way to come together for learning. It's not the same as being there, for sure. But it's incredibly convenient - both for participants and presenters - and allows more people to participate more often," says Postuma.

With the help of funds from ministry shares, some agencies have been able to use webinars as an inexpensive way to offer workshops on everything from autism and children’s ministry to short-term missions opportunities and Islam.

Ministry shares is an arrangement by which large, small and medium-size CRC congregations across the United States and Canada contribute a per-member assessment to help fund many of the denominational ministries.

Steve Van Zanen, CRWM's Director for Missions Education & Engagement, says ministry shares help the agency in its ministry of outreach and education.  "The fact that we can invest time and some money in these webinars is certainly due to ministry shares," he says.

The webinar on Islam is an example. For more information: visit CRWM Webinars.

"We need to realize that Christians and Muslims share a common history," said Thornburg as the image of an ornate mosque appeared on computer screens. "Similar stories are common to the Bible and to the Qu’ran. Both are monotheistic religions that view God as creator, and as being righteous and gracious."

The hour-long webinar presented both similarities and differences between the faiths. "One important difference is that Islam tends to focus on the external, while Christianity focuses on the internal (experience of adherents)," said Thornburg.

The webinar also provided information on specific practices of Muslims.  "Muslims perform ritual prayer five times a day. Involved in this are prescribed washings and postures." Thornburg worked for several years as a missionary in West Africa and had many interactions with people of the Muslim faith.

CRWM alone has done about 12 webinars since last July and will likely do two more yet during this fiscal year, which ends on June 30. The agency has two categories of webinars—one for its Regional Missions Mobilizers and one for the general public. 

Webinars for Mobillizers have included international updates on ministry situations and others that have provided training to Mobilizers to enable them to do their jobs even better.

Subjects of general public webinars have included: "How to Operate an Effective Missions Committee or Global Outreach Team," "Caring for Your Missionaries," and "Fundraising Ideas for Short Term Missions."

"We think the webinars have been successful as a very cost-effective way to conduct training workshops …" says Thornburg. "Our goal is to help enhance the outreach ministries of the churches." 

Jolanda Howe, teacher-training coordinator for Faith Alive Christian Resources, the publishing agency of the CRC, says Faith Alive has been offering webinars for about two years.

"To date, we've hosted webinars on 10 different topics, offering most on several occasions to allow people to choose a time that works best for them. We aim for one-to-three webinars a month, and often offer the same webinar twice in one day—once in the early afternoon, and again in the evening," says Howe. 

Faith Alive's webinars have mainly been about supporting and nurturing the faith of children. Most of them are geared toward Sunday school/children's ministry coordinators and teachers. Some are also helpful for parents.

"We hope to include a wider variety of webinars in the future, and are always asking participants for feedback and ideas for new topics," says Howe. "We've also provided custom webinars for churches that are interested in a specific topic."

Webinars Faith Alive has offered include "Celebrating the Milestones of Faith," "Choosing Children's Curriculum," and "Helping Children Embrace Diversity."

"Our most popular webinar by far has been 'Autism and Children's Ministry'—we had as many as 98 participants attend at one time," says Howe. This webinar has been posted on the Friendship Ministries website: www.friendship.org.

Faith Alive webinars have been successful, although staff still value the face-to-face contact  of conferences and in-person workshops.

At the same time, though, the agency has been able to connect "with hundreds more people from churches that we many never have served in the previous model," says Howe.

For Howe, ministry shares do play a role since her job is funded by ministry shares. To see a full list of opportunities, visit Faith Alive’s webinar page.

Allen Likkel, Ministry Teams Team Director for Christian Reformed Home Missions, says the agency has used webinars on a limited basis, but sees their value, especially in helping to save costs by cutting down on travel expenses.

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, occasionally in conjunction with the Office of Social Justice, has put on a series of webinars, although CRWRC does not receive ministry shares funding to help in its effort.

"For us, it's been a great approach to getting to know what people are interested in and where they're located. It's allowed us to connect with constituents in a new way… We also have been able to record the webinars for future use, and post them on our website. Some people have found this helpful—they can attend the webinar to see how it's led, and then use the presentation in their own churches if they like," says Kate Kooyman, Social Justice Mobilizer for CRWRC and the OSJ.