The “Welcoming Training" online course (WEL101) is a free, self-directed course designed to help church leaders:
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Understand the motivation and research behind the “Open hearts” and "Rethink Church" national advertising of the denomination.
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Explore the importance of developing a welcoming lifestyle—in your life and in your church.
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Create an action plan to help build welcoming into your congregation’s culture as you invite your community through targeted advertising.
The four-part course allows you to work at your own pace as you read information, explore multimedia materials, engage in discussion forums, complete assignments, take quizzes and share feedback. Each of the four modules takes about one hour to complete and includes:
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An overview to learn the basics of Rethink Church’s comprehensive approach to media and welcoming.
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An introduction to welcoming as you consider what welcoming means and put yourself in the place of a stranger.
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An exploration of how to make welcoming a personal ministry that demonstrates what you can do to live out welcoming as a model for others in your church.
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An opportunity to create an action plan for your church and organize ideas you have discovered in this course that will help your church become a more welcoming congregation.
Completion of this welcoming online course meets the training requirement for matching grant recipients.
Course Dates:
The course is offered four times a year. Each session is open for enrollment for six weeks. The 2009 schedule includes:
How to Register:
Registration opens the same day the course session begins and remains open throughout the session. To register during an ongoing session, visit our Online Learning Center and select “Welcoming 101 for Rethink Church" from the Rethink Church category. If you are a returning online learner, enter your username and password on the left side of the login page. If you are a new online learner, complete the brief registration form on the right side of the login page, and click “register.”
To receive an email reminder when the next session opens for registration, send an email to training@umcom.org.
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