A majority of ministry leaders I work with are well educated.
Many would like to continue their educations.
Most do not.
In faith-based organizations continuing education dollars have dried up during a prolonged furnding drought. For the opportunity to follow their callings many ministry leaders gladly accepted less compensation than peers in the public sector. Yet that choice has left scant resources for education. The competition for continuing education grants seems more fierce than applications for undergraduate scholarships.
I value formal education enough to hold a post-graduate degree. I place a greater value on learning. So since earning a doctorate I’ve explored a number of informal and non-traditional ways of learning available in the Western world. I’ve learned enough to know it is possible to create courses today without spending another dime.
Want proof? Here are five alternative paths to informal continuing education:
Put together a video-based course.
Choose your topic of study. Then search YouTube and Vimeo and iTunes for videos that address your topic. Surf for websites on the topic, bookmarking the ones with free videos. Once the research is done choose 10 videos to watch. You’ve got a summer school course ready to roll.
Behold the power of the podcast.
I’ve learned more from podcasts than from any other means in …show more content…
I wanted to learn how to build a social media platform. I found an organization that would pay me to learn how to design a social media platform for them. I spent Saturday nights studying library books and websites on how to build a social media platform. I also invested my initial paycheck into buying a couple of webinars on designing a platform. The organization got a social media platform at the half the price it would pay a professional. When it came time to launch this blog I already knew how to design the
Many would like to continue their educations.
Most do not.
In faith-based organizations continuing education dollars have dried up during a prolonged furnding drought. For the opportunity to follow their callings many ministry leaders gladly accepted less compensation than peers in the public sector. Yet that choice has left scant resources for education. The competition for continuing education grants seems more fierce than applications for undergraduate scholarships.
I value formal education enough to hold a post-graduate degree. I place a greater value on learning. So since earning a doctorate I’ve explored a number of informal and non-traditional ways of learning available in the Western world. I’ve learned enough to know it is possible to create courses today without spending another dime.
Want proof? Here are five alternative paths to informal continuing education:
Put together a video-based course.
Choose your topic of study. Then search YouTube and Vimeo and iTunes for videos that address your topic. Surf for websites on the topic, bookmarking the ones with free videos. Once the research is done choose 10 videos to watch. You’ve got a summer school course ready to roll.
Behold the power of the podcast.
I’ve learned more from podcasts than from any other means in …show more content…
I wanted to learn how to build a social media platform. I found an organization that would pay me to learn how to design a social media platform for them. I spent Saturday nights studying library books and websites on how to build a social media platform. I also invested my initial paycheck into buying a couple of webinars on designing a platform. The organization got a social media platform at the half the price it would pay a professional. When it came time to launch this blog I already knew how to design the