When was the last time you sent a paper newsletter or postcard to the youth in your parish or school? It has probably been a long time. We have gone electronic with everything from using e-mail and parish websites for regular communication to using iPods for music at prayer services. You may have noticed that some of your teens do not know what to do with paper (except fold it into airplanes and origami). Our youth use the Internet or text messaging for almost all of their conversations with friends, school work, and research. I cannot remember ever taking my sixteen year old daughter to the library to get reference books!

Why Should I Take an Online Class?

Our education and development as youth ministry leaders is increasingly dependent on the Internet as well. There are universities and dioceses with entire courses and degrees online. Some of our most well loved publishers have resources that are exclusively online. Harcourt, St. Mary’s Press, the Center for Ministry Development, and Ministry Training Source are just a few. In our busy ministerial lives, we find increasingly more difficult to go to one more place or do one more thing, even though we know time for ourselves and for prayer is of ultimate importance.

The NACYML partnership with Ministry Training Source (MTS) is the perfect way for you to jump in. Starting late this summer, MTS will offer online learning courses and personal spirituality refreshers. NACYML members will receive priority and a member discount on the registration fees. The courses will be entirely online so you can work at your own pace, as time allows. CEUs for your diocese or other educational institution are available for these courses. We offered a course last year on Co-Workers In The Vineyard. The NACYML members who participated were excited to be part of the project and loved the ease of using the materials. Past participants were thrilled to hear of the opportunity to take more courses.

What Is an Online Class Like?

Do not worry, you really can not make a mistake while working online. You cannot erase an entire body of work from a website, and you may be surprised to find how easy it is to communicate with classmates on the forum or blogs required by the class.

I am currently taking an online course from Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Each week there are readings and assignments. Most of them are online, so I did not have to spend much money on books. By Wednesday of each week I post my assignments on the forum, access the class with my password, and just start typing in the assignment box. Then, by Friday, each student is required to reply to three other students to dialogue. Usually, by Friday, we have quite a conversation going. Many times two or three of us will correspond about a specific topic, or sometimes the whole class will weigh in on a subject. The teacher enters into the conversations and replies to everyone with feedback each week.

I thought I would miss the classroom conversations, but the online conversations have been even richer because everyone gets a chance to speak up. This format is fantastic for an extrovert (like myself) who thinks out loud. I can write my posts, change them, or add to them as much as I want. But the introverted side of me likes being able to think for awhile before commenting sometimes. The course I am taking does not have any “live” sessions with the instructor but some courses do include that element as well.

Of course, ministry is grounded in relationship and I believe that there is a value in personal contact or a handwritten note. (I actually do send a paper newsletter and post cards almost weekly because I have found that electronic communication is sometimes ignored.) But, the current reality of our young church is that electronic media is the way to communicate and get things accomplished. So, it is extremely important for us, as adult leaders in ministry, to take the leap and ‘click the mouse.’ Not only is it the primary way to connect with young people, it is the easiest way to catch up with our own formation and education.

Register for Online Courses

Give the MTS courses a try. If you became a new NACYML member at the NCYC in Columbus you received one free course, so be sure to redeem it. All other members can take advantage of the NACYML members’ discount as outlined on the attached informational flyer (216 KB) and registration form (135 KB) . We are looking forward to meeting the virtual you!