Virtual Ministry

Social Media/Internet Presence Job Description

It is estimated that there are 8 million Facebook users in Australia, of which 6 million of them check their account at least once a day. In a population of 26 million this confirms the trend that Aussies are early adopters of technology.

On 5 March, Google reached the 1,000,000 (1 billion) mark for the number of searches in one day. How many of these will find the true ‘hidden treasure’ that Jesus talked about?

If Student Life wants to touch every university students with the reality of Jesus, it is imperative that we have an attractive, effective and widespread presence in the virtual world.

In our latest Strategic Plan (2012-14), we have prioritised virtual ministry–it is one of just four aspirations that we have adopted. For this to be a reality, Student Life needs to develop a team that has the vision, skills and resources to lead the rest of the ministry.

Our first priority is to find a leader who is passionate about winning, building and sending students through the medium of the net. Though a number of Student Life missionaries have dabbled in this area, we now need to develop a team that can propel our ministry with a national focus.

The leader should have experience of internet ministry, whether formally or informally. They should be willing to experiment, to be ‘hands-on’, to model skills to others. They will need to learn to think and plan strategically. They will need to be able to work with others: those they report to, those they lead, and other leaders within Student Life.

We believe that virtual ministry is a mostly untapped opportunity. This position will suit someone who is able to envision and dream how we can turn this opportunity into reality.

In order to bring this vision to fruition, we will also need those who have skills and passion in the following areas:

• Network administration: 1-1.5 days a week
• Web programming: This person must have training in programming as well as familiarity with relevant technologies for web programming (eg. html, API’s, javascript, etc). Importantly, this person must have the ability and willingness to learn new technology as it becomes available.
• Graphic designer: this role would serve both the Virtual team (with on-line graphics) as well as the National Office team (print media).
• Web design: this role encompasses not just the look and feel, but also exploring how we can use the web more effectively to reach our mission.
• Internet Evangelism: this person must be able to think creatively, develop strategies, work with campus leaders to land ideas, and persistently experiment. Though we believe the potential in this area is huge, Student Life has not been successful, so far, in seeing evangelistic fruit through the use of the internet.
• Help Desk: All of our missionaries use computers every day in their ministry. Many productive hours are wasted because either a failure in the technology, or a lack of knowledge on behalf of the missionary. The role of Help Desk will free up the missionaries to do what they are called to do. This person must be able to work well with people, be servant-hearted and able to patiently work through issues.

The roles above are not exclusive, but naturally will overlap. Ultimately, the team will cover all these roles, while the individual roles will be fluid.

Some of the current strategies/functions that are currently being used, and could be further developed, are:

• PAT (Summer Projects Application site)
• Movement Tracker (embryonic) (database/resources/personal development)
• We have no help desk function in Student Life
• Wiki
• Student Life Website
• Catalytic Website
• Summer Projects Website
• Some people dabbling in Facebook evangelism
• Some people dabbling in short-film evangelism.

When the Virtual Ministry Team is in place, they will be free to dream, envision and implement many other strategies that will help us to ensure that…

…everyone knows someone who truly follows Jesus!

Student Life Campus Worker

Vision:

To turn lost students into Christ centered labourers by being an effective campus worker.

Reports to:

Team Leader

You will be placed in a team with a scope of reaching one or more university campuses.

Responsibilities

As a campus worker you must have a developing understanding of where you are going in order to be effective.

• Understand the direction and guidelines given by your Team Leader.
• Spend time in prayer.
• Develop a personal ministry plan based on the Strategic Plan for your Campus(es).
• Spend time planning on a weekly and yearly basis so as to maximize the effectiveness of your time, and the campus cycle.
• Develop a checklist of weekly, monthly, semester, yearly activities based on your plan.

What will your week look like?

• Team Meetings- to plan, pray, train, and encourage each other
• Mentoring from a senior missionary in your team
• Meeting with students
  • Prayer
  • Sharing the gospel with friends and strangers
  • Leading small groups
  • One-on-one discipleship
  • Training students in ministry skills
  • Organising camps, conferences, and other events
• Administration
  • Email communication
  • Regular prayer letters to your Ministry Partner Team
  • Visiting your Ministry Partners (two weeks per year)
  • On-going Ministry Partner Development

Leadership Development

A. Developing Your Relationships:

1. With God – Maintain a deep, intimate walk with God and lead from a spiritual base.
2. With self – Continue to grow and develop in the areas of determination, intellect, characterand emotional well-being.
3. With others – Develop healthy relationships with those you must relate to in light of your leadership role and responsibilities.

B. Developing In Your Roles:

1. Direction Setter- the one who thinks regularly and strategically about the future of the movement.
2. Spokesperson- the one who communicates to key people and/or groups whose cooperation is necessary to the success of the local movement.
3. Coach- the one who builds individuals and the team
4. Change Agent – the one who pursues useful and adaptive change in light of values and mission

C. Developing In Your Responsibilities

1. Vision casting – developing a local vision and communicating that vision to your team, students and other key people
2. Strategy formulation- coming up with effective and efficient ways to accomplish your local vision.
3. Aligning – bringing together those missionaries and students and others whose cooperation is required to fulfill the vision and implement the strategies.
4. Motivating- imparting hope, inspiration and encouragement to your team (students and perhaps fellow missionaries)