Guidelines for Participating in Internet Ministry:

Each participant will work throughout the year in a chosen area of Internet-related ministry.

• Internet Ministry is an individual event for youth participants of any grade level.
• The participant will decide on one Internet Ministry project to complete:
  1. To produce and maintain a publicly posted BLOG over a period of three months;
  2. To produce and maintain a publicly posted PODCAST over a period of three months;
  3. To develop and post a FACEBOOK based page devoted to some aspect of ministry;
  4. To assist with or serve as an admin a church WEBSITE;
  5. To create a unique ministry-oriented APP for use on computer or mobile devices.
  6. To created a series of unique and spiritually-themed MEMEs.
• The BLOG project involves the creation of written essays for dissemination over social media.
  1. The platform is left to the choice of the participant: i.e., Blogger, WordPress, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc., but the platform needs to be publicly viewable.
  2. The frequency of posting to the blog is important and will determine the award given.
     • A GOLD rating will be given to the participant who makes at least ONE original blog post per WEEK over a period of THREE MONTHS.
     • A SILVER rating will be given to the participant who makes at least ONE original blog post per MONTH over a period of THREE MONTHS, but less than the gold rating threshold.
     • A BRONZE rating will be given to the participant who makes at least ONE original blog post, but less than the silver rating threshold.
  3. The participant completing the blog project must document his/her word on the internet ministry award certification form.
  4. Note: the work toward this project must be completed by the pre-convention event deadline in February. Thus, to complete a three month long project work should begin before the end of November.
• The PODCAST project is intended for at least two youth participants working in concert to produce a regularly scheduled online discussion of some spiritually-related topic that has public appeal or benefit. The parameters of this project are similar to that of the BLOG project.
• The FACEBOOK PAGE project involves the creation of a group page devoted to some aspect of ministry.
  1. The page can be set up as public or private on Facebook, but the internet ministry event director needs to be given access.
  2. The page can be devoted to Bible study, to some activity of the church, to inspiration, to the support of a ministry or mission, etc.
  3. The page should see frequent moderation activity from the participant who has created it, including posting original content and responding to other posters (in the comments).
  4. The award for the Facebook page project will be determined by the original and compelling nature of the page and the frequency of its moderation by the participant designer. A page creator and moderator has little control over how many “subscribe/like” the page, so the size of the page’s audience will NOT be a factor in the award given.
• The CHURCH WEBSITE project involves the participant working alone or with the church website team to maintain the website for the church he/she attends.
  1. If the church has no website, the participant has the task of creating one, after discussing the project with the church leaders and getting their approval.
  2. If the church already has a website, the participant has the task of working alongside the existing website team to maintain the site that already exists.
  3. The different levels of participation, whether as a lead admin or one of a team, will have a bearing on the type of work completed in this project. If serving as a member of an admin team, the team is asked to create a job description for the internet ministry participant, documenting on the internet ministry award certification form the specific tasks being entrusted with the participant and the hours per week involved in doing these tasks.
  4. The award for the church website project will be determined by the complexity of the work being done, the time devoted toward the work, and the practical value of the end product.
• The UNIQUE APP project involves the creation of a ministry-oriented app.
  1. The concept for the app should be created solely by the participant, and should be practical (having some appealing use).
  2. The work of creating and programming the app should be that of the participant, although the participant can seek out the technical expertise of others.
  3. The app should be developed into some demonstrable form to the internet ministry event director, either disseminated digitally to the event director or via USB thumb drive.
  4. The award for the unique app project will be determined by the creativity of the concept for the app and the practical execution of the concept into a usable app.
• The MEMEs project involves the creation of a series of unique and spiritually-themed memes.
  1. The memes should be created in a digital format that is easily shareable on social media platforms.
  2. The memes should use tasteful graphics and texts.
  3. The memes should be the original work of the participant, including graphic images and photos that are used (or be from the public domain) and wording (although cited quotations can be used).
  4. The memes MUST be posted to social media before submission to the event director, with the URL duly noted on the internet ministry award certification form.
  5. The award for the meme project will be determined by the creativity employed in making the memes, the appealing nature of the memes, and the number of memes created.
     • A GOLD rating will be considered if FIVE or more memes are created.
     • A SILVER rating will be considered if THREE or more memes are created.
     • A BRONZE rating will be considered if at least ONE meme is created.
• Mastery of these skills and projects is not expected. The Internet Ministry event is about learning, practice, and application.

 

Award Requirements:

Internet Ministry is not a judged event.

• The guidelines given above outline the particulars about how internet ministry participants will be recognized and award.
• Awarding varies by the nature of the project that is completed, but the primary criterion that unites all of the five project categories are CREATIVITY, APPEAL, and APPLICATION.
• The awarding for this event is rather subjective and left to the event director in consultation with others.
• The age of the participant will be a determining factor used in awarding recognition for this event.

 

Submission Protocol:

Submissions of Internet Ministry entries should follow these guidelines.

• Internet Ministry entries should be submitted to the Internet Ministry event director.
• Submissions can be made via email/postal mail to the event director.
• Click on the event director’s name posted at the top of this page, or visit the CONTACT US page, for information on how to submit materials to the event director.
• Submissions must include a Pre-Convention Cover Sheet (listing all Internet Ministry participants from the church) and a copy of the Internet Ministry Award Certification Form for each participant from the church registered in the event.
• All required materials must be submitted on or before the pre-convention submissions deadline (postal submissions must be post-marked on or before this date).
• Do not send entries in a manner that require signature receipt.
• The event coordinator will send confirmation of receipt of the submission to the church coordinator.
• If applicable to the participant(s), a LTCSW Special Needs or Concerns Form should be submitted to the LTCSW Special Needs Coordinator by the registration deadline.