What Do the Midlands Region and Ministry to the Military Have in Common?
This year, the Midlands Region of the Church of God and Ministry to the Military (MTTM) used video conferences to conduct their Ministerial Internship Program (MIP) seminars that were under the direction of the Church of God Division of Education.
In the Midlands Region, MIP candidates live in the extreme opposite corners of the region, so Derwood Perkins, administrative bishop, and Raymond Bettis, state MIP coordinator, decided to conduct the MIP seminars through video conferences. The video conferences have benefited all participants and have made the MIP more economical this term.
Wade Miller, state MIP coordinator for the MTTM, reported that the approach was intriguing.
“Ministry to the Military has four couples enrolled in the MIP—two were in Kaiserslautern, Germany; one was at Fort Bragg, North Carolina; and one was at Beale Air Force Base in northern California,” Miller said. “Planning the seminar video conferences required diligence because the locations of the candidates spanned nine different time zones. However, they all participated in the monthly MIP seminars.”
Miller went on to say that the MTTM has been using videoconferencing for three years now, and the videoconferencing has worked well. Don Bennett, who coordinates the Ministerial Internship Program in the Division of Education, participated in one MIP seminar a couple of years ago.
“Talking with people in four countries in Asia and in the United States was amazing,” Bennett said. “The camaraderie and discussion were enriching. “
Recognizing that technology has grown and has improved, the Division of Education applauds state ministerial training programs that are effectively utilizing technology to prepare people for ministry. The DOE endeavors to use these kinds of resources to train Church of God ministers.
