Online courses mobilise mission workers in Latin America

By Chris Conti | South America

A month before COVID-19 hit, leaders of the “Let’s Mobilize His Church” project had already planned and recorded their first online mobilisation course in Spanish. Production sped up, as interest grew during the pandemic.

They now offer eight courses and are working on others. All the courses are offered for free during the crisis.

More than 1,100 students in Latin America are enrolled, many of them in more than one course. Courses, so far, include: “En Route to being a Missional Church” (a basic mission course), a facilitator’s course for “En Route,” three courses about church-focused mobilisation, and several short courses for mission candidates, like “Learning English for the mission field” and “Taking steps to serve.”

One Venezuelan woman, Yusmira, has taken all eight of the current courses.

Yusmira had wanted to attend the mobilisation manual launch conference in Venezuela scheduled for April 2019 but could not afford the cost of traveling to the event, which only cost $1 (USD) to attend. The conference ended up being cancelled due to COVID.

When she saw that they were starting to offer courses online—and for free—she signed up and finished each one. Yusmira said that these courses are an answer to her prayers.

“For me, this has been such a blessing. The courses have helped me to adjust my view of mobilisation to something much clearer,” she said. “I’ve also learned about how a mobiliser needs to be selfless and not just work for one organisation or cause, but for the Kingdom. This makes our focus stay on Christ and how to help others serve him and his plan.”

Johana, from Mexico, said, “This course has helped me have a global vision, not only in my calling as a missionary but also to disciple the Church and help it to participate in God’s mission.”

Guillerlys, from Venezuela, said that the courses had a great impact on her. She said, “The homework assignments are not easy, but they are awesome!”

Completion rates for online courses internationally show that only about 10 per cent of students finish their course. However, the completion rate for these courses has been significantly higher  for a few reasons. Students are encouraged to study together, even forming small groups with friends from church. Also, there is a small team in each country that follows up with their students, which also increases interest in the courses.

Do you know someone who can study these materials? Find them at Movilecemos Courses. If you feel led to contribute to the Let’s Mobilize his Church Project, visit our donational portal, select your nearest country, and use project 099699.