Team Discusses Education in Cincinnati

Meetings help Ministerial Services team in developing a plan of tangible educational outcomes to be presented to the Council of Elders in May.

by Dave Register

The United Church of God education team met Feb. 14 and 15 to review the Church's educational efforts over the past 10 years.

Attending the meetings were President Clyde Kilough and members of the Ministerial Services administration team: Jim Franks, operation manager; Doug Horchak; Denny Luker; and Dave Register, director of education programs.

Also attending were the chairmen of the education modules: John Cafourek (focused education), Larry Greider (youth education) and Don Ward (ministerial education).

The meetings were also attended by Gary Antion, ABC student affairs and admissions; David Johnson, ABC alumni affairs; Ralph Levy, ABC academic officer and registrar; Cecil Maranville, managing editor of Ministerial Quarterly; Richard Pinelli, director of ministerial development; and Mark Winner, chairman of the Godly Leadership task force.

Mr. Kilough kicked off the meetings, discussing recent administrative changes in Ministerial Services and a new direction for effective educational programs. Jim Franks reviewed the history of current education modules, explaining the need to appoint a person to coordinate and streamline the entire educational effort.

In 1996, the Council of Elders established four education modules (general education, youth education, focused education and ministerial education) and assigned oversight to the president. The president assigned the task to Ministerial Services.

The education modules produced an abundance of successful products, including the Bible Study Course; the camp program; various publications like World News and Prophecy, Vertical Thought and Ministerial Quarterly; thousands of audio and video tapes on various subjects; booklets; reprint articles; letters; Web sites; youth Bible lessons; teen study guides; elder conferences; family weekends; Ambassador Bible Center; ABC seminars; and much more.

Mr. Franks also discussed the overlap and duplication of effort between various modules of education and the need for someone to coordinate those efforts more effectively. Mr. Register was appointed to coordinate and direct these education programs.

Establishing "Outcomes"

Mr. Register presented an overview of all of the output the Church has created over the past decade and focused everyone's attention on the need to establish "outcomes," rather than just "outputs." Outcomes are benefits or changes for individuals or groups during or after participating in program activities. Outcomes relate to behavior, skills, knowledge, attitudes and values learned through a program. Outcomes should be measured and evaluated.

Over the past decade the Church has produced a lot of educational material and programs. However, little has been done to coordinate efforts or measure the effectiveness of all that output. Mr. Register stressed the need to begin an assessment process to see where the Church should focus attention and to put benchmarks in place for continual improvement of Church educational programs.

To assess current programs, Mr. Register recently surveyed the church pastors. He reviewed the survey results and discussed ideas for improving and increasing effectiveness.

Each of the module chairmen gave a report on progress made over the past 10 years and reported on current education projects within the various modules.

Educational Presentations

On day two, educational presentations were given by various ministers involved in Church education. Mr. Johnson gave a presentation titled, "From Head to Heart to Hand," in which he explained that the most effective learning styles are those that produce results in the lives of the students.

Mr. Horchak presented "Lessons Learned in Youth Education Over the Past Decade." He shared with the group a number of valuable lessons learned by the youth education team.

Dr. Ward covered "Learning Styles," relating methods of learning that are most effective and how to best reach our various communities within the Church.

Mr. Luker presented "How Aging Affects Learning." He discussed a number of studies that reveal aging does not have to affect learning negatively if students take care of their physical, emotional and mental health as they age.

Mr. Greider discussed the concept of "Outcomes," and how the teen camp team developed the concept of outcomes and measurements with the help of the American Camp Association. The teen camp program has been one of the most effective programs, according to the recent pastor's survey.

Developing a Plan

The meetings concluded with an open discussion about future education programs of the Church. Mr. Kilough and Mr. Franks emphasized the need to coordinate our efforts in the area of education. In order to accomplish that goal, our education program with its various parts will now be coordinated through the new position of education director.

The Ministerial Services administrative team will develop a plan of tangible outcomes over the next few months. These outcomes will determine the future structure of the educational efforts of the Church. The plan will be presented to the Council of Elders in May. UN