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Survey of Best Practices for the Development of Online Religious Communities LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY SURVEY OF BEST PRACTICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES A Thesis Project Submitted to Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree DOCTOR OF MINISTRY By Daniel Charles Doody Lynchburg, Virginia July, 2010 LIBERTY BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY THESIS PROJECT APPROVAL SHEET ___________________________ GRADE ___________________________ MENTOR, Dr. Ronald E. Hawkins Vice Provost Liberty University Graduate School And Online Programs ___________________________ READER, Dr. Charlie Davidson Director of DMIN Program ii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION……………………………………………………...1 Introduction ..............................................................................................……...1 Purpose of the Study ................................................................................……...4 Problem Background ...............................................................................……...6 Cultural Changes that Impact the Church ....................................……...8 Cultural Changes that Impact Families and Community……….……...11 Cultural Changes that Impact the Educational System ................……...12 History of the Internet ..............................................................................……...13 Technology Impacts on Communities .....................................................……...15 Importance of the Study ...........................................................................……...20 Statement of Methodology .......................................................................……...21 Definitions................................................................................................……...24 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW .............................................................……...29 Theological Basis for the Study ...............................................................……...30 Biblical Times ..............................................................................……...31 Communication of the Gospel Message ......................................……...32 iii Role of the Church……………………………………………...……....35 Role of the Christian Community ................................................……...35 Church Strategy .......................................................................................……...38 Online Community Roles and Relationships ...............................……...40 Online and Offline Community ...................................................……...44 Internet-based Learning ...............................................................……...45 Risks and Concerns of the Internet ..............................................……...48 Characteristics of an Effective Online Learning Program ...........……...49 Literature Summary .................................................................................……...51 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .......................................................................……...54 Research Design.......................................................................................……...55 Advantages and Disadvantages of the Survey Method .................……...56 Objectives and Variables for this Research Study ........................……...58 Validity and Reliability .................................................................……...59 Selection of Subjects .....................................................................……...60 Survey Monkey Implementation ...................................................……...63 Instrumentation ........................................................................................……...64 Survey Content ..............................................................................……...64 Pilot Study .....................................................................................……...66 Types of Questions Used on the Surveys ......................................……...68 Assumptions and Limitations ..................................................................……...69 Procedures ................................................................................................……...71 Implementation Plan ................................................................................……...75 iv Data Processing and Analysis……………………………………………….. 75 Summary of Methodology………………………………………………… 77 CHAPTER 4: SURVEY RESULTS………………………………………………… 79 Review of Survey Implementation Methodology…………………………… 79 Analysis……………………………………………………………………… 81 Online Church Survey Analysis……………………………………… 82 Online Seminary Survey Analysis…………………………………… 93 Survey Method Effectiveness………………………………………………... 101 CHAPTER 5: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS…... 104 Summary of Overall Findings……………………………………………….. 105 Survey Findings……………………………………………………………… 106 Trends………………………………………………………………... 107 Managing the Online Ministry………………………………………. 107 Web Page Content…………………………………………………… 108 Technology…………………………………………………………... 109 Relationship Development in the Online Community………………. 112 Evangelism and Renewal……………………………………………. 112 Online Programs and Ministries……………………………………... 114 Spiritual Activities…………………………………………………… 115 Recommendations for the Church…………………………………………… 116 Recommended Tools………………………………………………… 116 v Recommended Online Community Management…………………… 117 Recommendations for the Seminary………………………………………… 118 Conclusions about Study Design and Methodology………………… 123 Comparisons to national Studies…………………………………….. 124 Recommendations for Future Research……………………………………... 126 BIBLIOGRAPHY…………………………………………………………………….. 129 Appendix A: INVITATION AND INFORMED CONCENT FOR ONLINE CHURCHES……………………………………………………………. 140 Appendix B: ONLINE CHURCH AND SEMINARY SURVEY……………………. 143 Appendix C: IMPLEMENTATION PLAN: ONLINE COMMUNITY EXTENSION 155 Executive Summary………………………………………………………….. 155 Online Implementation Process……………………………………………… 156 CMS Planning Consideration………………………………………………… 159 Web Design Options…………………………………………………………. 160 Sample Implementation Plan………………………………………………… 165 Purpose………………………………………………………………. 165 The Objective………………………………………………............... 165 Tasks…………………………………………………………………. 166 Schedule……………………………………………………............... 166 Progress……………………………………………………………… 166 Scope of Implementation……………………………………………. 166 vi Survey Results……………………………………………………….. 167 Roles and Responsibilities…………………………………………………... 167 Leadership…………………………………………………………… 167 Management Representative (MR)………………………………….. 168 The Technical Team…………………………………………………. 168 TT and Community Leaders………………………………………… 168 Outside Contractor Support………………………………………….. 169 Web Functional Roles/Responsibilities……………………………………... 169 Domain Name (DNS) Registrar……………………………………… 169 Hosting Company……………………………………………………. 169 Content Management Services (CMS)……………………………….. 170 The Web/Graphics Designer……...………………………………….. 170 The Web Developer………………………………………………….. 170 Resourcing Implementation………………………………………………….. 171 Initial Implementation Funding………………………………………. 171 Internal Labor Requirements…………………………………………. 171 Implementation Schedule and Milestones…………………..……….............. 172 Benefits of Proposed Plan……………………………………...……………. 173 Content Management Service (CMS) Evaluation Sheet……..……………… 173 VITA………………………………………………………………………………….. 176 vii List of Tables Table 1. Religious Institution Response rate by Survey Method…………………….80 Table 2. Religious Institution Response Rate………………………………………………..80 Table 3. Number of People Managing Online Church Community…………………...86 Table 4. Most Frequently Used Technology Methods…………………………………….88 Table 5. Number of Students Enrolled in Online Seminaries……….………………….94 Table 6. Favored Technology Methods for Evangelism………………………………….98 Table 7. Comparison of Respondents Useful Online Communications Tools…..127 Table 8. Key Actions to be Completed…………………………………………………………..161 Table 9. Sample Implementation Milestones……………………………….………………..166 viii List of Figures Figure 1. Research requirements Process…………………………………………………….74 Figure 2. Number of Online Church Members……………………………………………….83 Figure 3. Effectiveness of Online Church as an Evangelistic Tool……………...........92 ix ABSTRACT SURVEY OF BEST PRACTICES FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ONLINE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES Daniel Charles Doody Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary, 2010 Mentor: Dr. Ronald E. Hawkins The purpose of this study is to determine the procedures to develop an Internet-based online church and seminary. Ultimately, the research will define the tools, technologies, and best practices of building religious online communities to better serve the unchurched, church members and seminary students. Research will address the shared resources common to both the online church and seminary for evangelism, teaching and training. The findings of the study will also result in the creation of an implementation guide for the future development of other religious online communities. Abstract length: 88 words. x ACKNOWLEDGEMENT All honor and glory belong to the Lord for all he has accomplished through this dissertation project at Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. My dissertation would not have been possible without all the encouraging support and prayers of my family and friends. Special mention is made to my wife whose encouragement and perseverance carried me through the long preparation hours. I would especially like to mention Dr. Ronald E. Hawkins for mentoring me through the long process to complete this dissertation. Without his wisdom and guidance, I would not
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