CollegeReady-Tech Connect

Using technology to expand your ministry opportunity!

College Ready can be much more than a weekly meeting. We’ve developed the curriculum with the hope that it would be transformational, putting students on solid footing for life and beyond. Therefore we value your role as a College Ready leader, and we want to encourage you and equip you for successful group and interpersonal ministry beyond just showing the videos.

The use of a social networking web based tool can bring a level of connectedness that will hopefully move your group from acceptable to exceptional. Thanks to technology, you can easily communicate in multiple ways beyond the group meeting times. Since the majority of students are connected to Facebook, we’ve chosen to focus on that particular application here. However, there are many more options that can be utilized. It’s what works best for you and your group.

As an example, through Facebook you can:

Promote or continue discussions between sessions. Whether you’d like to continue a discussion from your group meeting or create a new one, the discussion board allows you to open the door for meaningful conversation among group members.
Create a safe environment for members to connect. You can create a private Facebook group that will only allow your members to communicate and learn more about each other. You'll learn more about the challenges your students are facing—where they're struggling, and where they're winning.
Send a message to your members as a group or individually. Instead of calling each individual, you can send a message to the entire group with the click of a button. And, you can offer more personalized advice than the group setting might allow.
Promote an event. Want to get the group together for a coffee one Thursday evening? Just create an event and invite everyone to come.
Post questions or polls in advance of each session. Help the students prepare for upcoming sessions and share results of your polls so students have an idea of where they stand compared to the others. They need to know “they're not alone!”

Below are some sample questions or polls you could post in advance of each session and share the results with your group. Be creative to develop your own—and play to the uniqueness of your own group. You could use the Facebook forum to draw your students further into the College Ready experience.

Session 1: College Starts Best with Vision

Did you ever have a vision for something you wanted to achieve—maybe in athletics or music? If so, what was it? Did it help you achieve your goal?
Are you confident about your direction in college?

Session 2: Empowering Friendship

Do you have zero, one, or two or more friends you feel will hold you accountable to a “higher standard?”
Do you have a good friend(s) from high school coming with you to college or are you going it alone?

Session 3: Excelling Academically

Do you have a clear academic goal or target GPA?
Do you know what you plan to major in?
Why did you chose your major and do you know what potential job options it could lead to?

Session 4: Dating Right

Do you have clear moral boundary lines you hold to in dating? If so, have you told anyone about them so they can hold you accountable?
Do you consider dating in college to be a “search for a potential mate” or is it just for fun?

Session 5: Having Fun

What’s one fun adventure you’d love to have while in college?
What’s a great memory you have from high school? Why was that experience special?

Session 6: Growing Spiritually

Did you consider the availability of a good church or solid campus ministry in your college decision?
Do you plan on becoming involved in a small group Bible study?
Do you have a spiritual mentor?

Here are some simple directions to help you create your Facebook Group. Follow these four easy steps:

Log into your personal Facebook account and select the “Group” icon on the Facebook application bar on the left of your screen. (Note: you must first have a personal Facebook account in order to start or join a group.)
Click “Create a Group” at the top right of the Group page.
In the form that appears, complete the necessary information to start your group: group name, group privacy settings, group discussion, etc.
Invite your Facebook group members to join the group. To make the group dynamic, be sure to post questions, useful information, links, and more.

We already have an active fan page on Facebook, and we encourage you to create your own group page. It’s easy, fun, and a great way to stay connected! Click to Connect Now!

Using technology to expand your ministry opportunity!

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