Christians and the Digital Divide Conference, May 5, 2001

Mon Apr 2 18:02:44 EDT 2001

I just wanted to let you know about an upcoming conference titled on
Saturday May, 5, from 8:30-5:00, titled "Equipping the Church with Computer
Technology: Christians and the Digital Divide."  The goal of the conference
is equip Christian organizations to address the digital divide as well as to
improve their own operations using technology.  We will be exploring how
faith based organizations are already addressing the digital divide and what
make their approach unique.  The following is a list of groups of people who
may be interested the conference:

1. Any technology or business professional or hobbyist thinking about how to
use their gifts to serve others and to serve God.
2. Anyone interested in the digital divide and the role faith based
organizations have in addressing it.
3. Anyone interested in urban, outreach and mercy ministries who would like
to learn how technology can help.
4. People wanting to gain basic computer skills for ministry.  Particularly,
Audio/Video/Worship people in churches who might want to learn how to take
better advantage of multimedia in services.

The primary sponsors of the Conference are the Black Church Capacity
Building Project and the PREP Community Computer Center of Bruce Wall
Ministries.  The conference is also receiving support from Cambridge
Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Dorchester Temple Baptist Church and the
Association of Christian Community Computer Centers www.acccc.org.

It is intended to be a regional conference and will mainly involve people in
the Boston area (we are inviting 600 metro area churches), so unless you
have a particular interest in this area, it may not be worth traveling cross
country for a one day conference. Please help us spread the word by sending
an announcement to any E-mail lists you are on and to friends you think
might be interested.  Because the primary conference topic is the digital
divide we've tried to make it affordable for everyone.  The conference will
cost $20 and those interested in attending it should send E-mail to
info at preptraining.org or call (617) 262-4567 or (617) 282-0155 to get a
registration brochure.  Also let us know if your organization would like a
conference poster or brochure so you can post it at your site.

Sorry for any cross posting.  Thanks so much.

Andrew Sears
Director, Association of Christian Community Computer Centers
www.acccc.org

A more detailed description is below...
-------------
Equipping the Church with Computer Technology:
Christians and the Digital Divide
Saturday, May 5, 2001

A Conference Where You Can…
· Find out how your church or ministry can take advantage of technology for
ministry
· Gain hands on training in Web design, desktop publishing and more for your
ministry
· Learn about what Christians are doing to address the gap between those
with access to technology and those without (the Digital Divide)
· Explore ways to use your technology skills to minister to others
· Meet Christians with an interest in computers and technology

Presented by
The Black Church Capacity Building Program of the Emmanuel Gospel Center &
Bruce Wall Ministries PREP Community Computer Center
(With support from the Cambridge Vineyard Christian Fellowship, Dorchester
Temple Baptist Church and the Association of Christian Community Computer
Centers)
Saturday, May 5, 2001
8:30 AM - 5:00 PM
(Breakfast and lunch will be served)
670 Washington Street, Dorchester, MA 02124

For information, contact
info at preptraining.org
www.preptraining.org
or call (617) 262-4567 or (617) 282-0155
Registration Fee: $20 Before May 1
                 $30 After May 1
(Scholarships are Available)

--------

What is the Digital Divide?
The digital divide is the gap between those with access to and training with
technology and those without.  It has become a critical social issue for
Christians to address because many individuals are unable to get jobs
because of a lack of access to and training with technology.  Currently,
over 65% of all jobs use computers and if you count technologies like cash
registers over 90% of jobs use some form of computer.  The goal of this
conference is to address the digital divide by equipping churches to use
technology both for their internal operations and to serve the community by
providing computer skills and access.

The Black Church Capacity Building Program (BCCBP) and the Bruce Wall
Ministries PREP Community Computer Center invite you to participate in a
conference with technical assistance workshops focusing on Computer
Technology for churches and Faith-Based Organizations (FBOs). The purpose of
these workshops is to introduce computer technology to some and to give
others a broader perspective of how technology can be used to enhance
church, social ministry, and organizational functioning.  Several workshops
will be focused on addressing the digital divide, which is the gap that
separates those with access and training on computers from those without.
We will also have over 50 computers available for participants to use in our
hands-on sessions and breakout rooms for other sessions.  The workshop
descriptions include:

Workshops
§       Desktop Publishing: This workshop is a hands-on computer course on how
Desktop Publishing can be used in your ministry.  Participants will design
their own example project using PREP’s computers and Microsoft Publisher.
§       Management of Databases and Mailing Lists: a hands-on computer course on
how to establish and maintain a database of your organization’s members.
This course will also cover how to set up mailing lists (postal) and E-mail
lists.
§       Web Site Design: This workshop is a hands-on computer course on Web Site
design using Microsoft FrontPage where participants will experiment with
using computers to design a basic Web site for their ministry.
§       Establishing Computer Ministries in Churches: This workshop will discuss
how churches can establish computer ministries to enable computer
professionals and hobbyists to use their skills in ministry.
§       Establishing Community Computer Centers: Christians and the Digital
Divide: This workshop will discuss how churches and FBOs can establish
community computer centers.  These centers may provide computer skills to
youth and adults through classes, after school programs, walk-in computer
access and other methods.
§       Experiences of Christians Addressing the Digital Divide: This workshop
will present some of the  experiences and innovations that have been used
locally to   bridge the digital divide.
§       Computers in Youth and After School Programs: This workshop will discuss
creative ways in which computers have been integrated into after school and
youth programs.
§       Computers,  Entrepreneurship, and Ministry: This workshop will discuss how
entrepreneurs in technology professions can use their skills to minister to
others.
§       Multimedia Ministries: This workshop will discuss how to integrate
multimedia (audio, video and images) into church services and other
ministry.
§       Church Communities on the Web in Boston: This workshop will discuss how
Christians and churches in Boston are developing metro-area Web communities
and how you can get involved.
§       Improve Your Leadership: This workshop will focus on how churched and FBOs
can incorporate technology, scenario planning, ministry assessments and
systems thinking into their planning.

Interested persons should complete and return the attached registration form
to the BCCBP (see form for address) by no later than May 1, 2001 (to avoid
late registration fee).  Registration may be limited, so please register as
soon as possible.  The registration fee of $20.00 per person will be used to
help defray the costs of the food and materials.  If multiple persons will
be registering from your church/FBO, if possible, please send in one
registration packet, including a registration form for each individual
registrant and one check for the entire cost of the registration.   Please
make checks payable to the Black Church Capacity Building Program or BCCBP.

The BCCBP, a joint program of the Emmanuel Gospel Center and the Black
Ministerial Alliance of Greater Boston, was established as a funding
collaborative in 1995 to provide Black churches and faith-based
organizations the technical resources needed to expand their capacity to
develop, run and manage, more efficiently, their social outreach ministries.

The PREP Community Computer Center is a collaborative project between Bruce
Wall Ministries, Cambridge Vineyard, and Dorchester Temple Baptist Church,
with the goal of providing computer skills needed to make a living and a
spiritual foundation to make a life. PREP provides over 30 computer classes
to over 500 students each year with the classes being free to youth and
unemployed adults in the Dorchester community.

Directions to Conference at 670 Washington St, Dorchester, MA 02124
Driving directions: From I-93. Take exit 11B (Route 203, Granite Ave.,
Ashmont) Go over the
bridge and through the light. Turn left (west) at second light onto Gallivan
Blvd. You will see a McDonalds and a Mobil Gas Station at the turn. Turn
right (north) at  third light onto Washington St. You will see a gas
station.  Travel a dozen blocks, and DTBC is a brown shake building on the
right.
T Directions: Take the Red line to Ashmont. Exit the T station, and turn
right (North) on to Dorchester Ave. At the first major intersection, take
the left fork, onto Talbot.  At the first light, take the left fork on to
Welles Ave. DTBC is at the end of Welles Ave. on the right.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

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