Outreach Workshops and Courses
The Oswald Hoffmann School of Christian Outreach (OHSCO) develops and offers outreach workshops and courses for the church at large.
Outreach Workshop/Seminars
Any congregation which would like to sponsor an evening, day, or weekend outreach workshop equipping and preparing people for local outreach should contact OHSCO. Congregational outreach concerns, though not exhaustive, which might form the basis for a workshop could include:
- Cross-cultural Communication Techniques: Communities are changing at a rapid rate from one?s own culture to other cultural groups. How does a congregation reach these people in the community? This workshop addresses the issue of cross-cultural communication and what congregations can do to strategize and implement a method to reach the unchurched across cultures
- Is Your Congregation a Great Commission Congregation? This workshop takes a look at the outreach culture of your own congregation. What issues need to be addressed in order to change the congregation into a Great Commission Congregation?
- Who are the Unchurched? This workshop spends time discussing the worldview of the unchurched, what strategies might be used to reach them, and how your congregation could begin to implement the changes necessary to act as an outreach vehicle for God.
- The Mission of God: What is God?s intention for His Church? Based on Luke 19:10, the workshop takes a look at the focus of all church ministry - reaching the lost for Christ. The goal is that participants learn and carry this mission vision back to the congregation and make it the congregation?s heartbeat.
- Great Commission Living: As we encounter others and form relationships with them, God can use us as a part of His plan to bring them into His family. This workshop shows church members how to share Christ in a natural way, as a way of life.
- Communicating the Gospel Across Generations: Who are the Builders, Boomers, Busters, Millenials, and ????, and how can these generations be reached for Christ? This workshop develops and offers methods to cross the gaps for effective Gospel outreach communication.
- Contemporary Worship Insights: This workshop offers insights and ideas related to worship style, music, and purpose, all within the context of Biblical worship and the historical precedents in the Lutheran church.
- Urban, Suburban, or Rural Outreach Ministry: With churches closing in rural areas, leaving urban centers, and growing in suburban contexts, this workshop will share insights, ideas, and strategies which can be used to reach the unchurched living in these places.
District DELTO and/or Lay Training Institute Courses
OHSCO is actively involved in training outreach leaders through the DELTO program (Distance Education Leading Toward Ordination) as well as through lay training institutes. Outreach courses are tailored and designed to communicate outreach theology, principles, and strategies to the specific participant group.
Mission Sundays/Great Commission Convocations
OHSCO's faculty includes former missionaries as well as ordained pastors who are able to lead Mission Sundays or be guest speakers at outreach convocations and conventions. OHSCO is also able to network congregations or groups with individuals who are able to fulfill such a request.
Outreach Courses Offered by Concordia University through OHSCO
OHSCO offers independent study courses for full and audit credit as well as for one's own personal outreach development.
THY280 Personal Witnessing 2cr
THY281 Principles for Christian Outreach 4cr
THY371 Mission of God 4cr
THY372 Life and Work on the Mission Field 2cr
THY381 Congregational Outreach 4cr
THY382 Assimilation Ministries 3cr
THY461 Worship and Witness 2cr
THY473 Cross Cultural Outreach 4cr
THY480 Rural, Suburban, and Urban Outreach 3cr
THY481 The Christian Response to the Religions of the World 2cr
