Internet Outreach Ministry, Inc. (IOM)
Joining the IOM Team
This page
describes the process for joining the IOM
Team as established by Internet Outreach Ministry, Inc. (IOM). This
process consists of
the following steps: confirmation, information,
verification and online training. These steps are necessary to verify
the identity of those who work in this
ministry, confirm their
spiritual status and train them for online ministry. All who desire to join the
IOM Team are required to complete these steps.
We realize this
is a lot to ask, but we are in a unique ministry here on IRC. The Lord
says we should "know those who labor among us" but many of us will never
meet this side of heaven. We need to know you, and you need to know us.
And we need to make sure that you are trained and equipped for this
unique type of ministry.
Without proper screening, training and preparation,
a person may want to help others before they are strong enough
emotionally and spiritually, which could be potentially damaging to them
and to those they are trying to help. It is also quite possible for a
person with less-than-honorable intent to create any identity,
personality and qualifications they wish by merely typing words on their
keyboard, and possibly cause harm or distress to those who come to us
for help.
By committing
to this process, you are confirming your desire to serve the Lord online
and your awareness that we are not here just to chat but we are here to
minister the love and grace and truth of our Lord Jesus Christ to the
lost and hurting over the Internet.
Note: This process is done on
a secure server that requires registration. You will be issued a
username and password for accessing the server. This assures that the
information you give is only available to the IOM Administrator and
cannot be viewed by anyone else.
Confirmation
The first step is to confirm your agreement with the IOM Doctrine
Statement. This is an extensive statement of faith, expanded to confirm
your agreement with these fundamentals of our faith or reveal any
doctrinal discrepancies. Please take your time to read this document
thoroughly as it is important to clarify any disagreements early on.
Minor disagreements will not have any effect on your acceptance but
agreement is expected on the primary tenets of Christianity.
After you have read the Doctrine Statement, send an email to
iomadmin@ioministry.com with "IOM: Doctrine Statement" in the subject
line. Indicate your agreement with the IOM Doctrine Statement or
identify anything you feel may have been misinterpreted or misapplied.
Please let us know if you find any errors either in scriptural
references or typos.
The IOM Doctrine Statement can be found at
http://iom.cc/frames/aboutiom/statements/doctrine.htm
Note: You are encouraged to read the Doctrine Statement whether or not
you decide to join the IOM Team, and ask questions, make comments or
indicate areas of disagreement and we will be glad to discuss them with
you.
Information
The next step is to give you information about online ministry in
general and about this ministry. There are five pages with a link on
each page to the following page. Please read these pages in sequence, making sure to
continue through all five pages. This will help you decide if
online ministry is for you, and if IOM is the online ministry for you.
If you want to proceed with the process to join the IOM team, you will
be asked to complete an
IOM Information Form which tells us about you as a person, your
spiritual qualifications and your technical skills, and how you would
like to participate in IOM. (You will be given a website address where
you will be issued a user name and password to access the Information
Form.)
Training
Internet Outreach
Ministry, Inc. (IOM) has developed an Online Ministry Training Course (OMTC) consisting of several "lesson modules"
covering all aspects of this online ministry, focusing primarily on
chatroom ministry which is our primary ministry focus. The OMTC can be
done online at your convenience. Upon completion of this course you should be well equipped to minister in
the IOM chatrooms or in any online venue.
Verification
A critical aspect of this process is the verification that you are who
you say you are and that you are indeed a Christian. The Internet easily
lends itself to deception and it is our responsibility to do all we can
to maintain the integrity of this ministry. Therefore, when you are
ready to proceed, we
will ask for your personal information (name, address, phone) so that we
can verify your identity. Wed will also ask for the name, phone number
and email address of your pastor, minister or other person who can
verify your spiritual status. All who wish to participate in this
ministry are required to supply this information.
Those who want to work in the private Outreach channels must complete an
additional step: the IOM Online Interview which asks questions about
your strengths and weakness as they might relate to online ministry. An interview process such as this is necessary to
help us evaluate your potential for online ministry and identify your
areas of strength or vulnerability so that we can protect those who work in these specialized chatrooms
as well as those who come
to these chatrooms for help. Therefore, for the protection of the IOM
Team members and those we minister to, completion of this process is a
mandatory requirement for working in the Private Outreach Chatrooms.
If you have read the previous pages
under Join the Team, please click
HERE to proceed to
the next page: Ministry Options.
(If you have not read the previous pages under Join the Team, please click
HERE and follow the
links.)
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