Multnomah
University has taken the
next step in preparing students for Christian ministry by connecting them
directly with ministry organizations. In fall 2009, Multnomah launched the
Ministry Web Directory (MWD) with
an aim to serve student, alumni, and other community needs. The MWD is an online search database open to the public
that is designed to match individuals seeking ministry opportunities with
organizations that provide them.
Creating Connections
After logging into Multnomah's
MWD, users can access more than 100 job opportunities and 40 internships
offered by trusted organizations. When a position has been filled,
organizations update the status, keeping the job lists current. As a powerful
search engine, the MWD incorporates
user profiles and search preferences to compile a report of ministries that
match the users' specifications. The search engine gleans through more than
2400 organizations to find matches.
With the MWD,
users can:
- Create
search preferences for ministry type, denomination, location, and job
positions
- Research
matching ministries, find ministry descriptions, find available positions
and contact information
- Contact
ministries, building connections that could lead to job opportunities
- Access
more opportunities as MWD
adds organizations daily
- Make
personal profiles active, enabling ministries to search for and contact
individuals who match the organization's needs
Multnomah's MWD charges organizations $25 per year for a pack
of five vacancy postings. The MWD
service is free to everyone else; only vacancy posting requires payment.
Connecting Multnomah
The MWD service
complements Professor Bonnie Kopp's required Career Development class at the
undergraduate Bible
College. During the
class, Prof. Kopp shows students how to set up MWD
profiles and search for matching organizations using their in-class career
match results.
The service is also available to all Seminary, Graduate,
Adult Degree Completion, and Connect Online students. All alumni are encouraged
to participate as either a seeker or a poster. The service is open to anyone in
the community wishing to serve in a ministry.
Multnomah approves all organizations and ministries before
adding them. This approval process ensures that all organizations MWD displays fit with Multnomah University's
doctrinal and ethical values. Currently, Multnomah's MWD
database hosts 836 individuals and 978 approved organizations with the numbers
growing all the time.
Quotes
"When Jesus said, ‘I
come to give you life, and life abundantly,' a part of that was the idea that
the Father wants us to live our lives in the way he's wired us," Multnomah
Career Services and Student Ministry Director, Jim Saemenes, said. "That includes
our careers and the way we serve. So if we can help people connect with that,
then we have increased the value of an education at this institution, we have
helped with recruitment, and we've helped with retention of students."
"This is cutting edge - Multnomah is once again leading the
way," Saemenes said. "It communicates to me that our university wants to be the
best that it can be before God - in stewardship, in helping ministry partners,
in helping alumni, in helping students - and that makes Multnomah a great place
to be a part of."
Contact
Info
For more information about Multnomah's Ministry Web
Directory and other career services programs, please contact Multnomah
University Career Center at 503.251.6472 or careerservices@multnomah.edu.
About
Multnomah
Multnomah University is a
fully accredited, private, non-denominational, Christian institution of higher
education, located in Portland, Oregon. Made up of an undergraduate Bible
college, a biblical seminary, a graduate school, an adult degree completion
program, and an online distance-learning program, Multnomah issues bachelors
and masters degrees, and professional certifications and endorsements.