What is Bible Interactive?

Bible Interactive 1.0 is a new software program developed by Robert Koester and Blue Web Studios, LLC to enable any congregation to host online Bible studies. A congregation can host one study a year or set up an entire online university.

We used a university type model for presenting online courses, and distilled it down into a program with features to deliver congregational Bible Study courses. It is fully automated and courses can be shared between congregations using the program.

Features

The software resides on our server. You do not have to set up anything on your server. To become part of the system, you simply tell us you want to join and we will duplicate the entire piece of software on our server and assign that copy to your congregation. Your software will remain private and can by used only by your congregation. The software includes two components.

• First, the "front end," is what you see on the web site. We have created a simple looking web page style that can be color coded to match your congregation's web site. Your name appears on the top of each page, and, if you wish, we can place your congregation's logo on each page. You will be provided with a URL by which you can link your church's web site to the pages users see when they come in through your web site. The user will not know he or she has left your web site.

• Second, the "back end," is the administration area where you create the courses you want to teach, set up classes, and enroll members. The software is entirely private to your congregation, that is, your congregation has its own system in which is can create its own online Bible study program. The only overlap is that the Bible Interactive home site has access to the courses you are creating. With your permission, we can trasfer courses between congregations so course sharing becomes possible.

Creating courses is very easy. You simply type or copy content into various text fields. Instructions are given on every online page so you know exactly what to do. We call this creating a "template."

Once you create a template, you can schedule one or more classes that use the template. Once you schedule a classs, everything is automated. The class shows up on your web page, it becomes open for enrollment at a certain time. When a person enrolls, e-mails are automatically sent to the teacher who accepts the enrollment; class rosters are automatically set up, and the prospective member is notified and given a password.

But this is more than software. It is a Bible Study system. You are not limited to the Bible studies you create. We have the ability to download templates into your system that were created by others, and we have the ability to upload your Bible studies (with your permission) to share with others. In time, we hope to create a database of studies that any congregation can use and adapt to their needs.

Demo

We have prepared a simple demo Bible study on the life of Joseph. (We have included only lessons 1 and 2.) Click on the image to the left to enter the Bible Interactive course list page. Find the "Life of Joseph" study in the active Bible studies list, click the name of the study, and you will be asked to log in. To log in, use John or Jane Smith and the password Guest. You can also click on the studies in the other areas to see their home page.

If you would like to see the administration area for this course, click the button to the left and log in with these words: First Name: Bible Second Name: Study Password: Online. You will be taken to the administration area where you can explore how studies are created and administered. Please don't change any of the fields, since that would change what people see in the online couse itelf.

Join Today

E-mail Robert Koester and he will make arrangements to get the information he needs to sign you up. There is no cost. Use the software for a while, give something back to the program, create and share Bible studies, donate some money for site maintenance, share in the development of the site.

Please note: This software was made available February 1, 2006. Although the software is fully functional, we are still refining it. We welcome your suggestions.