Summary
The Difference course explores what it means to follow Jesus in a complex and divided world, seeing transformation through everyday encounters.
Navigating a divided and complex world can be hard. We encounter this in our relationships, in our communities, and in our wider systems and structures. Many of us long to make a difference, but we often don’t know how to respond or where to start. This is why Archbishop Justin Welby has brought together leading practitioners and thinkers to create Difference, equipping participants with the skills to cross divides, navigate disagreement, and pursue a just and flourishing world.
Design for People was engaged to help design and produce a new self-paced online version of this course on the Trinity partner learning platform Junction Education.
Challenge
The Difference course was originally designed to be run in person in a facilitated small-group setting. Much of the course material consisted of instruction for facilitators and guidance for collaborative discussion. People were no longer able to meet in person in the UK due to Covid. Our challenge was to modify the course material and discussion to be delivered online, either through synchronous cohorts, or asynchronous and self-paced.
Project Approach and Results
The project began with meeting the program leaders at the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Reconciliation Ministry to understand their vision and mission for the course and its branding.
We started by creating a prototype based on a lesson. This helped to establish a structure for the other lessons to follow in their design and approach. We developed custom stylesheets so the online course would highlight the beautiful branding and visual style from the instructor-led materials. The course is rich with videos, activities, self-reflections, peer discussions, and case studies. The online course follows the model and learning concepts of the instructor-led course, but is designed and produced for a native online experience.
Across five sessions, Difference teaches three habits that have the potential to transform everyday relationships:
- Be Curious: Listening to others’ stories and seeing the world through their eyes.
- Be Present: Showing up and sticking around; learning to encounter others with authenticity.
- Reimagine: Finding hope and opportunity in the places where we long to see change.
This course is designed for both large and small groups, meeting online or in-person. It has been run in churches, home groups, prisons, and pubs to help followers of Jesus find their part to play in God’s story of restoration.
The Difference course will also be made available on the Trinity Faith Leadership Campus.
Introduction by Archbishop Justin
Three Habits
Lesson Menu
Branding & Creative
Online Learning
Apps & Websites
We may learn, work, buy and sell at a distance, but we all want positive contact.
Design for People supplies the rarest element in digital design: a human touch in a chilly point-and-click world. We bake it into brand strategy, apps and websites, eLearning, smart marketing and media planning, and everything you need for success.
