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An instructor virtually meets with MTC missionaries from the comfort of her own home. Qualified members of the Church ages 26 and older are invited to take part in a new service mission opportunity by serving as an online institute teacher.© 2024 by Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.As the educational reach of BYU–Pathway Worldwide continues to expand, qualified members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints ages 26 and older are invited to help build the faith of students worldwide by serving as an online institute teacher. Teachers will be called, set apart and receive a service mission name badge.
“As in other Church schools, BYU–Pathway students are expected to make gospel learning a significant part of their education. Institute is a natural way for Pathway students to meet this expectation, allowing them to earn college credits free of charge,” said Benjamin Loertscher, an online director for Seminaries and Institutes of Religion.
Service missionary instructors will get to facilitate and lead these online courses with students from all over the world, providing unprecedented experiences discussing the gospel through technology. This comes at a pivotal time for the Seminaries and Institutes program, which is on track to add 100,000 students since 2021.
The teaching opportunity will require a commitment of at least eight hours per week. Teachers may be single or married and must be temple worthy.
Seminaries and Institutes of Religion hopes to have the new teachers in place by January 2025.
Other qualifications, requirements and application instructions for the position can be found at the Seminaries and Institutes of Religion website.
About BYU–Pathway
BYU–Pathway Worldwide manages all online educational programs within the Church Educational System, offering widespread access to “spiritually based, online affordable higher education." Over 180 countries are represented in the student body.
The organization’s mission “is to develop disciples of Jesus Christ who are leaders in their homes, the Church and their communities,” according to its “Our Story” page.
“I know BYU–Pathway is a perfect secular and spiritual venue for molding future church leaders. It is worth all the sacrifice,” said Florence Espina, a BYU–Pathway Worldwide graduate from Cebu, Philippines.
“One of the things that really got me to stay in the program was the weekly gatherings we had,” said Al Jonathan Domingo, another graduate from the Philippines. “I felt my testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ strengthened as I listened to others share their thoughts and insights.”
The Teaching Experience
Online courses enable students to take institute classes from wherever they are in the world, even if they are far from college-affiliated programs or classes hosted at stake meetinghouses. The same technology also allows teachers to overcome their own challenges and make genuine connections with their students.
Loertscher related a story of an online institute instructor who began her teaching experience with feelings of great inadequacy. Over a semester, however, she had gained confidence in her abilities and developed genuine connections with her students.
“By the end of this semester,” Loertscher said, “this same teacher was in tears because her class was moving on and she would not get the chance to teach them anymore. The transition from an anxious teacher to a skilled online instructor was profound! Most online teachers go through a similar transformation.”
Douglas Geilman, another Seminaries and Institutes of Religion online director, added, “Some individuals who desire to teach haven’t had the opportunity because they were unable to travel to an institute site, because they had physical limitations that kept them from standing in front of a class or because others had already been called as the institute teachers for their stake. Now, anyone with a desire to serve is eligible, even if someone else from their stake has been called to teach the in-person class.”
Brother Rich Bovo, an online institute teacher from southern Utah, jumped on the opportunity to teach when he received a “strong impression” to do so during a Church meeting. Bovo and his wife, Carol, have been able to develop special relationships with their students through their calling as institute teachers.
In what they called a “tender mercy,” the Bovos were able to be present for the temple sealing for the daughter of one of their students, Janae.
“This all happened because of experience with the Pathways institute program,” they wrote in a letter to Geilman. “We felt close to Janae because of the involvement we had with her during the semester, and she was [an] ideal student, drawing closer to her Savior through the curriculum and gathering experience.”
Another of their students made the decision to join the Church and be baptized, thanks to the faith she gained while taking the Bovos’ online Book of Mormon class.
The Bovos expressed deep gratitude to Geilman for their opportunity to labor “in our part of the Lord’s vineyard” by teaching institute for BYU–Pathway Worldwide, and said, “We have been blessed.”
To get involved with this new service mission opportunity, interested teachers should visit https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/si/serve/online-instructor?lang=eng.
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