New BeADisciple.com Course Focuses on Racial Reconciliation

Rev. Andrew Finch, who pastors three United Methodist congregations in Omaha, will lead an online course focusing on racial reconciliation in the church. The class will be held May 6-31 and is open to all persons looking for biblical, theological, and practical ways to support diversity in the church and racial reconciliation within the church.  The four-week event is offered at BeADisciple.com, and will include optional Zoom meetings as well as discussion and interaction on Blackboard academic software.   Finch is an ordained elder in the Great Plains Conference and has served in the…continue reading →

Certification Cohorts Forming at BeADisciple.com

Nov. 15, 2023 — New certification cohorts are forming at the Institute for Discipleship, as 10 programs prepare to begin on Jan. 15, 2024. Offered completely online through BeADisciple.com, areas of specialization include Christian education, church administration, evangelism, grief care, ministry with people with disabilities, rural ministry, spiritual formation, women’s ministries, youth ministry, and young adult ministry.   Designed for clergy and laity alike, these programs provide a Biblical, theological, and practical foundation for ministry in key areas for today’s churches and communities.   BeADisciple.com is part of the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for…continue reading →

Lori Richey Named Director of Online Learning at Institute for Discipleship

June 6, 2023 (Winfield, Kansas) -- Lori Richey has been named director of online education for the Institute for Discipleship, and will oversee all offerings at BeADisciple.com beginning July 1. BeADisciple.com is part of the Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College and has offered quality online educational experiences with roots in Wesleyan theology since 2006.  Lisa Buffum, who had been director of BeADisciple.com for 17 years, has taken a position as pastor of a local church.   Richey has been on staff at the Institute for Discipleship since 2018, most recently as program director…continue reading →

DISCIPLE Goes Digital: New App Introduces the Next Generation of the Popular Bible Study

May 1, 2023 – For 35 years, the DISCIPLE Bible Study series has been transforming millions of lives around the world with its print editions, and the popular curriculum is now going digital, the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship and the United Methodist Publishing House jointly announced today. Two 24-week studies in the DISCIPLE series will be the first offerings on the brand-new BeADisciple app, created by the Institute for Discipleship to offer a wide assortment of small-group study material. “This new version combines the robust impact of DISCIPLE with the…continue reading →