WINFIELD, KS — Sarah Wilke has been appointed director of global relations for the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship, effective Jan. 1. This newly created position will support the Institute's growing focus on international ministry, and Wilke's initial priority will be to help develop a smart-phone platform for small-group Christian education. "We're thrilled that Sarah brings with her an impressive background in communications, community development, and international publishing," says Institute Executive Director Steve Wilke. "Her gifts and experiences will allow us to enhance our capacity for innovation and build on our…
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Oct. 19, 2021 — A new cycle of online ministry certification courses is set to begin Jan. 17, 2022, at BeADisciple.com. 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. Church leaders and interested persons can begin progress toward certification in 10 different disciplines— Christian education, children's ministry, youth ministry, women’s ministries, spiritual formation, evangelism, rural ministry, missions, ministry with people with disabilities, and music. Requirements typically include successful completion of four online courses, and each course is six weeks long.…
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A five-week study on the church’s role in pursuing racial justice will be offered by BeADisciple.com beginning Sept. 7. Facilitated by popular instructor Shirley Connally, the course’s main resource will be Jemar Tisby’s “How to Fight Racism: Courageous Christianity and the Journey Toward Racial Justice." This study will offer the opportunity to come away with a clear model for how to think about race in productive ways and a compelling call to dismantle the social system based on skin color. Tisby’s book has been described as a handbook for pursuing racial justice with hands-on suggestions supported…
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"In Layman's Terms," a podcast from the Great Plains Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, featured the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship in a December 2019 episode. The episode, hosted by Great Plains director of communications, Todd Seifert, highlights the work of BeADisciple.com and its connection to Disciple Bible Study, and touches on the work of the Timothy Circle, the Summit Youth Academy, Amp It Up worship band camp, the Bishop Scholar program, and the Visiting Scholar program. The episode includes interviews with Institute staff members Steve Wilke and Lisa…
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