Podcast episode features Institute

"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…continue reading →

News from the Institute for Discipleship – November, 2016

Why does the Institute exist? Christians of all kinds struggle to know how to grow closer to God. To help light the way, the Institute for Discipleship creates and supports ministries that provide Christians with training and opportunities to become better disciples of Jesus. This tri-annual newsletter tells you what we're working on -- both online and on the ground at Southwestern College. If you'd like to support or become involved with any of our programs, we've included an easy way to help under each item. Thank you for being on our team.…continue reading →

The Institute as a continuation of Disciple Bible Study

With the 30th anniversary of DISCIPLE Bible Study and the 15th year of the Institute in 2016, we wanted to take time to explore how DISCIPLE helped shape the foundation of the Institute. ------------------------------------------------ by Steve Wilke, executive director of the Institute for Discipleship DISCIPLE's influence DISCIPLE Bible Study began in 1986 and was like a 5th child in the Wilke family – labor-intensive and sometimes quite demanding! But over time, it became clear that DISCIPLE was making a positive contribution to many around the world. DISCIPLE's essential elements of Bible study and small group discussion drew upon…continue reading →

Institute to Host DISCIPLE Anniversary Celebrations

The Institute for Discipleship will be hosting celebration receptions in honor of the 30th anniversary of DISCIPLE Bible Study in 2016.  Celebrations are being planned for the United Methodist Church's General Conference in Portland, Oregon, as well as the five Jurisdictional Conferences in the United States and at the meeting of the World Methodist Council in Houston, Texas. The celebrations will seek to recognize the work that went into planning and creating the study series, as well as honor the people who gave their time and energy to the study.  They will also be a gathering place…continue reading →