July 7, 2025 Winfield, Kansas — The Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College has developed an ambitious three-year strategic plan that will guide the Institute for the upcoming three years. The new plan was put into place July 1 and will be well into its first y ...
Obituary for Bishop Richard B. Wilke, Institute Founder and Namesake
RICHARD BYRD WILKE, 1930-2025Richard Byrd Wilke, a retired United Methodist bishop and author of the popular Disciple Bible Study series, died on Easter, April 20, 2025, in Winfield, Kansas. He was 94.Wilke was born June 18, 1930, in El Dorado, Kansas, the son of Clarence Wilke, a funeral home direc ...
Summer Camp Curriculum and Coaching Now Available From Project Transformation, BeADisciple.com
A proven, life-changing curriculum for youth summer camps is now available to local congregations through a collaboration between Project Transformation National and BeADisciple.com. The adaptable camp curriculum has been developed and used by Project Transformation, a 26-year-old organization that ...
Richard Clark Chosen as Visiting Scholar at Institute for Discipleship
Winfield, Kansas, May 7, 2024 – Richard E. Clark has joined the Southwestern College faculty as a Visiting Scholar of the Institute for Discipleship (IFD). Each academic year the Institute for Discipleship provides a $20,000 fellowship and housing to a new or near-completion Ph.D. candidate in relig ...
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 churc ...
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 w ...
BeADisciple Study App ‘Best in Class’ of United Methodist Association of Communicators Awards
November 6, 2023 — The BeADisciple Study App has been named best in class for internet communications in the 2023 United Methodist Association of Communicators Awards competition.The app, which began public beta testing in August 2023, is a ministry of the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Disci ...
Southwestern College’s Institute for Discipleship Launches Global Christian Small Group Study App
August 24, 2023 — After more than two years of development and testing, a state-of-the-art app created by the Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College is now available for widespread use around the world. The BeADisciple Study App has been created by a team that has included SC alumni in t ...
Institute for Discipleship Concludes Successful Fundraising Campaign
August 24, 2023 -- The Institute for Discipleship at Southwestern College has announced the successful completion of a fundraising campaign that will support the development of its new BeADisciple Study App. Donors contributed more than half a million dollars, surpassing the campaign’s goal. In Apr ...
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 ...
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 anno ...
Online Certification Opportunities to Begin in August
May 31, 2023 — A new cycle of online ministry certification courses is set to begin Aug. 21, 2023, 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. ...