News

Summit Youth Academy at Southwestern College deepens faith and broadens perspectives of youth

For seven days at the end of July, 36 rising high school juniors and seniors from around Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and as far away as Mexico attended the Summit Youth Academy on the campus of Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. The Summit, which was designed by the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship and others at the college, focused on helping young people hear God through practicing spiritual disciplines, understanding the Wesleyan faith, learning missional approaches to poverty, and discerning a vocational call. “When we arrived on Sunday afternoon, none of us…continue reading →

Timothy Circle receives grant from General Board of Higher Education and Ministry

  • Posted on July 14, 2017
  • /Under IFD News
The Institute for Discipleship was recently awarded a Young Clergy Initiative (YCI) grant from the United Methodist General Board of Higher Education & Ministry (GBHEM). The Institute will use this grant to hire several part-time staff members to expand the reach of the Timothy Circle.  These staff members will each have a focus area and will make connections with mentors, young people, churches, and ministry organizations across regional and denominational boundaries. Read more about YCI grants and this year's recipients.continue reading →

High schoolers learn ministry alongside music skills at Amp It Up camp

All photos by Leslie Wofford The first week of June, 23 high school students came together for the Amp It Up worship band camp on the campus of Southwestern College in Winfield, Kansas. Campus minister Rev. Ben Hanne summed up the camp well. “Amp It Up is a weeklong camp that focuses on building up high schoolers in both their capacity as disciples of Jesus Christ and also as musicians and technical operators of worship bands,” Hanne said.  “It brings students who have never played in a band before into a place where…continue reading →

Wesleyan Studies certification available from new Lay Academy

It can be difficult to find theologically rich adult study resources, but a new program is filling that gap. The Wesley Theological Seminary Lay Academy offers 11 online courses covering a variety of topics including Methodist identity, early church history, Christian ethics, interfaith relations, and the intersection of faith and science. Laypeople can earn a certification in Wesleyan Studies by completing six of the courses online, or can choose to take courses individually for personal education and enrichment. All 11 courses in the Lay Academy feature half-hour video lectures filmed in Oxford, England,…continue reading →