DISCIPLE Bible Study -- Online
Do you have persons in your congregation who are missing out on the transforming power of DISCIPLE because of their schedules? Do you have some whose travel keeps them from committing to a weekly class meeting? Do you have some who might like to take DISCIPLE with others who have a similar life experience?
The Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship is excited to offer Disciple Bible Study -- now online at BeADisciple.com.
Here is how it works. Persons simply go to www.BeADisciple.com and enroll in the Disciple Online class they wish to join. A $30 fee is required to underwrite the costs of nine months of technical support. Next, participants will need a manual which they may purchase online from the Cokesbury site or through their local church. High speed internet connection is recommended.
Disciple Online may be offered to groups of 12 within a congregation. A few members of a congregation in one state may join together to study Disciple with a few from another state or even another country. Or individuals may enroll in Disciple Online with other individuals from anywhere.
Disciple Online will be presented in a standardized format. Each group will need a facilitator to watch over the sessions and to encourage participation. The facilitator will remain “a learner among learners." In addition to Disciple facilitator training, online facilitators will need to complete the online workshop “How to Become a Disciple Online Facilitator ” prior to leading a group. This workshop will be offered periodically at BeADisciple.com for $50.
Participants will do their daily reading and reflection with their manual on their own. Assignments will be available with instructions for weekly group work which will include discussion questions to be completed in a group-interactive discussion board by the participant at his/her own convenience along with prayer requests and written prayer petitions. This online work covers what is normally accomplished in one third to one half of a normal face-to-face DISCIPLE class.
Each week, a short review of the week's scriptures by Bishop Wilke, the author of DISCIPLE, will be presented online for participants to watch. These will lead into key questions for weekly discussion.
The class schedule will be determined by the group facilitator. Every seven days the facilitator will conduct a live session online (approximately one to one and a half hour) which walks the group through more discussion, exercises, and time for prayer together. This section will be conducted similarly to the remainder of a face-to-face class and will transition the group into the next week. Each session may be recorded so that participants who have to miss a live session may view the live session later.
Disciple Online will use the DISCIPLE (Becoming Disciples Through Bible Study) participant manual and facilitators guide but not the UM Publishing House DVDS/videos which normally accompany the study. Participants are encouraged to gain access to these materials through their local church or through Cokesbury in interested.
Requirements: High speed internet access, a Disciple Bible Study student manual, a DBS facilitator's guide (Teachers Helps), a microphone and earphones or headset, and an adventurous spirit and desire to lead others to study the Bible in a new way!
If you have any questions, or would like to provide some input into the development of Disciple Online, please email Lisa at beadisciple@sckans.edu.
Bishop Wilke -- A message regarding Disciple Online