Partner Church &
Custom Coaching Program

BeADiscipleApp.com

Why become a
Partner Church?

A Partner Church receives custom coaching for all its small-group leaders. This coaching helps leaders develop, nurture, and sustain healthy small groups in your church. Becoming a Partner Church gives you strong support to accomplish this. We develop your virtual small-group ministry to complement your existing Adult Discipleship program.

Clergy know that small groups are essential to faith formation but leading them personally isn’t always possible; even dedicated volunteers need training and support to succeed. The BeADisciple Partner Church Program expands your reach beyond what you and your staff can do alone. We recruit, train, and support your small group leaders through custom coaching, lifting most of that work off the clergy and church staff and placing it in capable lay hands. All small-group leaders and participants register and receive their materials directly through the app, making the entire experience self-contained and easy to manage.

What is the Partnership?

Clergy or Church Representatives commit to:

  • Provide our Team with 2–20 names and email addresses of potential small group leaders from your congregation, depending on the number of groups you are hoping to create.
  • Send an email to those same potential small group leaders letting them know they will be contacted by a coach from the BeADisciple App Team and invited to lead a group. You are encouraging them to consider this transformational opportunity. We provide the email template — simply personalize it.
  • You may choose the study or studies you want the groups in your church to participate in, or you may let the leader choose.
  • The church registers as a partner church and pays a $100 coaching fee for the first leader for a full year of custom coaching (additional leaders and co-leaders are $50 each).
  • The church may choose to purchase the leader package for each volunteer leader ($30 leader training, plus the participant cost of the study). This fee covers all training, materials, and technology.
  • Promote the small groups through your existing church channels. We supply all promotional materials. You must simply help your trained leaders fill their groups by publicizing these groups in as many ways as you can.

The BeADisciple App Coaching Team commits to:

  • From our initial contact through your leaders’ entire first year of leading, we recruit, train, and fully support your BeADisciple App small-group leaders — whether that means they are leading one 24-week study or several shorter studies.
  • Every leader receives a dedicated BeADisciple App Team coach.
  • All leaders within the same Partner Church share the same coach, building consistency and community across your ministry.

Specifically, what does
Custom Coaching Include?

Coaching is fully tailored to each individual leader’s needs and can provide any or all of the following:

Pastors & Church Staff

  • Direct access to a dedicated church coach via email and scheduled phone and/or Zoom calls
  • Complete list of all participants registered in their church’s small groups through their leaders.
  • Request a Leader and Coach Co-hosted Zoom Informational Meeting with prospective participants that will generate interest, explain the app, answer questions, and facilitate registration

Small Group Leaders

  • Training on best practices for communicating with their pastor — including when to share care needs, celebrations, course completion certificates, and recognition suggestions
  • Assistance expanding recruitment to grow group enrollment
  • Scheduled check-ins from their coach to ensure a strong, confident start with ongoing coaching support throughout the study
  • Encouragement and support to schedule their next study, sustaining group momentum and developing new leaders
  • Scheduled Zoom gatherings exclusively for leaders, featuring training, shared experiences and peer support

Get started now!

Want to participate?
We’ll connect you with one of our coaches. 

Email Us

Meet the Coaching Team

Paul Wilke headshot

Rev. Dr. Paul Wilke — Retired United Methodist pastor with 40 years of service; emphasis on Disciple Bible Study and small group development. Doctor of Ministry with a focus on small-group studies

Cheryl Rude

Dr. Cheryl Rude — Executive Director of the Institute for Discipleship. Disciple Bible Study trainer, co-editor of Youth Disciple, Ph.D. in leadership development with a focus on coaching leaders who work in church, education and not-for-profit settings.

Susan Wilke Fuquay for app desat

Ms. Susan Fuquay — Christian Educator, UMPH curriculum writer, developer of Disciple Fast Track, Small Group Coordinator, and Director of Content Development, BeADisciple App.

Sarah Wilke

Ms. Sarah Wilke — Retired after 40 years of Leadership Roles in the UM church. Former Director of Scarritt Bennett Center, Publisher and World Editor of Upper Room Ministries, CEO of The United Methodist Reporter, and Urban strategist for the North Texas Conference.

Get started!

Want to participate?
We’ll connect you with one of our coaches. 

Email Us Now