BeADisciple

What BeADisciple does

BeADisciple is a nonprofit online Christian education platform founded in 2006 and headquartered in Winfield, Kansas. It operates as a ministry of the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship and delivers Wesleyan-theology coursework targeted at United Methodist Church clergy, laity, and Certified Lay Minister candidates. Since launch, the platform has served more than 10,000 students across roughly two decades of operation.

The platform's core product set includes Lay Servant Ministries (LSM) courses, the Certified Lay Minister (CLM) pathway, and the Wesley Academy — the latter delivered in partnership with Wesley Theological Seminary. Courses are built and administered on the Blackboard learning management system, with synchronous instruction supplemented by Zoom. The BeADisciple Study App extends access to mobile devices. Pricing is transactional and per-course, ranging from approximately $40 for microcourses to $150–$160 for Wesley Academy modules; enrollment is self-serve through the website.

Revenue mechanics rest on individual learner tuition rather than enterprise or institutional contracts, and the operation is supported by its parent Wilke Institute together with approval from Discipleship Ministries of the United Methodist Church. With approximately 9 employees and a denomination-specific addressable market, BeADisciple functions as a small-scale, mission-driven formation provider rather than a growth-stage commercial education business.

Name

BeADisciple

Legal name

BeADisciple

Website

https://beadisciple.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BeADisciple is a nonprofit online Christian education platform founded in 2006, serving United Methodist Church clergy and laity with Wesleyan-theology courses delivered via Blackboard LMS and Zoom, priced from $40 to $160 per course.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. Individual Course Fees: One-time per-course fees ranging from approximately $40-$160 depending on course length and program type. No membership fee required. Learners enroll directly in courses that interest them.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

BeADisciple.com is an online Christian education platform that delivers small-group, facilitator-led courses and certification programs on ministry, theology, and church leadership topics rooted in Wesleyan theology. Learners enroll individually and progress through courses in cohorts of 5-20 participants via the Blackboard LMS with optional Zoom sessions, earning CEU credits upon completion. The platform offers three certification tracks (Lay Servant Ministries, Certified Lay Ministry, and Wesley Academy) and over a dozen topic categories including Bible studies, spiritual formation, and worship.

Product overview

BeADisciple.com is an online Christian education platform providing quality educational experiences rooted in Wesleyan theology since 2006. The platform operates as a unified learning management system with multiple integrated programs: the core Online Courses (small-group, facilitator-led classes on topics from Bible studies to church leadership), three certification tracks (Lay Servant Ministries, Certified Lay Ministry, and Wesley Academy developed with Wesley Theological Seminary), and over a dozen course category areas spanning Biblical Studies, Care for Self and Others, Christian Education, Church Administration & Leadership, Evangelism, Music & Worship Ministry, Older Adult Ministry, Prayer & Meditation, Seasonal (Lent/Advent), Spiritual Formation, Theology, Women's Ministry, and Youth Ministry. All courses offer CEU credits and utilize Blackboard LMS with optional and required Zoom sessions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BeADisciple Study App: A mobile study application related to the BeADisciple platform for Christian education on mobile devices.

Products and services

• BeADisciple Online Courses Online Christian education courses offered in small groups of 5-20 learners with trained facilitators, covering Bible studies, church leadership, worship, evangelism, prayer, and personal growth. All courses offer CEU credits and are delivered on a self-serve, per-course enrollment basis for individual Christian learners.
• Lay Servant Ministries (LSM) Certification Program Advanced courses approved by Discipleship Ministries, including all six required advanced courses for Lay Servants seeking Lay Speaker status in the United Methodist Church (e.g., LSM165, LSM297, LSM298, LSM351, LSM375). Designed for UMC members pursuing official Lay Speaker credentials.
• Certified Lay Ministry (CLM) Certification Program Four-module certification program for those seeking to go beyond Lay Servant Ministry, including CLM101 (Call and Covenant for Ministry), CLM102 (The Practice of Ministry), CLM103 (Organization for Ministry), and CLM104 (Connection for Ministry). Targeted at UMC members pursuing Certified Lay Ministry credentials.
• Wesley Academy Certification in Advanced Christian Studies Advanced Christian Studies program developed in partnership with Wesley Theological Seminary, offering two certification tracks appealing to Wesleyan and non-Wesleyan learners. Courses include WA101 (Serious Answers to Hard Questions), WA202 (Journey Through the Psalms), WA204 (Religion and Science), WA205 (A Life Worthy of the Gospel), WA210 (Passionately Christian, Compassionately Interreligious), WA301 (In God's Time), WA302 (Methodist Identity: Our Story), and WA303 (Methodist Identity: Our Beliefs).
• BeADisciple Study App Mobile study application providing Christian education content on mobile devices, extending access to BeADisciple's instructional offerings beyond the desktop LMS environment.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for DiscipleshipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBeADisciple.com is a ministry of the Richard and Julia Wilke Institute for Discipleship. This partnership provides the theological foundation and institutional backing for BeADisciple's Christian education offerings, including certification programs.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Wesley Theological Seminary: Wesley Theological Seminary is the academic partner behind BeADisciple's Wesley Academy certification program. Both serve Wesleyan-tradition learners with online theological education, and they co-deliver the most rigorous certification track in BeADisciple's portfolio.
• RightNow Media: RightNow Media is a streaming Bible study and training library used by tens of thousands of churches, including many UMC congregations. It is a direct competitor in the online Christian education and discipleship content space that BeADisciple serves.
• Christian Leaders Institute: Christian Leaders Institute offers free and low-cost online ministry credentials and degrees for Christian leaders worldwide. Like BeADisciple, it provides accessible, asynchronous online training for laity and ministry-track learners seeking credentials.
• Iliff School of Theology: Iliff School of Theology is a UMC-affiliated theological school offering online master's and certificate programs in theological studies and ministry. It shares BeADisciple's Methodist-anchored audience and lay ministry credentialing focus.
• United Theological Seminary: United Theological Seminary is a UMC-affiliated seminary offering online degree and certificate programs for laity and clergy. It overlaps directly with BeADisciple in serving UMC learners seeking ministry credentials and continuing education.
• Asbury Theological Seminary: Asbury Theological Seminary delivers online master's degrees and continuing education for ministry leaders, with a Wesleyan/holiness theological tradition. It competes with BeADisciple's Wesley Academy and CLM programs for the same cohort of ministry-minded adult learners.

Broad incumbents

• Biola University: Biola University is an established evangelical Christian university with online degree and certificate programs in theology, biblical studies, and ministry. It competes for the same adult Christian learner demographic as BeADisciple but with a broader academic portfolio and degree-granting authority.

Emerging players

• Renovaré: Renovaré is a Christian spiritual formation ministry offering conferences, resources, and small-group curricula focused on spiritual growth. It overlaps with BeADisciple's spiritual formation and discipleship course categories but delivers content primarily through events and books rather than cohort-based LMS courses.
• Christianity Today: Christianity Today is a major evangelical media and education platform that has expanded into online courses, events, and leadership training. It is an emerging competitor in the broader online Christian education space where BeADisciple operates.

Others

• Upper Room: Upper Room is a UMC-affiliated global ministry producing devotionals, small-group resources, and spiritual formation content. It is thematically adjacent to BeADisciple and serves overlapping UMC laity audiences but does not offer formal certification pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/share
• Facebookfacebook.com/BeADisciplecom
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/beadisciple
• Instagraminstagram.com/beadisciple_courses

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BeADisciple