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Go Deeper in Your Faith - Without Leaving Your Church
With a continuing decline in biblical and theological literacy, many churches are looking for a way to provide in-depth discipleship training within their local church. This is why we partnered with Lifeway to create the Deep Discipleship program.
It is an accessible option to study theology in community right within the local church. Deep Discipleship is a two-semester, 24-week program to help your group grow in their understanding of the Bible, core doctrines, and spiritual formation - growing together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
STORY | BELIEF | FORMATION
A Simple, Proven Way to Go Deeper in Your Faith
This is not a finishing school for theologians.
This is an invitation to the conversation on how to grow as a whole disciple of Jesus. If you’re somebody who wants to learn, step in, and be oriented to the beautiful world of Bible literacy and theological formation, this is for you.
Learn the Bible’s Big Story
Understand how everything connects from Genesis to Revelation.
Grow in Core Christian Beliefs
Deepen your understanding of essential doctrines that shape your faith.
Move beyond knowledge—practice Sabbath, evangelism, and Scripture memorization in real life.
Live It
Out
This comprehensive program provides churches and groups a 24-week discipleship course to meet this deep desire to equip and disciple believers into a greater love and knowledge of God.
Each Week of the Program Features:
Video Teachings – Learn from Jen Wilkin, J.T. English, and Kyle Worley
Journal & Selected Readings – Structured lessons for real growth
Community Discussions – Learn together in small groups
Action-Based Formation – Practical exercises for worship, mission, and obedience
Flexible for Any Church Setting – Use in small groups, Sunday school, youth ministry, and more
Everything You Need for a Deeper Walk With God
How to Get Started
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Step 1: Brainstorm Your Group
We believe that theology and discipleship thrive in community—growing together as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Chances are, you already have a few people in mind to walk this journey with. Deep Discipleship is designed to help you dive deeper into Scripture, core doctrines, and spiritual formation—all within a Christ-centered community.
So, who will you invite to join you? We believe God is calling you to grow in your knowledge and love of Him, not alone, but alongside others in your church family.
Why wait? Let’s embark on this journey together to become whole disciples of Jesus.
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Step 2: Pre-Order A Group Starter Kit at Lifeway.com
A Group Starter Kit has everything you need to begin the program with a group of five people (only 1 per church is needed). The kit can be ordered here and includes each of the following:
- Five Journals, each comes with digital access to three e-Books (You Are a Theologian, Remember and Rehearse, & Formed for Fellowship)
- One copy of Deep Discipleship by J.T. English
- Access to weekly 60-90 minutes of video teaching content with J.T. English, Jen Wilkin, and Kyle Worley
- Digital Program Guide for the leader
- Quick Start Guide
- Bonus materials
- Additional Deep Discipleship Journals are available for purchase separately if you have a larger group.
*Video access is available for 12 months after purchase. If purchased during the introductory offer period (January 1, 2025 – July 31, 2025), video access will extend from the time of redemption until August 1, 2026, and customers will have the opportunity to renew at $150 off retail. -
Step 3: Order Additional Materials
Once your group is larger than five, each participant will need to order their own Deep Discipleship Journal.
Each journal contains readings, weekly study, and journal space for notes taken during the teaching video.
Want to see a preview? Go here.
Every journal also includes individual access to the three eBooks needed for the program:
- You Are a Theologian by Jen Wilkin and J.T. English
- Formed for Fellowship by Kyle Worley
- Remember and Rehearse by J.T. EnglisheBooks not your thing? You can order copies of the individual books through the links above or wherever good books are sold.
The next 5 minutes can change everything.
This program works. We believe it so deeply that we’re giving you a free preview to a Deep Discipleship weekly video session and the Deep Discipleship Journal.
Hear What Others Are Saying
Over the last 10 years, JT, Jen, and Kyle have written, refined, and implemented this program at their own local churches. Hear real stories from some of the men and women who have been participants of the program and how they’ve grown as deep, whole disciples of Jesus.
Common Questions (and answers!)…
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At its core, Deep Discipleship is a program to equip and grow holistic disciples who want to deepen their understanding of Christian story, historical Christian beliefs, and formative spiritual practices in an accessible and tested format. Here are ideas of how Deep Discipleship can be used:
To train men and women who are interested in going deeper in their discipleship walk
To equip existing small groups who want to grow deeply together
To train leaders within a particular ministry area
To train leaders or residents in a development program
To work through and establish a discipleship baseline among church staff
To use as a Bible curriculum for homeschool high school groups
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We encourage group facilitators to ask for a small tuition fee to offset the cost to the church and to create buy-in from participants. The cost per participant varies depending on the size of the group.
Prices below reflect the purchase of 1 Group Starter Kit and 1 journal per participant (a.k.a. all you need to facilitate Deep Discipleship at your local church).
At the pre-sale price:
For 5 group members, it is $90 per person.
For 10 group members, it is $59 per person.
For 20 group members, it is $42 per person.
For 30 group members, it is $34 per person.
For 40 group members, it is $31 per person.
For 50 group members, it is $30 per person.
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Every participant of Deep Discipleship will need a journal. The journal is the guide for the Deep Discipleship experience and essential for completing the pre-work, accessing the required reading, and engaging fully in the video teaching. Five journals are included in every Group Starter Kit, and more are available for purchase on lifeway.com. You can receive up to 25% savings for additional journals purchased. Discount automatically applied at checkout.
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The leader will be given full access to the teaching videos through a redemption code included in the Group Starter Kit. You can access the teaching video content via Lifeway On Demand online or in the app.
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Deep Discipleship works well for a 90-minute group meeting, though you may choose to go longer if you want more discussion time or decide to watch the panel videos together as a group. Aside from the introductory week and the final session of this program, each session has the following structure:
Arrive having completed “pre-work” prior to the group session
Begin with group discussion around pre-work (10-15 minutes)
Watch the roundtable discussion video together (45-60 minutes)
Discuss the roundtable discussion in groups (10-15 minutes)
Watch the second teaching video together (7-15 minutes)
Return to group discussion to close out the group session (10-15 minutes)
If you choose to watch the panel discussion video as a group, watch the video and then dismiss. Item description
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Yes! While many churches might wish to offer Deep Discipleship as a stand-alone program, others may choose to work through the material in a small group. Deep Discipleship is not meant to take people away from other areas of service, but to train, equip, and empower them to be more productive and faithful in the areas where they already serve.
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Yes, Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary has partnered with Lifeway to offer your first seminary class free upon completion of the Deep Discipleship program. Visit MBTS.edu/deepdiscipleship for more details.
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You can begin the Deep Discipleship program at any time during the year. The program is comprised of two twelve-week semesters, along with an Orientation session week to be completed before the first semester begins. You may do the Orientation session together as a group or ask participants to work through this session individually. However, the curriculum is divided into Old Testament for twelve weeks and New Testament for twelve weeks, making this an ideal resource to run on a semester system starting in the fall and completing in the spring.
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Yes, while the primary context for discipleship is the local church, if you have a group of Christians who want to grow deeper in their understanding of the Bible, theology, and spiritual disciplines, you can form your own group.
We do recommend that Deep Discipleship be implemented within the local church because it is the place where God forms people through His Word into the image of His Son by the power of the Holy Spirit. This curriculum aims to help Christians and churches retrieve and re-deploy a vision for deep discipleship in their own local churches.
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Aside from helping people know and love God and others well, the aim of Deep Discipleship is to produce disciples who make disciples. This happens as we multiply groups participating in the program. As participants complete the program, they become equipped to be commissioned into the life of their church as leaders. While some will return to their previous way of serving in the church, we hope many will feel called to be table leaders in the next round of Deep Discipleship.
Your license to the teaching video sessions will remain active until August 1, 2026. You will have the opportunity to renew at $150 off the retail price so that you can launch the next round of Deep Discipleship groups.
Still have questions?
To ask a question not listed above or to discuss purchasing additional video access, you can contact Lifeway through the following methods:
Chat at Lifeway.com
Email at customerservice@lifeway.com
Call 866-627-8553
Get to Know the Teachers
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JT English
JT serves as a pastor, professor, and author. He is the author of Deep Discipleship: How the Local Church Can Make Whole Disciples, and You are a Theologian: An Invitation to Know and Love God Well, co-authored with Jen Wilkin. He is also a co-founder of Training the Church and a co-host of the Knowing Faith podcast. He received his ThM in Historical Theology from Dallas Theological Seminary and PhD in Systematic Theology from Southern Seminary.
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Jen Wilkin
Jen is an author and Bible teacher from Dallas, Texas. She has organized and led studies for women in home, church, and parachurch contexts. Her passion is to see others become articulate and committed followers of Christ, with a clear understanding of why they believe what they believe, grounded in the Word of God.
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Kyle Worley
Kyle planted and is the pastor at Mosaic Church in Richardson, Texas. He is the author of Home With God: Our Union With Christ. He has a ThM in Christian Philosophy from Southern Baptist Theology Seminary, an MA in Theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and an MA in Religion from Redeemer Theological Seminary.