WE ARE EXCITED TO ANNOUNCE OUR NEW MODULE COHORT STRUCTURE!!

Get the same Bonhoeffer cohort experience broken down into three-month modules that you can complete one step at a time! Scroll down to Step Three for more details.

The gospel you proclaim will determine the disciples you produce. By starting at the headwaters of Scripture, we help frame your thinking of what discipleship should look like around the Gospel according to Jesus.

Moving midstream, we help you navigate the sometimes turbulent waters of understanding exactly what a disciple of Jesus should be.

Continuing downstream, we help you determine the output of your disciple making by guiding you to craft a custom disciple-making plan for your specific ministry. The end of module three marks the beginning of building a discipleship culture within your ministry.

STEP ONE: ENROLLMENT

TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOURSELF BY COMPLETING THE COHORT REGISTRATION FORM.

STEP TWO: THE INVESTMENT

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[Special team pricing for churches, ministries, and organizations, as well as spouse pricing is available upon request.]

STEP THREE: THE COHORT

“Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ. ”
— Dietrich Bonhoeffer

The idea behind our cohort process is simple: eight to ten people will spend six to ten months together studying, discussing, and engaging in discipleship. Participants will read, discuss, debate, plan, strategize, and experience a little of life together. This will all take place over the course of three modules with options to continue further at the end.

The purpose of The Bonhoeffer Project is to encourage, teach, and support each participant to be transformed from a leader into a disciple maker. Our vision is world revolution through local disciple-making movements. Once a leader has made the decision to pursue the gospel of the kingdom, which is the gospel that Jesus preached with its clear call to discipleship, we must provide the participant with the knowledge necessary to carry out a plan to make disciples who will also make disciples. The Bonhoeffer Project strongly believes that this is best done in a community of like-minded people - which is why the project itself is a community.

THE MODULE PROCESS

Each module will focus on a specific subject that will be followed by a monthly assignment and reading, which will be integrated into a final project at the culmination of Module Three.

MODULE ONE

RECLAIMING THE GOSPEL THAT MAKES DISCIPLES

During the three months of Module One, you’ll dig deep into the gospel you proclaim and how it relates to salvation and discipleship.

MODULE TWO

JESUS’ MODEL OF DISCIPLE MAKING

During the three months of Module Two, we’ll build on what you learned in Module One by learning how God changes people through discipleship and studying Jesus’ method of discipleship found in Scripture. The gospel you proclaim determines the disciples you produce.

MODULE THREE

BUILDING A CUSTOM DISCIPLESHIP PLAN

During the three months of Module Three, we offer one option for pastors and another for leaders and help you craft a custom discipleship plan for your specific ministry context.

STEP FOUR: IMPLEMENTATION

Making disciples requires intentionality. The intention to make disciples requires a plan; if you don't have a plan, you really don't intend to do it. Through your Bonhoeffer cohort modules, you developed a plan that is biblically sound and appropriate for your ministry context. Upon completion of Module Three, you will implement this plan within your ministry context to create a local disciple-making movement.

“The reason people don’t change their behavior is that they never intend to.”
— William Law, A Call to a Holy and Devout Life

FAQ

We’ve compiled a list of our most frequently asked questions regarding what The Bonhoeffer Project is all about. Please note, this is not an exhaustive list. If you still have questions, please send us an email (info@thebonhoefferproject.com) and we’ll be happy to answer.

  • Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the 20th century German pastor, professor, theologian, and martyr, left a significant legacy through his life and work. His resistance to the Nazi regime and commitment to biblical disciple-making have been an inspiration to Christians in every facet of the church through the decades. He continues to inspire today! The Bonhoeffer Project is one evidence of this. So, why do we call ourselves “The Bonhoeffer Project?” The answer, as it relates to Bonhoeffer, lies in the idea of “model” over the totality of “doctrine.” The Bonhoeffer Project was founded upon the principle of gathering pastors and ministry leaders into small cohorts for the purpose of talking about, planning, and doing disciple-making together, not unlike Bonhoeffer’s gathering of the Confessing Church Seminary at Finkenwalde, Germany in the early 1930’s. Though we agree with certain aspects of Bonhoeffer’s theology, such as that of “cheap grace” versus “costly grace” and that “Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ,” we also acknowledge that the totality of his theology was incomplete, due to his martyrdom, and at some points even controversial. As such, The Bonhoeffer Project incorporates aspects of his theological thinking into our content, but our goal is not to provide a comprehensive study of Bonhoeffer’s life and thought. Also, The Bonhoeffer Project is not a comprehensive study of Bonhoeffer’s works, including The Cost of Discipleship, or any of Bonhoeffer’s other works, though some aspects are included in our curriculum. Therefore, we have adopted Bonhoeffer’s name in homage to his method of gathering pastors and ministry leaders for the purpose of creating “world revolution through local movements of disciple-making as we turn leaders into disciple-makers.”

  • Emphatically no! We at TBP believe what scripture teaches: as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we are saved by grace through faith. Ephesians 2:8-9 states, “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We believe that salvation is a free gift of God and that there is nothing that we can do to deserve it, earn it, improve on it, nor is there any action that we can do that would make us more saved.

    We believe that there is evidence of salvation and the ongoing work of the Spirit in the life of a disciple of Jesus Christ. “The root and the fruit.” This evidence is not works that save us but rather the fruit of the tree that is “planted by the streams of living water.”

    The evidence is:

    • The fruits of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)

    • Growing in faith (James 2:14-26)

    • Growing in love (1 Corinthians 13)

    • Growing in righteousness (Hebrews 12:1-2)

    • Growing in grace and knowledge (2 Peter 3:18)

  • No. The Bonhoeffer Project is for anyone who would like to begin a disciple-maker movement where they have influence. Their influence may be in the community, in an existing organization, or among friends and family. Past participants include people who wanted discipleship focused parachurch organizations and those who wanted to begin discipleship among friends, neighbors, or their children. There have been ministry leaders (small groups, worship, men’s, women’s, youth, children’s) from within the church. We also welcome senior church leadership and encourage them to bring a team of ministry leaders, those on staff or volunteers.

  • No. Unfortunately, as you probably already know, there are no silver bullets when it comes to discipleship. However, The Bonhoeffer Project does provide a 10-month process in which you will grow in your theology of discipleship and develop a customized discipleship plan for your context.

  • We three distinct types of cohorts.

    TRADITIONAL - The original cohort model where participants gather in person on a monthly basis. This experience allows you to learn from each other in real time and make lasting connections.

    HYBRID - Having participants around the world we needed to adapt -enter our hybrid cohort model. Some participants will meet in person and some will join online via Zoom technology for monthly gatherings.

    VIRTUAL (TWO OPTIONS) - 1) All participants will meet online via Zoom technology for monthly gatherings, 2) Get the full Bonhoeffer Project experience in a virtual cohort setting through our online school. You can learn at your own pace & connect with participants from all over the globe.

COHORT+

PERSONALIZED COACHING FOR MULTIPLICATION

Exclusive one-on-one, church, or team coaching for graduates of The Bonhoeffer Project in the implementation of their discipleship plan.

PRICING VARIES

BEING A DISCIPLE

One-on-one discipleship to ensure you are the very best disciple possible. You and your discipler will walk through Learning to Live and Love Like Jesus by Brandon Cook.

BECOME A LEADER

Apply and be interviewed to become a Cohort Leader and take others through the process of becoming a disciple-making leader.