At RightNow Media, we’re honored to serve a wide range of churches—from small rural congregations to suburban megachurches to emerging microchurches. Though their contexts vary, these churches shared a common request:
“Can you create a resource to help us disciple people in the essentials of the Christian faith?”
That’s how our twelve-part discipleship journey, Essentials of Faith, was born.
“Churches have been asking us for resources that provide a step-by-step pathway to spiritual maturity,” said Brian Mosley, president of RightNow Media. “Essentials of Faith builds a solid theological foundation for new believers and invites seasoned Christians to deepen their understanding of the gospel. We designed these series to partner with churches and support their existing discipleship strategies to develop mature followers of Jesus.”
Publisher Sophie DeMuth explains the heart behind the initiative: “We wanted to create resources that were clear and simple, easy to use and versatile, yet also applicable and helpful for Christians of all maturity levels. And so we came up with this twelve-series ‘program’ that any church could pick up and use to help their members grow as disciples of Jesus.”
Creating something simple is surprisingly complex—just ask the team of writers, designers, and video producers behind Essentials of Faith.
The series walks through twelve foundational questions about Christianity in a clear, progressing format. Designed for small groups, individual study, or church-wide use, each session equips viewers to explore gospel truths and prepares them to disciple others. In addition to free adult study guides, our Publishing team also created youth study guides for each Essentials of Faith series to help parents, youth leaders, and mentors to disciple the next generation.
The approach was intentional from the beginning. “All the planning for the twelve series came through a lot of collaboration and prayer,” Sophie said. “We decided to pose our titles as questions because so many people are asking questions today—about God, the church, and the faith. Our hope was to show that these series are for everyone, no matter their questions or doubts or spiritual maturity.”
But here’s what you don’t see when you watch an Essentials of Faith series: the months of planning that went into every single detail, from the intricately designed backdrops to the props and production.
While we typically travel to unique locations to film cinematic Bible studies, we took a more focused approach for Essentials of Faith. “I think that the Essentials of Faith series is one of our simpler series from a production standpoint, but that's the beauty of it,” said Video Producer Mathew Robbins. “There’s power in showing amazing locations and editing eye-catching stories, but there’s just as much power in a simple message and format.”
Each series features a custom backdrop created by RightNow Media’s graphic designers, then printed onto wallpaper and carefully applied by hand. The 16x8 foot backdrops combine historical Christian artwork with contemporary photographs and modern design elements.
Graphic Designer Keaton Dillard spent hours creating some of the backdrops featured in the series. “I hope the backdrops make the teaching more understandable. But at a deeper level I hope the beauty of the designs moves viewers to grasp the deep beauty that is Jesus Christ.”
When you’re creating a resource about the essentials of faith, you want teachers who embody those essentials in their own lives. That’s why Essentials of Faith features trusted voices like Francis Chan, J.D. Greear, Lisa Harper, and Derwin Gray, with upcoming series from Beth Moore, Eric Mason, Sharon Hodde Miller, Ben Stuart, Kyle Idleman, and more.
Our team welcomed these teachers to RightNow Media’s headquarters in McKinney, Texas, where they filmed in our on-site studio. During their time at our headquarters, several teachers shared a short message of encouragement to the entire RightNow Media staff. When asked about these teachings, Senior Marketing Specialist Victoria Becker shared: “Moments like these remind our team that we’re not just doing a job—we’re joining in the discipleship of the global church. RightNow Media gets to play just a small part in what God is doing around the world. It’s bigger than us, and it’s not about us.”
Senior Producer of Women’s Content Courtney Davis couldn’t contain her excitement when talking about these collaborations: [these are] “the most gifted teachers of our time pouring out on their favorite topics concerning our discipleship. The passion is unmatched. Getting to learn how to read the Bible from Beth Moore—I mean, does it get better than that?”
Ask anyone on the RightNow Media team what they hope viewers take away from these series, and the answers go far beyond information. The goal of the Christian life isn’t just knowledge, but it is applying what we know. We believe that understanding these “essentials of faith” leads to life transformation.
“We really hope the audience for these series fill in some of the blanks in their walk with Christ. Getting to know Jesus and the intricacies of the Bible will take us all a lifetime, but with the tools of this series I hope we all feel empowered to tackle a deeper understanding of our faith,” Courtney said.
The impact isn’t limited to individuals. Video Producer Chris Abalza sees the ripple effect: “To me, the Essentials of Faith series is uniquely important because each series tackles such important questions in the life of a young believer. That makes it important for those young ones but also for folks who are discipling other people—giving them some support and resources to walk through.”
While Essentials of Faith answers foundational questions to the Christian faith, it isn’t just for young believers. Sophie DeMuth experienced this firsthand while working on the project: “Working on Essentials of Faith forced me to think like a new Christian, which reminded me of the journey God’s taken me on in my faith. It’s been a true joy to craft these series alongside the rest of the RightNow Media team, and I am so grateful to God for the opportunity.”
That’s the beauty of essentials—they’re essential for everyone.
If you’re a decision-maker at your organization, request a free consultation to find out how RightNow Media can equip and inspire your people.
Not a decision-maker?
Tell your pastor about RightNow Media instead.
