- Starting price
- Free
- Free tier
- Yes
- Platforms
- Web video courses · Downloadable workbooks · Leader guides · Brand packs
- Developer
- Austin Gohn / Everyday Institute
- Launched
- 2020
- Updated
- Aug 9, 2026
The verdict
Everyday Institute is one of the better genuinely free on-ramps for churches that need a coherent next step after someone begins following Jesus. The four-course path is practical, short enough for volunteers, explicit about its broad historic-evangelical frame, and supported by downloadable workbooks; Day One and Everyday Habits also have public leader guides and brand packs. Do not confuse accessibility with universality. Review every video and workbook—especially baptism, the Holy Spirit, the architecture of the afterlife, moral change, emotional life, and generosity—against your church’s teaching and pastoral practice. Add live relationships, Scripture in context, child and vulnerable-adult safety, accessible formats, and confidential help. The run-a-course page lags behind the newer four-course catalog, and no dedicated privacy or formal content-license page was prominent in the reviewed navigation, so confirm reuse and account-data terms before a large rollout.
Try Everyday Institute ↗Opens everydayinstitute.com
Everyday Institute is a free digital discipleship curriculum founded in 2020 by Austin Gohn, lead pastor of Bellevue Christian Church in Pittsburgh. Gohn describes it as the “first year of discipleship you never got”: something like Alpha for a person growing in faith rather than primarily exploring it. The materials were shaped through local-church experiments, conversations with Missional Labs, study of Scripture and ancient catechetical practice, and feedback from other churches and ministries. The about page says the courses align with historic biblical beliefs expressed in sources such as the Apostles’ Creed and Lausanne Covenant.
The sequence now contains four courses. Day One is an on-ramp built around Acts 2:37–39 and three experiences: gospel, baptism, and Spirit. It contains three main units of roughly twenty-five minutes each and can run in one day or over three weeks. Everyday Habits is a six-unit path through Bible, prayer, generosity, community, and mission, with two short lessons in most units. Everyday Faith is a six-question theology course covering faith, origins, what is wrong with life, the work of Jesus, human purpose, and what happens after death. Everyday Life applies discipleship to moral, emotional, physical, relational, vocational, and cultural life, with two lessons and potential next steps per area.
Individuals create a free account, watch video lessons, download a workbook, and retain course progress. A church can use one course or the whole sequence one-to-one, in a small group, or in a larger class. The facilitator page says no permission or fee is required and supplies downloadable leader guides, participant workbooks, and brand packs. It describes each unit as no more than twenty-five minutes of video and a complete discussion session as sixty to seventy-five minutes. At the time reviewed, that page gives detailed group resources only for Day One and Everyday Habits even though the main catalog also offers Everyday Faith and Everyday Life.
The free invitation is unusually uncomplicated: no participant charge, leader license, church subscription, host fee, or premium tier appears. Churches still need to clarify what “free to run” permits for copying, editing, translating, rebranding, hosting downloads, recording sessions, or redistributing derivative materials, because a standard license is not prominent. Accounts and a newsletter involve personal information through the site’s learning and Squarespace infrastructure, but no dedicated Everyday Institute privacy or terms link was prominent in the reviewed public footer and searches.
We reviewed the four public course outlines, lesson titles, facilitator page, downloadable-resource descriptions, founder and theological framing, and current catalog. We did not create an account, watch every video, download or line-edit every workbook and leader guide, facilitate a cohort, interview participants, compare progress data, verify outcomes, test account deletion, inspect third-party hosting, or receive formal editorial, doctrinal, privacy, licensing, security, safeguarding, or accessibility documentation. Testimonials on the homepage are selected by the provider and should not be treated as controlled evidence of formation.
✓ The good
- Completely free - participants, facilitators, and churches face no course license, subscription, host fee, or premium gate
- Coherent first-year path - four courses move from beginning experiences through habits, beliefs, and whole-life practice
- Short teaching segments - units cap video at about twenty-five minutes and leave most of a sixty-to-seventy-five-minute meeting for people
- Multiple delivery sizes - the same material is designed for one-to-one use, small groups, and larger church courses
- Practical resources - workbooks plus public leader guides and brand packs reduce local setup for the first two courses
- Visible theological location - the creator names the Apostles’ Creed and Lausanne Covenant rather than presenting the curriculum as assumption-free
- Local-church origin - the material comes from repeated use and experimentation in a congregation, not only a content studio
- Action orientation - lessons regularly end with habits or possible steps instead of measuring completion alone
- Plug-and-play flexibility - churches can run one course or sequence them after Alpha or another beginning-faith pathway
✗ Watch out
- No course is doctrinally universal - baptism, Spirit, afterlife, mission, morality, generosity, and church practice require local review
- Facilitator page is behind the catalog - it documents group packs for two courses while the homepage and navigation now list four
- Privacy disclosure is hard to find - account, progress, workbook, contact, newsletter, cookies, and video-provider data need a plain policy
- Reuse terms are informal - “no permission” and free brand packs are generous but not a complete copyright, translation, or derivative-work license
- Video assumes connectivity and hearing or sight access - captions, transcripts, audio description, keyboard flow, and downloadable low-bandwidth alternatives are not prominently documented
- Formation can become content completion - a progress bar cannot observe repentance, relationships, service, understanding, or pastoral need
- Sensitive life topics need qualified care - emotional, moral, physical, relational, and afterlife discussions can surface trauma, abuse, illness, grief, or crisis
- Public outcome evidence is limited - selected testimonials do not establish retention, behavior change, theological understanding, or multiplication across contexts
Best for
- Churches seeking a free, structured follow-up after Alpha, baptism preparation, or an initial profession of faith
- Newer Christians who want a map across beliefs, habits, and everyday discipleship rather than a random video library
- Small groups and mentors able to add local teaching, relationships, prayer, practice, and accountable care
- Volunteer-led ministries that need short videos and ready workbooks instead of writing a full first-year curriculum
- Experienced leaders willing to preview doctrinally sensitive units and adapt discussion without altering source material ambiguously
Avoid if
- Your church will assign the links without a real person welcoming questions, noticing risk, and following up on practice
- Leaders have not reviewed the course’s specific teaching on baptism, the Holy Spirit, afterlife, morality, generosity, and mission
- Participants need languages, captions, transcripts, audio description, offline delivery, or disability accommodations not yet confirmed
- Your organization requires a formal content license, DPA, privacy policy, accessibility report, or contracted service continuity before use
- A group may disclose abuse, self-harm, severe mental distress, medical needs, or coercion without a safeguarding and referral plan
What Everyday Institute is
Everyday Institute is baseline catechesis presented as a course journey rather than a reference library. It selects a set of beliefs and practices, explains them through short video, asks participants to work in a guide, and expects discussion and action. The aim is not mastery of every doctrine but a usable map for following Jesus across ordinary life.
Its “Alpha follow-up” analogy is helpful but imperfect. Alpha is a specific hosted experience for exploring Christian faith; Everyday Institute begins with a more explicit discipleship posture and moves quickly into baptism, Spirit, church habits, mission, and moral formation. A church should decide where a participant actually is and invite without pressure or implying that one sequence fits every story.
Why churches use Everyday Institute: a complete next-step path without a licensing budget
Free resources often mean a folder of disconnected videos or a PDF that assumes an expert teacher. Everyday Institute supplies a deliberate progression, visible lesson lengths, participant workbooks, and leader material. The content is polished enough for a church-wide cohort but simple enough for two people. Because video occupies only part of the meeting, a facilitator can spend the majority on questions, Scripture, story, prayer, and concrete response.
Preserve that relational center. Give every group a trained named leader and an additional safe contact. Ask participants what they hope for, allow them to disagree or pass, and never turn the progress bar into pressure. Read the relevant Bible passages in full, distinguish course explanation from the text, invite questions that outlive the session, and schedule follow-up several months after completion. The goal is a durable life with Christ and people, not four certificates.
Day One and Everyday Habits: start with foundations, then build repeatable rhythms
Day One works through gospel, response, water baptism, common baptism elements, the identity and work of the Holy Spirit, and frequently asked questions. Everyday Habits introduces behavior change before moving through Bible reading, prayer prompts, generosity through giving and serving, community practices, and mission in the current culture. Each stage contains short named sessions and a closing “now what?” step.
Ask local leaders to supply their church’s baptism process, language about the Spirit, membership expectations, giving safeguards, Bible translation, mission practice, and next contacts. Never pressure baptism, public testimony, giving, service, or evangelistic disclosure as proof of course success. Habits should start small and graciously, account for disability and life circumstance, and be sustained through companionship rather than guilt or a universal daily formula.
Everyday Faith: a concise theology map whose compression must remain visible
Everyday Faith frames belief around five large questions: the source of life, what is wrong, the solution, purpose, and what happens after death. Lessons use memorable devices such as a God flowchart, Sin Effect, Jesus Timeline, six life areas, and Architecture of the Afterlife. The course begins by asking what faith is and closes by directing participants beyond completion.
A diagram is a teaching aid, not the doctrine itself. Review what each visual includes and omits, every Scripture reference, vocabulary, chronological claim, and implication. Tell participants where your church’s confession says more. Invite them to retain questions and compare the whole biblical witness. Avoid using a foundational course to test conformity or make high-stakes judgments about someone’s salvation, grief, family, or church background.
Everyday Life: whole-person application needs boundaries and qualified referral
The newest visible course turns to six domains: moral, emotional, physical, relational, vocational, and cultural. Two lessons per unit identify common approaches, marks, tensions, circles, questions, or practical strategies, and each area offers several actions a participant could begin that week. It helps discipleship move beyond private devotional habits into body, work, relationships, and public life.
These subjects overlap with mental health, medicine, disability, sexuality, abuse, finances, employment, discrimination, family conflict, and legal duties. Train facilitators to stay within scope, avoid diagnosis and simplistic spiritual causation, honor confidentiality limits, and refer to qualified care. Actions must be voluntary, safe, lawful, age-appropriate, and specific to the person. Never instruct someone to stop treatment, stay in danger, disclose trauma publicly, or reconcile without safety.
Pricing
Day One
Free
Three main units on gospel, baptism, and Spirit, just over an hour of teaching in total. Run across three weeks or one day. Workbook, leader guide, and brand pack are publicly linked.
Everyday Habits
Free
Six units on Bible, prayer, generosity, community, and mission, usually with two lessons each. Designed for six weeks. Workbook, leader guide, and brand pack are publicly linked.
Everyday Faith
Free
Six core theology units answer questions about origins, brokenness, Jesus, purpose, and what follows death. A participant workbook is linked; confirm current leader and brand resources directly.
Everyday Life
Free
Six two-lesson units address moral, emotional, physical, relational, vocational, and cultural life. A workbook is linked; the facilitator page had not yet documented its complete host pack when reviewed.
Church delivery
No vendor fee; local costs apply
Budget facilitators, review, printing, rooms, meals, childcare, accessibility, devices, connectivity, translation, safeguarding, pastoral follow-up, and evaluation. Ask for written reuse terms before modifying or redistributing at scale.
Every course is advertised as totally free, and the facilitator FAQ says churches may run them without asking permission. There is no paid certificate, upgrade, host subscription, participant workbook charge, or per-group license in the reviewed public offer.
Individuals still create an account to take a course and track progress. Preview options may expose some material before registration. Explain what the site receives, avoid shared passwords, and give a non-account alternative when a participant cannot or should not register.
Printing can become the largest direct cost. Decide whether one workbook per participant is necessary, use accessible digital copies, and obtain permission before changing, translating, or posting files. A free download is still copyrighted unless a license says otherwise.
A full group session is designed for sixty to seventy-five minutes even though video remains under twenty-five. Budget the human portion: welcome, Scripture, discussion, prayer, practice, transport, food, childcare, accessibility, leader preparation, safeguarding, and follow-up.
Free service has continuity risk. Download only what the publisher permits, preserve source and version dates, and maintain a passage-and-topic outline so an unavailable video does not collapse the group. Never assume continued hosting is guaranteed.
Where Everyday Institute falls behind
Current facilitator hub. Add Everyday Faith and Everyday Life leader guides, brand packs, schedules, preview notes, sensitive-topic guidance, and revision dates beside the first two courses.
Formal licensing. Publish clear terms for classroom playback, copies, editing, excerpts, branding, attribution, translation, accessibility remediation, hosting, and derivative redistribution.
Privacy documentation. Explain account, progress, forms, newsletter, cookies, analytics, video, Squarespace or course-provider data, retention, deletion, exports, subprocessors, children, and user rights.
Accessibility evidence. Provide accurate captions, transcripts, audio description, keyboard navigation, screen-reader structure, contrast, zoom, accessible PDFs, low-bandwidth audio, and offline text.
Editorial transparency. Date every lesson and workbook, name reviewers, list citations, publish corrections and revisions, and explain how local-church feedback changes content.
Safeguarding and pastoral scope. Leader guides need confidentiality limits, mandatory reporting, crisis, abuse, self-harm, medical, disability, and referral instructions.
Multilingual access. Publish prioritized translations, culturally reviewed subtitles and workbooks, rights, and a process for qualified community contribution.
Outcome evidence. Measure completion, understanding, participation, practice, belonging, leader burden, retention, and harms over time with methods and participant consent.
Everyday Institute vs. Alpha vs. BibleProject Classroom vs. local membership class
Alpha primarily invites people to explore basic Christian questions through hospitality, talks, and open discussion. Everyday Institute explicitly describes itself as a follow-up for someone growing in faith and moves into baptism, Spirit, habits, beliefs, and whole-life practice. Both are free to host in their standard models, but their audiences and facilitation cultures differ. Day One can form a bridge after Alpha when local leaders review the fit.
BibleProject Classroom offers deep, free, self-paced biblical and theological courses with extensive videos, notes, and scholarly instruction. It requires much more study time and is not primarily a plug-and-play first-year small-group sequence. Everyday Institute is shorter, more applied, and leader-ready; Classroom is stronger for literary, historical, and conceptual depth. A church can use one for formation rhythm and the other for study without pretending they are substitutes.
A local membership or foundations class can state the congregation’s doctrine, history, sacraments or ordinances, governance, ministries, covenant, safeguarding, and real next steps. It takes staff time and can become institution-centered. Everyday Institute supplies reusable teaching and a broader discipleship map, while deliberately leaving local details open. Pairing the course with a concise local companion is often stronger than replacing either one.
The bottom line
Everyday Institute gives churches far more than its price suggests: a four-part map, dozens of short lessons, workbooks, and a practical hosting pattern without a license invoice. Its clearest use is relational—an experienced believer or trained facilitator walks with a person through the material, opens Scripture, listens, answers honestly, and connects every step to real church life. Preview everything, add a local companion, prepare for sensitive disclosures, support disabled and low-bandwidth participants, and request formal privacy and reuse terms. Used that way, it can be a generous first-year spine. Used as a link to complete alone, it risks turning discipleship into another free account and progress bar.
Alternatives to Everyday Institute
Practicing the WayCourses, practices, and community rhythms centered on apprenticeship to Jesus, with a distinct formation framework.The Bible CourseA structured video journey through the Bible’s big story, narrower in life application but stronger as an overview of Scripture.Local foundations classCan connect doctrine directly to known pastors, church practice, safeguarding, membership, and real relationships.Frequently asked questions
Is Everyday Institute really free?
Yes. All four participant courses are presented as free, and the facilitator FAQ says churches can run courses without paying or asking permission. Confirm formal reuse terms before editing, translating, or redistributing files.
What are the four courses?
Day One covers gospel, baptism, and Spirit; Everyday Habits covers Bible, prayer, generosity, community, and mission; Everyday Faith covers foundational beliefs; Everyday Life applies discipleship across six areas of life.
How long does a course meeting take?
The facilitator page says each unit has no more than twenty-five minutes of video and is designed for a sixty-to-seventy-five-minute gathering with discussion. Day One can run in one day or three weeks; Habits is designed for six weeks.
Do participants need an account?
The course pages direct participants to create a free account to start, retain progress, and use the workbook. Preview options exist, but churches should provide a reasonable alternative when account use is a barrier.
What theology does Everyday Institute teach?
The about page places it within broad historic Christian belief and names the Apostles’ Creed and Lausanne Covenant. Specific units on baptism, Spirit, afterlife, morality, generosity, and mission should still be reviewed locally.
Can a church customize the courses?
The material is designed to leave room for local details, and brand packs are available for early courses. “Free to run” does not fully define editing, translation, or derivative rights, so get written permission for material changes.
Are leader guides available for every course?
The reviewed facilitator page publicly linked complete leader and brand resources for Day One and Everyday Habits. The main catalog now has two additional courses, so ask the provider for current Everyday Faith and Everyday Life host materials.
Sources & further reading
More Teaching & Theology Websites
BibleProjectA nonprofit studio that turned the entire Bible into animated explainers, free seminary-grade courses, and a deep-dive theology podcast - and somehow gave it all away.
Christian Classics Ethereal LibraryThe Christian Classics Ethereal Library is possibly the oldest Christian site on the internet, and it is still the single best free source for the public-domain canon - from Augustine to Spurgeon, with the entire 38-volume Ante-Nicene and Nicene-and-Post-Nicene Fathers in the middle.
Christian History InstituteThe quiet workhorse of popular church history publishing for forty years - and almost everything they have ever printed is sitting online for free.
Faith Comes By HearingA 50-year-old mission organization that has recorded the Scriptures in more languages than any other group on earth - and the parent ministry behind Bible.is.
Renewing Your MindLigonier Ministries’ flagship daily teaching broadcast, anchored in R.C. Sproul’s decades-deep archive and continued by today’s teaching fellows - the closest thing Reformed listeners have to a daily seminary classroom on the radio.
Desiring GodJohn Piper's ministry, four decades deep, with every book free as a PDF and a podcast archive nobody else can match - and a Reformed Baptist lens you should know going in.