sacredsoilinstitute.org

A School for Spiritual Formation, Biblical Understanding & Discipleship

Helping believers move from being spiritually saved to becoming spiritually formed, grounded, and fruitful.

12 Discipleship Tracks • Weekly Classes • Biblical & Spiritual Formation

What is Sacred Soil Institute?

The developmental bridge between belief and becoming.

Many people enter faith knowing what they believe, but have never been taught how to live, how to think, how to interpret Scripture, how to develop spiritually, how to understand themselves, or how to navigate the process of transformation.

Sacred Soil Institute exists to provide intentional formation — a formation school designed to help you understand where you are, develop who you are becoming, and prepare for what you are called to produce.

Church attendance ≠ discipleship

Information ≠ transformation

Being saved ≠ being fully formed

What is Sacred Soil Institute?

Root. Grow. Fruit.

Spiritual development moves through seasons — Exile, Wilderness, Promised Land, and Production. Being uprooted, learning, correction, healing, formation, testing, maturity, fruitfulness.

ROOT

Establish your foundation.

Identity, Scripture, spiritual foundations, the nature of God, and the principles that establish a rooted life.

GROW

Embrace your development.

Correction, obedience, relationships, emotional patterns, wilderness seasons, and the shaping of desire.

FRUIT

Live from what has been cultivated.

Wisdom, discernment, responsibility, service, leadership, and a life that produces meaningful fruit.

The goal is not simply to finish a 12-week course. The goal is to begin seeing your life as a process of formation.

Our Areas of Study

What we teach

Biblical Studies

Spiritual Formation

Personal Formation

Discipleship

The 12-Week Experience

12 Weeks. One Formation Journey.

Weeks 1–3

ROOT

Establishing a strong foundation.

Identity, Scripture, spiritual foundations, the nature of God, the body of Christ, and the principles that establish a rooted life.

Weeks 4–6

GROW

Understanding the process of transformation.

Spiritual development, correction, obedience, relationships, emotional patterns, consequences, and the ways life shapes our desires.

Weeks 7–9

DEVELOP

Being formed through the process.

Character, wilderness seasons, responsibility, spiritual practices, and the interior work that maturity requires.

Weeks 10–12

FRUIT

Learning to live what you have learned.

Purpose, wisdom, discernment, service, leadership, and a life that produces meaningful fruit.

The 12-Week Experience

Saved, Now What?

A 12-Week Discipleship Journey

Salvation begins a journey. Discipleship teaches us how to walk it. Over twelve weeks we explore the journey from foundation to formation to fruitfulness — Scripture, spiritual development, emotional awareness, and practical application.

01

Saved, Now What

03

Identity & Image

05

How to Study scripture

07

Covenant & Temples

09

Sin, Temptation, Suffering & Spiritual Warfare

11

Oneness & Community

02

Knowing God

04

The Soul, Body & Spirit

06

Creation, Fall & Redemption

08

Exile, Wilderness & Promised Land

10

Gates: Ears & Eyes

12

Fruit, Purpose & Assignment

01

Saved, Now What?

Understanding salvation as the beginning of a developmental journey.

02

Oneness

Understanding the body, community, and interconnected nature of spiritual life.

03

Studying the Bible

Biblical interpretation, literary forms, and levels of understanding.

04

Identity

Understanding who you are and how identity influences your development.

05

Covenants & Consequences

Agreements, responsibility, obedience, choices, and consequences.

06

You Are First Spirit

Spiritual identity and learning to understand life beyond the physical.

07

Correction & Formation

How correction reshapes desires, behavior, and character.

08

Exile

Seasons of separation, displacement, loss, and reorientation.

09

Wilderness

Testing, preparation, dependence, and development.

10

Promised Land

Preparation, inheritance, responsibility, and entering a prepared place.

11

Fruit

The evidence of spiritual maturity and what our lives are producing.

12

Becoming

Integrating what you've learned into a framework for continued growth.

What You Will Experience

Formation, not just instruction

Biblical Study

Approach Scripture beyond surface-level reading — texts, themes, literary forms, and interpretation.

Spiritual Formation

Explore the processes through which beliefs, desires, character, habits, and decisions are formed.

Self-Examination

Grow in awareness of your internal world, patterns, motivations, and areas requiring growth.

Community

Learn alongside others committed to becoming spiritually mature and living intentionally.

Practical Application

Connect biblical principles to everyday decisions, relationships, purpose, and responsibility.

Reflection

Slow down, ask difficult questions, and recognize what is happening within you.

Who It's For

This track is for you if…

This is not about rushing you to the next level. It's about preparing your soil for what comes next.

You don’t have to have everything figured out. You simply need to be willing to grow.

✦ You are newly saved and asking, “What happens next?”

✦ You've believed for years but feel spiritually stuck.

✦ You want to understand Scripture at a deeper level.

✦ You want to understand spiritual development, not just collect information.

✦ You are navigating a major transition or season of growth.

✦ You want to be intentional about character, relationships, and purpose.

✦ You desire a structured environment for spiritual formation.

✦ You want to move from consuming teaching to becoming a disciple.

How the Institute Works

The logistics, plainly

Format

Weekly live classes

Length

4-, 6-, 8-, or 12-week courses

Delivery

Online / virtual

Class Experience

Teaching + discussion + reflection + application

Materials

Student workbook & course materials

Cohort

Small learning community

Completion

Certificate of Completion

Enrollment

Fall 2026 — waitlist open

Sacred Soil Institute is currently a non-accredited educational and discipleship institution.

What Makes Us Different

We don't just teach you what to believe. We help you understand how you are being formed.

Biblically Grounded

We take Scripture seriously while teaching people how to study and engage it thoughtfully.

Developmentally Focused

Spiritual maturity happens through process, not simply information.

Practically Applied

Students are challenged to take what they learn into everyday life.

Formational

The goal isn’t simply knowing more. It’s becoming different.

Shyla D. Mayes

Founder, Sacred Soil Institute

A Message From the Founder

Discipleship is developmental.

I created the Sacred Soil Institute because I believe there is a gap between being introduced to faith and being developed through faith. Many of us were taught what to believe, but we were not always taught how to understand the process of becoming.

We learn that we are saved — but then we are left asking, “Now what?” What do I do with my emotions? How do I understand my experiences? How do I navigate correction? Why do I keep repeating certain patterns? Why does growth sometimes feel like loss?

Just as a seed requires the right environment, time, cultivation, pruning, and care before it produces fruit, people require intentional formation. The soil matters.

This is not simply a place to gather information. It is a place to study, reflect, question, develop, and become. My hope is that you leave with greater understanding of yourself, greater depth in Scripture, and greater clarity about the person you are becoming.

Welcome to Sacred Soil Institute. Let's get rooted.

Our Mission

Cultivate hearts through biblical truth, spiritual development, and intentional discipleship.

We create environments where people become biblically grounded, spiritually aware, emotionally healthy, and intentionally developed — addressing the whole person.

Our Vision

To raise a generation of rooted people, prepared to produce meaningful fruit.

A generation that does not simply inherit beliefs, but develops the wisdom and maturity to live them — able to recognize seasons of exile, wilderness, preparation, and promise without losing sight of the process.

Student Outcomes

By the end of a course, you will be able to…

FAQ

Questions, answered

Is Sacred Soil Institute a church?

No. Sacred Soil Institute is an educational and discipleship school. We partner with, but do not replace, the local church.

Is it accredited?

Sacred Soil Institute is currently a non-accredited educational and discipleship institution.

Who can enroll?

Any believer — new or long-time — who wants intentional formation. No prior training is required.

Do I have to belong to a church?

No. Church membership is not required, though we encourage students to remain connected to a faith community.

Are classes online?

Yes. Classes meet weekly online in a live, small-cohort format.

How long are the courses?

Courses run 4, 6, 8, or 12 weeks. The flagship Discipleship Track is 12 weeks.

Do I need prior Bible knowledge?

No. We teach you how to study, interpret, and engage Scripture from the ground up.

Will I receive a certificate?

Students who complete a course receive a Certificate of Completion.

How much does enrollment cost?

Tuition for the Fall 2026 cohort will be announced with enrollment. Waitlist members are notified first.

What happens after I complete a course?

You can continue into additional tracks and specialized courses as the Institute’s 12-track system opens.

Fall 2026 Enrollment

Your formation journey starts here.

You don’t need another place to simply receive information. You need an environment where you can grow.

Root deeply. Grow intentionally. Bear fruit faithfully.

Fall 2026 enrollment coming soon. Waitlist members are notified first.