Our Story

God began to give Bill Schlipp a passion for discipleship when God took away his addiction to alcohol in 1997. Bill didn't quite recognize it yet, but his life was on a trajectory toward himself becoming a disciple of Christ and leading others on the same path.

God ignited a fire in Bill's heart and clarified his mission through a discipleship course in Bible college. After his graduation in 2012 and biblical counseling experience at Pacific Garden Mission in Chicago, Bill launched Fertile Ground Ranch Discipleship Ministry in 2014.

God gave Bill a vision for a place where men could live for a time in a peaceful, quiet setting while learning to count the cost of being and making disciples of Christ.
The location would remove them temporarily from the worldly influences that had drawn them away from God. Along with learning from the Bible (the core focus), a farm setting would teach them discipline and responsibility through caring for animals and the farm property. They would also learn to love and serve others through encouraging each other and serving in the community.
In 2017, God led us to Brown County, Indiana, where a home for FGR was opened in 2021.

The first and greatest priority of FGR is to glorify God with the actions of the ministry and to please Him by following His will.  God has surprised us many times throughout FGR's development, and we expect He will continue to do so. We look forward to what He is doing and will do through FGR, our leaders and the people who learn through FGR to surrender to the Lord and Savior!

We ask that you would pray for God to:

• Send students who are ready to devote their lives to following the command of Jesus to be and make disciples.
• Provide funds and material goods to enable FGR's continuing operation and future growth.
• Guide us to be obedient to the will of God in all we do.