Statement on Discipleship

At Fertile Ground Ranch Discipleship Ministry (FGR), we believe that God’s perfect, inerrant, true Word is given not only to restore and sanctify fallen sinners, but it is also to be obeyed by all who claim to be followers of Christ.

As we look closely at Christ’s relationships with the 12 disciples in the gospel accounts, it becomes crystal clear how important discipleship was and is to Jesus. As Jesus began his ministry, he did so by calling these 12 special followers – His closest students – to be with Him. He spent the next three years living out His life and ministry before them, teaching them and revealing details of His mission, demonstrating for them how it was to be accomplished.

After three years of life-on-life training, and as He was departing this world, Jesus commanded His disciples to do with the world what He had done with them: “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:18–20, NLT)
We believe this is not a suggestion but a mandate. Known as the Great Commission, this is a command given to every believer to become and to make disciples of Jesus Christ. The charge is not only to evangelize the lost but also to teach new believers to be obedient to all that God’s Word commands.

Discipleship is the vehicle that Jesus intended to reach the whole world with the good news. Through the obedience of 12 unremarkable yet faithful and Spirit-driven men, the gospel spread to every corner of the known world in only a few centuries. And, like the 12, every faithful disciple of Jesus should be actively making more disciples.
A clear example of discipleship in the early church can be seen in the instruction passed down from the Apostle Paul to his disciple Timothy: “You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses. Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.” (2 Timothy 2:2, NLT)

It is through the multiplying of disciples that the church grows and the world is reached. Unfortunately, this mandate and the passion for true biblical discipleship appears to have been lost on the church of today. The church is being discipled by the world rather than the reverse.

At FGR, our goal is to be used by God to multiply true disciples by imparting a practical understanding of Jesus’ plan for reaching the world, while also igniting a passion to become a part of that plan by developing gifting and providing opportunity for every one of our students to carry it out.
Theologian R. C. Sproul summed it up well*: “Thus, when Jesus tells us to go to all nations, we are to go into all the world with His agenda, not our own. The Great Commission calls us to work with other believers in the church in order to produce disciples and flood this world with knowledgeable, articulate Christians who worship God and follow Jesus Christ passionately.”
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