Updates

February 5, 2026
We are seeing great responses to a new set of verses / book study that I have titled Training Disciples to Train.  The book for this study is titled:  The Making of a Disciple written by Keith Phillips when he was the founder / president of World Impact in L.A.  The link for this study is https://biblicalmentoring.org/index.php/training-disciples-to-train-others/.
We revised our mission to Training Reproducing Disciples.  We did this because we are a 2 Timothy 2 type of ministry.  Let me explain.
I think there is a sharp distinction between a Matthew 28 understanding of “making disciples” and a 2 Timothy 2 understanding of discipleship training.  I am in the latter camp where it is no longer enough (for me) to help a student (trainee / disciple) just grow in their faith, knowledge and spiritual maturity.  There has to be self-death, i.e., becoming more like Jesus and bearing the fruit of reproduction per Keith Phillips.  What matters is that the disciple is showing more of the presence of the character of Jesus in his or her life.  The fruit of reproduction is revealed by actively training others to become like Jesus and like Paul and Timothy.  Paul tells his disciple Timothy – “You then my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.”  This is what Training Reproducing Disciples looks like it seems.

I put a pause on all of my 14 trainees and switched them to this detailed study of this book that I am using as an effective discipleship training manual.  We are still seeking to memorize or review a key verse and also reading to each other 4 or so pages in each training call. (Men usually don’t read books!!)  This is surprisingly working well to teach the essentials to a 2 Timothy 2:2 discipleship training ministry.  That verse reads:  “You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also“.  This was Paul’s special instructions to his disciple, Timothy.  The emphasis is obviously on training others to train others.

Our Biblical Mentoring trainees are learning key definitions of “discipleship” and “disciple”.  Section 3 of this book gives them the tools to recruit and train their own trainees from their own network.

This process will take some time but everyone is now expected to train disciple-makers (reproducing disciples) using this resource.   NOT just become a strong mature disciple but one who follows Paul’s instructions to train others.  It seems fair to assess that most discipleship programs focus on helping participants become more spiritual mature in their faith.  Not gain the knowledge and skills to TRAIN others to train others, etc. etc.   Spiritual maturity is very important but doesn’t fulfill the great commission that our Master gave to ALL believers to fulfill plans for His Kingdom. Period

They say it is what one starts (does) that really counts.  Please take the first step and contact me to learn how we can train willing participants anywhere we can get a phone connection with the same language almost anytime (this is negotiated by the trainer and trainee).
Reproduction is good! Any training system that does not reproduce is destined to fail. We need to incorporate reproduction into the system. God did this in His creation. Did you notice all the seeds in one juicy tomato? God has also intentionally woven this concept into the Gospel.

Copy of the Original! Paul emphasized that he wanted to begin with a strong image of the original—from Christ to Paul to Timothy and on to others. This standard of reproduction would be beneficial because it started with Christ. Timothy was to find and train faithful men. They might be reliable in just a few small things, like arriving on time, but they are indeed faithful.

Train to Reproduce! Timothy would instill in those with whom he shared the Gospel a need to teach others. When we make disciples, we must do so in a way that trains them to train others.

PERSONAL UPDATE:  I have been recently diagnosed with a condition macular degeneration in my left eye. My mother suffered from this condition for several years before passing on in mid-November.   Some blood vessels burst thus leaving little vision or double vision in that eye.  The reason was age related.  Seeing to read and write is a crucial part of my skills as director this ministry called Biblical Mentoring.  I need the grace and skills to adjust to this situation and prayers that my good eye doesn’t degenerate any time soon.  I am praying to find another God-appointed individual called to become the BM Director at the right time.  Thanks.  

In Christ,  Ron

615-238-4035

December 31, 2025

HIM dba Biblical Mentoring (biblicalmentoring.org)
Ron Lively, M.Div., M.A. ▪ HIM ▪ 2750 Hanover Drive, Thompson Station, TN  37179 ▪ 615-238-4035 ▪ ronwlively@gmail.com

Thank you for your financial and prayer support this past year.    We are grateful since both are needed to keep moving Biblical Mentoring and our mission of “Training Reproducing Disciples” forward.

BiblicalMentoring.org encourages and equips mentors and mentees (trainers and trainees) who are actively engaged in 30–40-minute weekly phone training sessions which are centered on memorizing a key verse plus reading and interpreting the Bible as we apply its teachings to our daily lives.  The Spirit is our teacher, i.e., the trainer, while the participants are students.

You can read some testimonials on our Testimonial webpage.  What matters most is what they have to testify of the benefits.

Please go to BiblicalMentoring.org to learn more about our ministry.   I have an Updates webpage to help keep intercessors, donors, friends and family keep up-to-date with our progress and needs.

The emphasis of Biblical Mentoring is on training participants for lifelong discipleship thus prioritizing multiplication in addition to developing spiritual growth. The mentorship nurtures individuals responding to Jesus’ call, guiding them to become disciples who reproduce trained disciple-makers as we are instructed to be in Matthew 28. Thus, we revised our mission recently to focus on training and reproduction or the training of others.  It is now Training Reproductive Disciples.

We share God’s Truth from the Bible to reconcile others to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit within an active and ongoing personal ministry context.  This model has worked well for several years. Praying for each other’s personal needs at the end of the phone session proves to be more valuable than we realized as we seek to offer relational support to each other.  We are helping with the pandemic of loneliness.

The ultimate goal is to teach, model, and multiply the craft of being a lifelong student who mentors, trains, and coaches disciple-making disciples.  With the help of WhatsApp, we can even do this globally.

We have worked with 70 or more participants so far adding a few more each year.  Only some of these would be considered trained to train others.  About 15 individuals are currently active either weekly or monthly.  A few of these are training a trainee whom they recruit.  This is obviously the ultimate goal for everyone we mentor.  We are adding two or three more trainees each month.  My personal goal is to see 100 trained disciple-makers actively reproducing themselves by the time I turn in my badge.

We use the life-to-life model of discipleship training which is simple and effective.  There is usually no curriculum other than the Scriptures.  We have decided to start each new trainee in the study titled:  Training Disciples to Train using Scriptures plus a book titled The Making of a Disciple by Keith Philips written when he was the President of World Impact, Inc.

Two popular sets of memory verses/studies are the Gospel of John and Romans.  We now offer twelve completed sets of memory verses as you can see on our Memory Verses webpage and are adding several new sets such as Top Fifty Psalms; Acts; Hebrews; The Prison Epistles and The Cost of Discipleship.

To support our mission, please use @ronlively for Venmo or ron@medicalmobilizers.org for PayPal.   Checks payable to HIM or Biblical Mentoring can be mailed to:  2750 Hanover Drive | Thompsons Station, TN, 37179.

Gratefully Yours in Christ,
Ron
Ron Lively, M.Div.; M.A.-M&F
Founder / Director
615-238-4035