Whetstone Boys Ranch

10/09/2026

THE FIRST BOY. FIFTEEN YEARS LATER.

On October 9, 2011, Whetstone Boys Ranch opened its doors to its very first resident: Austin.

Today, exactly fifteen years later, we're opening a new chapter—and Austin is helping us turn the first page.

We're launching "Beyond Whetstone", our new video podcast series featuring the stories of former residents and graduates, told in their own words.

And we couldn't imagine a better person to begin with.

Austin's story isn't a tidy tale of troubled teenager turned model citizen. It's a winding, sometimes harrowing journey through addiction, despair, near-death experiences, and the relentless pursuit of a God who refused to let him go.

There are moments that will make you laugh. Others that will break your heart. And still others that will remind you just how astonishing God's grace can be.

Join Brandon and Axel as we reunite with the boy who started it all, fifteen years after his arrival.

Some stories take fifteen years to tell. Some are still being written.

Watch the first episode of *Beyond the Whetstone* today!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5qARUffTTG7EXNElcG5BRg?si=tWbRbLnuRQuTNIKKxRNQQA

10/09/2026

15 years ago, today, Austin became the very first boy to arrive at Whetstone Boys Ranch. For the next three months, it was just Austin and me in the classroom. One teacher. One student. And a whole lot of faith that God had something bigger in mind.

Talk about individualized instruction!

Look closely at this photo from October 27, 2011. Notice the Whetstone coffee mug beside the computer? Some things haven't changed!

But plenty of things have.

Fifteen years later, we have a beautiful new house, room for 18 boys, and 10 young men currently in our care. What began with one boy and a prayer has grown into a ministry that has touched hundreds of lives.

And here's what strikes me about that original post: We're still praying the same prayer.

We're still asking God to send the right boys at the right time. Still trusting His providence. Still entirely dependent on His plan rather than our own.

Fifteen years have given us plenty of reasons to trust Him.

And today, we get to tell you one of the biggest reasons why.

Later today, we're releasing a very special anniversary episode of A Time to Sharpen, our podcast with Brandon and Axel. And our guest is none other than Austin himself.

Our first boy. Fifteen years later. Back to tell his story.

It's an hour-long conversation about the winding road his life has taken since that first day at Whetstone. A story of redemption, grace, and God's relentless love, with enough twists and turns to rival a Russian novel.

You won't want to miss this one.

Stay tuned. Austin's story is coming later today.

Whetstone Academy: Enrollment of one. Talk about individualized instruction! We're working hard to find more. Pray that God will send them when the time is right.

10/07/2026

In Installment Three of our Whetstone History series, Troy Vetter joins us to pick up the story and carry it forward through another crucial chapter in Whetstone’s early years.

The people. The risks. The setbacks. The unlikely turns. The moments when God seemed to be writing a story none of us could have outlined in advance.

And all of it is leading to Friday.

On October 9, Whetstone turns 15 years old.

To mark the anniversary, we’re launching our new video podcast with Austin—our very first boy.

His story is one of redemption, heartbreak, wandering, grace, second chances, and God’s relentless love.

Frankly, it has enough twists and turns to fill a Russian novel.

Today’s episode with Troy gets you caught up and sets the stage. Friday, Austin tells the story only he can tell.

Stay tuned.

You will not want to miss this one.

To hear the entire podcast, use the following links:

Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forged-sharpened-the-history-of-whetstone-part-3/id1613788844?i=1000792106419

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2vxhYsPFqzKoiHKdcC5X3A?si=Y3JmgYqQQ9Osy-7X3dSBEQ

10/06/2026

A Year Can Change a Young Man 🍂❄️🌱☀️

One of the most rewarding things about working at Whetstone is watching boys grow into young men.

Sometimes the change happens on the inside. Sometimes it shows up on the outside.

And sometimes, as these before and after pictures remind us, it’s both. 📸

I like to say that it’s sad when our kids grow up, but it’s sadder when they don’t.

Part of our work at Whetstone is helping young men make that difficult passage from boyhood toward manhood: learning responsibility, accepting correction, doing hard things, serving others, and discovering that character is built one choice at a time. 🧭💪

But that growth comes with a cost.

For the parents who entrust their sons to us, there are birthdays, ordinary Tuesdays, family dinners, holidays, victories, setbacks, and countless little moments they don’t get to experience firsthand. We never want to forget the sacrifice families make when they ask us to walk alongside their son for a season.

For this young man, that season lasted just over a year.

At the end of September, he completed his time at Whetstone. And while a photograph can show you how much a boy has grown on the outside, it can’t capture all the work that happened in between: the miles run, the difficult conversations, the lessons learned, the relationships built, the failures faced, and the decision to get up and try again. 🏃‍♂️🔥

We are proud of the work he did. 👏

Now comes the greater challenge: taking what was learned here and carrying it home. Our prayer is that in every season ahead, and in every situation he faces, he will choose perseverance over quitting, resilience over defeat, honor over convenience, and integrity when no one is watching. 🙏🧭

A whetstone doesn’t sharpen a blade so it can sit on a shelf. It sharpens it so it can be useful.

May the sharpening that happened here prepare this young man for a life of usefulness in the service of God, his family, and others.

Congratulations, sir! 🎓👏

Keep growing. Keep choosing the harder right. And stay sharp. ⚔️🔥

09/24/2026

Git’r done!

09/23/2026

Weekend Warriors Return to Whetstone 🪓🔥🌳

For nearly fifteen years, a crew from Southside Church of Christ - Lexington, Kentucky has been making the trip to Whetstone to work alongside us. These “Weekend Warriors” have become part of the fabric of this place.

This year, 15 volunteers rolled up their sleeves for two full days of hard work in some serious Ozarks heat and humidity. They split an enormous amount of firewood, fired up the chainsaws, cleared fence lines, worked on the disc golf course, tackled beautification projects around the property, and headed out to the cabin to finish the rock benches around the fireplace.

And our boys were right there with them.

They worked hard, kept good attitudes, and experienced one of the things we value deeply at Whetstone: the Joy of Work is even better when you share it with people who willingly give their time and strength to serve alongside you.

What makes this weekend particularly meaningful is the history behind it. Some of these men have been coming since Southside’s first trip in 2012. Over the years, the group has grown and changed. Fathers have brought sons. New volunteers have joined old friends. And this year we got to see one of those stories come beautifully full circle.

Alex Muller and Avery Franklin, who now serve on staff at Whetstone, were first introduced to the ranch as teenagers when they came here on these work trips with their dads. This year, Alex and Avery were serving here as Whetstone employees, and both of their fathers were back among the Weekend Warriors.
There is something deeply encouraging about watching the Lord weave a story together over years instead of days.

Kentucky and Missouri fade into the background. Ages and occupations and hometowns matter a little less. What remains is the family of Christ: people showing up for one another, swinging axes, hauling brush, stacking wood, mentoring boys, laughing together, sweating together, and helping carry a mission that has never belonged to Whetstone alone.

And after all that work, there was only one proper ending: chicken fajitas.

Jeremy Thompson and his lovely wife, Cari, hosted us on their beautiful piece of property in the Ozarks and put together an incredible spread of mesquite-grilled chicken, perfectly grilled peppers and onions, and all the fixings, followed, naturally, by Klondike bars.

The setting could not have been better. From their property, the land slopes gently down toward a pond beneath a wide Ozarks sky. As the evening wore on, the stars began to emerge, and we had the chance to sit together, eat, laugh, and look out over God’s creation .🌄🌌

It was a beautiful Mountain View vista and a fitting place to end the weekend. In many ways, it captured something central to Whetstone itself: stepping away from the noise, seeing things from a different perspective, and remembering that sometimes a wider view can change the way you understand the road you are walking.

To our friends from Southside: thank you.

Thank you for the miles you travel, the weekends you sacrifice, the work you willingly take on, and the generous spirit you have brought to Whetstone year after year. Some of you have been sharpening alongside us almost from the very beginning of this mission.

The woodpile in this picture is impressive.🪵🪵🪵

But the relationships built over fifteen years are the real monument. 🤝

09/16/2026

Meet Gabe Newell, Whetstone’s Dumbledore-esque Headmaster.
Part mad scientist, part Jedi Knight, part sweaty-toothed madman himself, straight out of Dead Poets Society.

As you can probably tell from the hair choices alone, which have changed radically and without warning over the years, Gabe walks to the beat of a different drum.

You know who else does?

Our boys.

That is part of what makes him such a perfect fit for Whetstone.

Gabe holds a degree in Biology from Missouri S&T and is certified to teach high school science. But calling him a science teacher is a little like calling Leonardo da Vinci “a guy who could draw.”

He is a true Renaissance man, whose experience with the outdoors, theatre, film, music, storytelling, poetry, and a dozen other things comes in handy during a "normal" day a Whetstone Boys Ranch.

He also possesses the borderline supernatural ability to hold the attention of a room full of teenage boys for hours at a time.

Literally.

Is he also a hypnotist? We cannot confirm or deny.

What we can confirm is that Gabe loves God, loves His creation, loves learning, and deeply believes in the mission of sharpening the character of young men.

We are blessed to have him.

Some teachers teach subjects; the unforgettable ones teach students how to dream.

Thanks for being one of the unforgettable ones, Gabe. 🔬🌲🎭🎸📚⚒️

09/15/2026

As we approach the 15th anniversary of enrolling our first resident on October 9, 2011, Brandon and Axel are going back to the beginning on "A Time to Sharpen" with a new multi-part series telling the story of Whetstone: where the idea came from, how the ranch took shape, the people God brought along the way, and the winding road that eventually led us to Mountain View, Missouri.

And when we say “the beginning,” we mean it.

We’re going all the way back to the last millennium, when the earliest seeds of Whetstone were planted at Lubbock Christian University...with some very non-traditional techniques.

From there, the story crosses states, seasons, setbacks, friendships, unexpected turns, and more than a few moments that only make sense when you look backward and see the hand of Providence.

We’re calling the series:

FORGED & SHARPENED: A History of Whetstone

🎧 The first episode is available now.

Whether you are a parent, former resident, teacher, counselor, volunteer, donor, former employee, friend of the ranch, or someone who has simply followed the story from afar, we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Because buildings, programs, and milestones have never been the whole story.

Lives are the story. Families are the story. Reconciliation is the story.

For nearly 15 years, we have had the privilege of watching God work through imperfect people in an imperfect place to redeem lives, restore relationships, and sharpen young men.

There is a lot of story to tell.

And, by God’s grace, we’re still writing it.

🎧 Start with Episode One today!

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4Wwjppli4B3IpcESfEuTbc?si=9f07b5903e5b452d

or Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/forged-sharpened-the-history-of-whetstone-part-1/id1613788844?i=1000786952760

09/10/2026

One of the easiest things for any of us to do is get trapped inside our own problems.

One of the best ways out is to serve somebody else.

Community service is an important part of life at Whetstone because it gives our young men the chance to look beyond themselves for a while. There is something profoundly healthy about picking up a box, cleaning out a room, hauling a load, fixing what is broken, or simply doing a job that makes somebody else’s day a little easier. Your problems may still be waiting for you when the work is finished, but somehow they don’t seem quite as large.

And young men have an extraordinary amount to give.

Our culture sometimes talks about teenage boys primarily in terms of what needs to be restrained: the energy, the noise, the impulsiveness, the competition, the hormones, the testosterone, the occasional inability to recognize that furniture is not designed for parkour.

But all that energy is not inherently a problem.

It is power.

Properly directed, the same strength that can knock something over can build something up. The same intensity that can create conflict can become courage. The same restless energy that gets a young man into trouble can become the willingness to work harder, carry more, stay longer, and serve someone who needs him.

Paul told Timothy:

“Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example…”
1 Timothy 4:12

We want our boys to understand that being young does not mean being insignificant. They do not have to wait until adulthood to become men who contribute something meaningful to the world around them. They have strength right now. They have gifts right now. They can bless their community right now.

One of Whetstone’s core values is the Joy of Work, and community service may be one of its clearest expressions. Work becomes something more than a chore when you discover that your strength can be used for somebody besides yourself.

That is part of what we hope happens here: not simply managing the difficult parts of adolescence, but calling out the very best in these young men and giving all that God-given strength somewhere worthwhile to go.

A special shout-out to Jeremy Patton and Caleb Oziah, who oversee this part of our program and do an incredible job creating opportunities for our boys to work, serve, contribute, and discover just how much good they are capable of doing.

Strong backs. Willing hands. Growing hearts.

There is a whole lot of good waiting to be done. 💪🛠️❤️