We train men who know they were created to leave a legacy, and they’re not backing down from that mandate. The statistics are overwhelming: Northwest Arkansas has one of the highest divorce rates in the country, which leads to broken families, broken homes, and extremely difficult circumstances for the children.
At Sharpening Ministries, we know that families were created for more. We know that men, touched by the Gospel in a significant way, can leave a different legacy. A legacy of faith, discipleship, and love for Jesus.
So that’s what we do. We work like the Apostle Paul. We’ll do everything we can to help the men of Northwest Arkansas become mature in their faith — living out their relationship with Christ in every area of their lives.
We want to see men locking shields to advance God’s Kingdom. Men who won’t quit on one another when life gets hard. Men who will pull us up and call us to be better men.
We want to see men living in obedience to God and reflecting His love to others. Men who love their wives, their families, and their co-workers. People who will go the extra mile to care for the hurting.
We want to see men rejecting passivity, accepting responsibility, living courageously, and investing eternally. Men who make a difference in the world through their leadership. Men who aren’t scared to be who God has created them to be.
We want to see men move from “activity” to “productivity.” Men who make a difference in the world through their leadership. Men who aren’t scared to be who God has created them to be.
We are looking for men who have the following:
And Who will intentionally be ambassadors for Christ as they seek to reach:
To help them be reconciled to God.
We want to see men walk with God for a lifetime and we equip them to follow Jesus and mobilize them to reproduce Christ… but how do we do it?
We start by helping believers know and embrace who they are.
First, we help them understand what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. As a disciple of Jesus we are also called His ambassador or representative. (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)
Next, we help believers understand that they are 100% responsible for helping accomplish the Great Commission. God has given us the ministry of reconciliation. Meaning, Jesus reconciled us to Himself, now we have the responsibility of teaching others how to be reconciled to Him as well.
This is the message of the Gospel and we spend a lot of time helping people catch the vision of being responsible for reaching the world.
Finally, we don’t just stop at knowing these things. We help believers understand they are responsible for actually teaching, modeling, and training other Christ followers to do the things they’ve learned above.
The entire time we’re teaching them how to actually do this.
There is one living, sovereign God who exist eternally in and through the Trinity: God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. (See Rev. 1:8; Is. 43:10-11; Deut. 6:4)
Jesus was sent by God the Father to live on the earth. He was both fully God and Fully man and yet without sin. (See Luke 1:31-35; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21)
The Holy Spirit was sent by God after Jesus ascended to heaven to minister and empower the Christ follower and to convict the world of their sin. He lives in every believer as the Helper, Teacher, and Guide. (See John 14:16-17)
God created mankind in His image. (See Gen. 1:26-27; Gen. 5:1-2)
All people are sinners and need God's forgiveness. (Rom. 3:23; Rom. 6:23)
Those people who confess and repent from their sin, put their trust in Jesus as their Lord and Savior will be saved by grace through faith and become children of God, with the promise of eternal life. (See John 3:16; Gal. 3:26)
Jesus Christ is the head of the Church, and all believers are members of His Church. (See Eph. 4:15-16)
The Bible is the inspired Word of God and is the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (See 2 Tim. 3:16-17)
Jesus will return and there will be a final judgment. (See Matthew 24: 44)
God has placed in Larry Watkins a steady fire to reach the lost, strengthen the wandering, and call men back to the life they were created to live. Larry walks beside Christian men and equips them to follow Jesus with conviction, to stand unashamed of the gospel, and to live each day with purpose that reaches beyond themselves.
Before stepping into full time ministry work, Larry spent years in the marketplace as a medical sales consultant. He often says God “repositioned” him, not away from business but toward men who are carrying more responsibility than they realize.
Larry helps these men see what God has entrusted to them in their wives, their children, their calling, and their influence. He challenges them to stop drifting, step up, and take hold of the assignment God has placed on their life: to walk with Him daily and to take part in finishing the Great Commission.
Larry coaches and guides men who want to lead with courage, grow with
honesty, and live a life that matters. Men connect with him because he
speaks plainly, listens closely, and refuses to let them settle for anything
less than God’s best for their life, their family, and their work.
