SR Ranch

In 1963 God gave two families a vision to start a Christian youth ranch whose primary focus would be to share the gospel of Christ through horses and a western atmosphere. In the spring of 1963, Dale and Opal Linebaugh along with Dutch and Phyllis Sickler purchased over 600+ acres of land in Spring Creek, Pennsylvania. The property originally included a farmhouse and cottage, as well as two barns.  By the next summer, new additions included a 50-foot multi-purpose building with a kitchen/dining hall, snack shack and game room, plus two bunkhouses for the ranchers (campers), a corral and an arena for the horsemanship classes. Miracle Mountain Ranch was dedicated on July 4th, 1964 and on July 6th the first week of summer camp began as 23 boys and girlsarrived from New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and Georgia. By the end of that first summer season, 135 ranchers had attended a week of camp and 15 made decisions for salvation. In the upcoming years, additional buildings were added to meet the demands of the growing enrollment, including new bunkhouses, a pole-barn chapel, and a new horse barn with an indoor arena.  Along with changes to the facility, changes were also underway among the staff.  In 1972, after 10 years of ministering together, Dutch and Phyllis Sickler left the Ranch and sold their share of the Ranch to Dale and Opal.  In 1975 and 76, Jed Linebaugh, the son of Dale and Opal took over the directorship. A few years later, in 1977, the directorship of the Ranch was turned over to Dale’s son-in-law and daughter, Lew and Melodie Sterrett. Under their leadership, the Ranch continued to grow and develop in both facilities and ministry.  Soon several new outreach ministries would impact many more lives for Christ in a whole new way. From the beginning, the Ranch’s goal was to impact the world for Christ through evangelism and outreach, combined with spiritual training and development. Lew’s heart was intrigued with the concept of a Christian discipleship school that used horses as training tools. The Ranch provided a perfect environment for such a discipleship program so in 1981, the Camp Apprentice Ministry Program began. The “Apprenticeship Program” was a one-year program developed to model discipleship training for young men and women, strengthening their spiritual walk and building godly leaders to impact future generations.   In the upcoming years, the Ranch would see the apprenticeship program grow from two students to close to 40 students a year, with the staff and facilities also growing to meet the demands of this new ministry outreach. A milestone was reached in 2002 when, after many months of planning, paperwork and dealing with the proper authorities, the apprenticeship program was approved as a Private Licensed School in the state of Pennsylvania, providing academic integrity for the program and allowing the Ranch to provide student visas for foreign students. Recently renamed the School of Discipleship, the apprenticeship program at Miracle Mountain Ranch continues to offer young men and women a chance to establish their relationship with Christ, equipping them with truth, helping them extend into their communities and evangelize those around them. It was during the very first year of the apprenticeship program that another major ministry began, as Lew hosted a series of horsesermonettes in several public schools in Virginia, the beginning of what would become the Sermon on the Mount ministries. In the years to come, that ministry would develop into a nationwide outreach where horses are used to reach thousands for Christ. With visual illustrations and examples of Biblical truth that can be applied to life, S. O. T. M. can draw people to the gospel of Jesus Christ and encourage growth and maturity in the lives of believers.  As this is Lew’s particular ministry, the Ranch now utilizes the title Message From the Mount and continues using these concepts to share the message of the Gospel of Christ. Along with the