Written byMichelle J. Goff, Founder and Executive Director of Iron Rose Sister Ministries

Agricultural analogies can be found throughout the Old and New Testaments. For farming and shepherding communities in the Bible lands, these were practical examples used to teach us about God’s nature and His Kingdom. John 15 is one of those examples. In that chapter, we find the final time that Jesus makes one of His “I AM” statements, ultimately equating Himself with YHWH, Yahweh, the LORD, or Jehovah.

I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (Jn 15:1, 5 NIV)

Through the imagery of the Vine, Jesus illustrates the necessity of remaining in the Vine for the vitality of the branches—relationship with God. He also highlights the importance of bearing more fruit as the branches reproduce and multiply—relationships with others.  

Does that sound familiar? Yes! The central core of Iron Rose Sister Ministries’ vision can be found in John 15. We exist to equip women to connect to God and one another more deeply. 

Throughout 2026, we will be equipping women in these two relational areas using John 15 as our primary text. The blog posts will develop the theme, the virtual events will expound upon it, and new online resources will be released that will multiply our efforts. 

As we roll out the topic through the month of January, I want to elaborate on four key points found in John 15. 

1. Jesus is the True Vine, and His Father is the Gardener (Jn 15:1). God is our source of life and love (Jn 15:1, 9). We must remain in Him and in His love to survive.
2. We must extend God’s love to others.If we remain in God’s love as His love remains in us, we have love from which to obey His commands to love Him and love others (Jn 15:12-13, 17; Mt 22:36-40).
3. The fruit of a disciple is another disciple. We show that we are His disciples by bearing the fruit of another disciple. And we were appointed to bear that fruit—fruit that will last (Jn 15:8, 16).
4. Apart from God, we can do nothing (Jn 15:5). As the apostle Paul described, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow” (1Co 3:6).

Each one of those points could be its own lesson. The teachings of Jesus in John 15 provide such richness, abundance, and layers of application as spoken to His followers and penned by the apostle John.  

The first 17 verses of John 15 are written out in chapter 10 of One Single Reason: Conversations with Single Women.The accompanying exercise from those verses affirms that the two deepest desires of our heart are relationship and purpose.

We cannot be disciples nor bear the fruit of more disciples without a relationship with the True Vine.

How can you prioritize being connected to the True Vine this week?

What one step can you take this week to plant, water, or specifically pray for someone in whom God can bring the growth of a disciple?

How can we encourage or equip you toward those goals?

For 2026, let’s bear fruit together!