Many years ago "A place for the Heart" was just a dream, but because of the prayers and the gifts many of you have given, you have built a bridge to make this dream a reality. If you would like to help make this next dream a reality, you can send a check in the enclosed envelope or you can make a donation via credit on our website.
-Jonathan David Helser
David dreamed of building a house for God, but his dream was made into reality through his son Solomon. The giants that David slew, the wars that he fought, the life that he lived before God, became the bridge for this son to walk upon into his destiny. The floor that Solomon began upon was the ceiling of the glorious life that David lived. This is how the kingdom of God works. It’s from generation to generation that the story of God is unfolding. Just like Moses commissioned Joshua into the promise land and Elijah released a double portion to Elisha. Even Jesus built the ultimate floor for us to begin upon; then he went to the Father and said we could go into all the world and do even greater things than he did.
Twenty-five years ago my Dad and Mom took a radical step of faith to buy 52 acres of land to build "A Place for the Heart". I was only 8 years old when the provision miraculously came in. I can still remember the rush of faith and excitement the day we purchased the land. My Dad has dreamed so many dreams over this land and he has given his life to prepare a place for those dreams to become a reality. Ten years ago my wife Melissa and I joined them. We have been able to walk across the bridges he has built and do things we could have never done on our own. In our first year here, Melissa and I launched our first summer camp. Having a summer camp on the land had been my Dad’s lifetime dream. This summer will be our tenth summer of camps. We have had hundreds of kids come through these gates from all over the world and get wrecked by the love of Jesus. What has been so amazing about these camps is that my Dad has not just watched these camps from a distance, but he has been able to come and impart his legacy with God to the next generation. A discipleship school is another dream my Dad has carried in his heart for many years. Two years ago Melissa and I launched the "18 inch Journey”. This is a 60 day creative discipleship school for college age kids to take the journey from their heads to theirs hearts. Again my Dad was able to step into this dream and he became "PaPa Ken" to each of the students. It was amazing to watch my Dad freely give the keys that he has acquired from his forty years of walking with God. It was even more amazing to watch our students use these keys and open the doors of their destinies.
At "A Place for the Heart", we have transitioned from only doing schools and camps in the summer, into a year round internship. Currently 4 young men that completed our school this summer are now living here and doing a 15 month internship. It has been so exciting to step into a long term discipleship program. There are many more kids around the world who want to come here and drink from the wells of God's heart, but we barely have enough room to squeeze in the four interns we have now. Our vision with the camps, retreats, schools and internships is to see the next generation get wrecked by the love of God and get launched into their destinies. We physically need more space to see these dreams come into their fullness. Our first step to making more space for the camps and schools is to take our existing barn and remodel it into a place that could be housing for students, creative studio space and a much needed laundry room (college kids know how to multiply dirty laundry!). To remodel the barn properly we will need to add central air and plumbing. The estimated cost of the remodel and the additions are around $35,000. We would be honored if you would consider partnering with us to see this project completed before this summer's school.
-If you’d like to make a tax deductible contribution with a check, please make it out to “A Place for the Heart” with “Barn Project” as the memo, and send it to:
A Place for the Heart
4228 Beckerdite Rd.
Sophia, NC 27350
The four interns, Joel Case, Chris Phillips, David Burbach (who has recently gone from an intern to a staff position), and Jake Stevens.
