Cottage Update

As many of you know, over the past several months we have been dreaming with the Lord about building a new cottage for the 18 Inch Journey. We would like to say a huge thank you to all those who have given to our vision for the new cottage.  With your support, we have raised $19,000 of our $250,000 goal.  We are so blessed by your generosity! 

    

Our goal is to build the cottage this fall. Due to delays with building permits, our initial projections for construction have been pushed back.  With the 18 Inch Journey quickly approaching and Phase 2 currently underway, we thought it much wiser to begin construction in the fall so as not to disrupt or postpone either of the schools. Plus, we desire to raise the majority of the $250,000 we need before we break ground on the cottage.

We still plan to accept 32 students to the 18 Inch Journey this summer in addition to the 12 Phase 2 students we currently have.  This will put every inch of space to use and maximize the number of hearts that we can change.  While this will put a stretch on our current space, we are asking the Father for wisdom to steward the growth of this season.  We have tremendous favor with an increase in applications every year, and it is our desire to accept as many students as possible. 

As a community, we treasure each heart that comes to A Place for the Heart and we work very hard to make sure that every student that comes to the 18 Inch Journey is seen, loved and discipled.  We feel the invitation from the Lord to grow and expand while still preserving the intentionality of family that the Trinity has taught us.  As the schools continue to grow, we are expanding our number of staff and interns to help lead the schools and tend to all of the inner workings of A Place for the Heart.  All of this growth simply means that we need more space.  A new cottage will allow us to accept more students, offer better housing and spread out into smaller groups.
 

Please help support our vision for a more sustainable 18 Inch Journey by giving to the cottage.  We believe one more bed is one more heart that can encounter the love of the Father at A Place for the Heart.  Please consider partnering with us and helping us change the world one heart at a time.

To learn more or give please visit: 18inchjourney.com/18/support.html
You can make checks payable to “A Place for the Heart”

Support a Cageless Bird!

This year, our very own Joel Case is recording a full length album of his songs! Joel has been a part of this community for the past 5 years and has served the dream of this land in many ways - from leading in our schools, drumming with Jonathan and Melissa, being the man behind the scenes, cultivating our music studio, and leading our community in worship. He has written so many amazing songs that have led our community into the heart of the Father, and the love of Jesus, that we sing regularly here at A Place for the Heart, and several news songs! Joel comes strongly recommended to you from our hearts and community as a worthy investment. 

This record will be our first "Cageless Birds" solo project we release! This is also pioneering the way for other members of our family to record and release their music in a similar way through the Cageless Birds collective. We are so excited for the many to come!

But to make this one happen we need your help! Joel has started a Kickstarter (online fundraising platform) to raise the funds he needs to bring this to completion. We have 6DAYS left to raise the money, and Joel will only get the money (and you will only be charged) if we raise the total amount of $15,000. Right now we are over 1/3rd of the way there, with a good bit to go. We need your help!

Would you joyfully consider taking a look at his page, watch the promo video and check out some of the rewards you can receive (like a free copy of his CD when it comes out! or beautiful hand-crafted items from members of our collective) and see if your heart would like to partner in releasing this dream into the earth? 

We pray that in giving you will be blessed even more in return from the sound of Joel's life and the sound of the Father and the Son inside of his heart. We can't do this without you. Thanks for your support!

Here's the link:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/621406061/new-studio-album-1?ref=home_location

- The Friends and Family of A Place for the Heart

Cageless Birds "Live at Home" CD Release

Written by: Allie Sampson, Writer for Cageless Birds / Intern to Jonathan and Melissa

A crisp evening, an intimate theater and a family filled with eager anticipation. These were the things that set the stage for the release of our newest album, “Live at Home”, on the weekend of January 24^th. As our community gathered at the Sunset Theater in Asheboro, NC, we couldn’t help but feel overwhelmed with the excitement of the Trinity. We were on the borders of yet another defining moment for our community. Long ago, we had released this project to the Father and now, we were about to open up our hands again and release it to the world. 

Reflecting on the last year, we realize just how many moments led us to this one. This album is a collection of intimate moments with the Holy Spirit, impossible victories won, hungry and weary seasons, subtle whispers and family celebrations. As a community, so many pieces of our story are deposited in this album. It is the sound of our family; the echo of our hearts responding to the One who first sang over us. 

We recorded this album at home, in Jonathan and Melissa’s living room, so it felt fitting to release the album just down the road in downtown Asheboro. The intimate atmosphere of the Sunset Theater served as an excellent way to host the close, family feel that we experienced in creating this record. While we were certainly looking forward to sharing our recorded songs and videos, we were most excited about the opportunity to worship together as a family with so many people from our extended community. We felt exceedingly honored by our dear friends and loved ones who ventured over county borders and state lines to join us as we celebrated God’s faithfulness in this completed project. 

Throughout both evenings, we encountered countless breathtaking moments as we watched our brothers and sisters share their songs, their art, their videos and their stories. As various members of our Cageless Birds community stepped behind the helm of the ship to lead us into worship, we could feel the Father’s smile as He watched His children make space for one another’s sound. It was and continues to be our distinguished honor to offer the Father the gift of children who love each other and champion one another. 

Looking back at it now, it seems to have happened so fast. Equipment was hauled in, rehearsals and sound-checks occurred, tickets were taken, t-shirts, journals and albums were sold, songs were sung and videos were shown. But at the end of it all, the only essential part was that our Papa was honored by the way His kids honored each other and by the sound of our love for Him.  

New Album and DVD: Live at Home - Cageless Birds

“Live at Home” is the first creative adventure of our collective Cageless Birds. The idea for this album was born one day when we were dreaming out loud together. We fell into one of those moments where beautiful “what if” statements started cascading upon one another.

Our conversation sounded something like this...

What if we recorded an album in our house?
What if invite everyone in our band to record one of their songs for the album?
What if we recorded the whole album in one week?
What if we video each song, so that everyone could see what’s happening in this community?
What if we made this project a true story and didn’t overdub or gloss over the mistakes?
What if we let it be a real live album...

One of us said ‘this is crazy’ and both of us said ‘let’s do it.’ And so we did.

We are very excited to share with you this project that came from our community stepping out on the water.

Jonathan David & Melissa Helser 2014

To purchase this album/DVD and see all the videos please visit www.cagelessbirds.com

From One Generation to the Next

On my 19th birthday my Dad gave me a big black leather Thompson chain reference Bible. I suppose that’s not the most popular gift for a 19 year old boy, but for me it was a treasure beyond words. Tucked inside the bible was a handwritten prophetic word from my Dad that I still have today.  The word was that our relationship was going to be like that of Solomon and David's. If you remember, 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, and the life that he lived before God, became the bridge for this son to walk upon into his destiny.  The floor that Solomon began with was the ceiling of the glorious life that David lived. Sixteen years later, that prophetic word has come to pass in extraordinary ways here at "A place for the Heart."

In 1986 my parents 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.  In 2000 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 for high school students. Out of the summer camps came a discipleship school for college students. This year we will be hosting our seventh school called the "18 Inch Journey." We have had students from over a dozen nations come through these gates and have their lives forever changed. One of the highlights of these schools is being able to lead them with my Dad. It has been incredible to watch my Father become a spiritual Father to the students and impart his legacy to the next generation.  We are truly living out John 4:36 "The sower and the reaper will rejoice together."

As we approach the seventh year of our school we have completely out-grown our facilities. This summer we will have nearly 70 staff and students as a part of our school. Right now, we only have two 16-person bunkhouses for students and we need more space. Our vision is to build a new cottage before our next school in June 2014. This will provide for another 32 bunks for students. We believe that one bunk can change the world. We are looking for those who would like to partner with us in this dream. The cottage costs $250,000 and our dream is raise this money before the school starts. 

From Papa Ken's heart"

I love my boys language:  "One bunk can change the world."  But more than his language, I love his heart.  When I read what he wrote I felt like I wrote it. That's because we both are in sync with God's heart.  Knowing that reality gives me the boldness to ask for funds. In the same way David asked the people when they built Solomon's temple, because it's not for me, but for the generation ahead of me.  At 69 years of age I will not see the fullness of fruit that God has in mind for this place.  Yet, my vision lies beyond my grave.  I'm asking you not to just support another ministry that's holding out hands, asking for alms.  NO.  Rather, I am asking that you plant something into the Kingdom leaders that will go beyond your own grave, that will continue to expand for generations to come. 

To support this dream and give online click here or visit http://18inchjourney.com/18/support.html

You can also send a check for a tax deductible donation to 

A Place for the Heart

4228 Beckerdite Rd.
Sophia, NC 27350 

Meet a Cageless Bird: Joel Case

Melissa and I met Joel Case five years ago this autumn.  We first met him at a worship gathering in his hometown of Boston. I will never forget the first time we heard Joel lead worship. From the first note he sang, we could feel the destiny in our friendship with Joel.

Later that year, Joel applied for the 2009 "18 Inch Journey." It was our second year of running our school, so Joel was only one of eleven students. I can't put into words what an incredible summer we had with Joel.  We truly fell in love with Joel's heart and knew that he was going to run with us in the future.  As the school was coming to a close, we invited Joel to come and do an internship with us. He joyfully said yes and made the big move to Sophia, NC.

In the first week of Joel's internship, we found out that he was not only an amazing worshiper, but he was also an incredible drummer.  Melissa and I had been asking the Lord to send us an amazing drummer for years and suddenly the answer was right in front of us. One of the highlights of Joel's internship was the privilege of traveling the world playing drums with us and then getting to play drums on our two albums "On the Shores" and "Endless Ocean, Bottomless Sea." We couldn't have dreamed of a more incredible drummer and a faithful friend.

After his internship, Joel joined us on staff and has been here the last four years. Joel does much more than play drums with us. He is a dynamic leader at our schools, he is pioneering new sounds in our studio, he is a worship leader in our community and most of all he is a man knows that he is the Fathers Beloved.

We couldn't have pulled off this new album "Live at Home" without Joel's creativity, musicianship, technical skills and hard work.  Joel's song on the album is titled the "Lord is My Light." He wrote this song while he was a student in the "18 Inch Journey" and his song has become an anthem of our community. Joel's songs have the ability to take you into the presence of the Lord from the first note. Check out his video recorded live from our house and you will know what I am talking about. You can see it below or at www.cagelessbirds.com

Live at Home - Videos

Over the next nine weeks we will be releasing a new video from our project Cageless Birds “Live at Home.”  Each Tuesday we will release a new video leading up to the album release on Jan. 24-25th.

"Live at Home" is the first creative adventure of our collective Cageless Birds. The idea for this album was born one day when Melissa and I were dreaming out loud together. We fell into one of those moments where beautiful "what if" thoughts started cascading upon one another. Our conversation sounded something like this....

"What if we recorded an album in our house?....”

“What if invite everyone in our band to record one of their songs for the album?....”

“What if we recorded the whole album in one week?....”

“What if we videoed each song so that everyone could see what's happening in this community?....”

“What if we made this project a true story and didn't overdub or gloss over the mistakes?....”

“What if we let it be a real live album?....”

One of us said ‘this is crazy’ and both of us said ‘let's do it.’  And so we did.  We are very excited to share with you the nine videos and ten-song album that came from pursuing all of our ‘what if’ thoughts.  Please visit cagelessbirds.com for more.

Jonathan & Melissa