This week I got to spend some time with a great group of people at C3 Church in Clayton, NC. I always enjoy connecting with visionary leaders. I meet professional Christians almost on a daily basis, but it’s not often that I run into people who see what’s not there and who trust God to build something than can only be described as a “God thing.”

Matt and Martha Fry took over a Bible study in the middle of nowhere, NC back in 1998. Today there’s an amazing church drawing close to 4 thousand people on the weekends, reaching out to an entire community and region with the good news of the Gospel. Driving up to the church one has to go through tobacco fields on a one-lane road and suddenly, there it is: a sprawling beautiful campus–a testament of vision, faith and leadership. It has that “field-of-dreams” vibe to it. It was not the if-we-build-it-they-will-come strategy that built this camp, but a better one instead: if we preach Him, they will come.

As I walked through their new Starbucks Cafe and Bookstore I was blown away by the attention to detail and commitment to excellence. Theirs is the only place you can get a caramel macchiato within a 15-mile radius. It’ also the only place you can get Christian resources for many miles. I had the privilege of spending time with their leadership team, and all I can say is that these are people from my tribe. I’ll hang with them anytime.

Meeting genuine people of faith who still trust God to do the improbably, if not impossible, is why I love my job.