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Zach Harrod isn’t in Europe just for football. In addition to coaching football, he’s a church planter. He describes himself as “just a guy who loves Jesus. A guy that God's called to Central Europe to do ordinary things, and let God do extraordinary things through it.” We caught up with Harrod while he was in the U.S.—both recruiting players and gathering support for his ministry—to learn how he balances football and overseas ministry.

Teaching 75 pastor-leaders in Cuba stirred something new in my heart.

No person is ever too far from God to be restored into right relationship with him.

No one ever spoke like Jesus.

The church has helped firefighters provide free smoke detectors to the community, built ramps to make buildings more accessible, provided meals to seniors, and spent “Serve Sundays” picking up trash around town.

In two words, this is the gospel: Grace and peace. And these two words are a good reminder for my soul today.

He expands his kingdom broadly, but not deeply. After all, deeply-developed kingdoms require serious discipleship – and genuine disciples would recognize the problem with a king’s leadership style.

It’s good to be with others who are trying to walk the same path. The spiritual battle is real for all of us, but none of us has to walk this road alone. Even though the church is hardly perfect, they’re still colleagues in this journey—and just seeing them in-person can be uplifting.