Rick Long on Grace, Faith, and Buying a School to Reach the Next Generation
About this episode
Rick Long, lead pastor of Grace Church in Arvada, Colorado, joins Philip Cameron for a conversation about what it looks like to take audacious steps of faith when God redirects your plans in ways you never anticipated. Rick shares the remarkable story of how Grace Church was in the middle of raising $27 million to build a community center — a Center of Hope designed to reach the lost, educate the next generation, assist the poor, and care for the sick — when God abruptly closed one door and swung open another. Within days of a major financial setback, Rick received a text about a 45,000-square-foot private Christian school on nearly 14 acres in Arvada that was being forced to close after 51 years. He signed a $12 million purchase contract the very next day. Rick reflects on the gospel of grace as the non-negotiable center of everything Grace Church does, declaring, "Grace is not cheap — it costs God everything, but it is free to those who accept it by faith." He also speaks directly to weary pastors, citing the sobering statistic that the average pastor lasts only five years in a single church, and sharing how one pastor in Philadelphia saw his first adult conversions in 35 years simply by learning to present the gospel clearly. Rick co-founded Dare to Share Ministries alongside Greg Steer and has spent decades coaching Purpose Driven pastors worldwide. Learn more at gracechurchco.com.
Part of our Grace collection of conversations.
What's Discussed
Pastor Rick Long of Grace Church in Arvada, Colorado shares how God redirected a $27 million community center building campaign into the surprise acquisition of a 45,000-square-foot Christian school on nearly 14 acres — purchased for $12 million with a 250,000 earnest money check signed the day after Rick learned it was available. The school, closing after 51 years, becomes Grace Church's new Center of Hope, fulfilling the same mission: reaching the lost, educating teenagers in the gospel, and equipping the next generation for purpose-driven lives. Rick also encourages weary pastors to keep the clear gospel of grace primary in their ministry, referencing Philippians 4 and recounting how a Philadelphia pastor saw his first adult conversions in 35 years after learning to present the gospel plainly. Rick co-founded Dare to Share Ministries with Greg Steer and previously served as a Purpose Driven pastor coach under Rick Warren.
- Grace Church's Mission and Gospel Foundation
- The $27 Million Center of Hope Campaign
- God Closes a Door, Opens a School
- Signing a $12 Million Contract by Faith
- Encouragement for Pastors at the Threshold
- Dare to Share and Purpose Driven Ministry
- Sharing the Clear Gospel of Grace
- Philadelphia Pastor's First Conversions in 35 Years
Featuring Rick Long
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hello, my friend. My name is Philip Cameron, and I'm glad to have you with us today on Daily Faith. I am so excited for today's program. I'm excited with something else, as you know, or those who watch regularly. We have a mission work in Ukraine and Moldova. We started out in Romania. I adopted a wee boy there 33 years ago. My dad called me to go to Moldova. I walked into this orphanage in a place called Ungheni, and the director said, have you ever seen a baby freeze to death? And I said no. And it was the 11th of December, so you can imagine this time of year. It was the 11th of December, and 16 of his children had frozen to death up to that point. And it just — I don't remember my mind, out of my heart, and I've been committed to helping these kids ever since. 33 years we'll be doing this, and we have a village of homes in Chișinău, Moldova, called the Battle Village, and we take kids out of the orphanage. We put them back in school. This last September, one of our girls, Natalia, became a doctor. We supported her in school for six years. Her mom is bedridden and we kept her alive and fed and cared for for six years as well.
Philip:And we have a home in Ukraine, and our kids up there are doing the same thing as our kids in Moldova. Then the war came, and at this moment we've had to take our kids out of that house you're looking at. And they are temporarily down in Moldova. And so things are terrible. It's way worse in Ukraine than you're hearing. The news has forgotten about this. We've moved on to whatever silly stuff they like to talk about. And the house that we have there, the lease is up and the man wants to sell the house, and we are trying to — we're believing God right now to buy this house before the end of the year. We're over halfway there right now, and God is speaking to folk. I know God is speaking. It's crazy. But yesterday we had a team of nine of our kids. Now let me explain this — nine of the kids, and I think all but one or two were rescued by our ministry, and here they are now as adults, and they are going up. And late last night, five o'clock in the morning in Moldova, I could see this picture. And now you look at that picture — that's the Orphan's Hands logo on the back of that van. And it's one of two identical — they're both blue vans — and that was taken at a stoplight, one van taking a picture of the other van on the way to Odessa. And our kids, orphan kids that no one thought was worth anything, are in Odessa as we speak, and they're going in the next couple of days to Kherson, which is just being liberated by the Ukrainian forces.
Philip:Terrible devastation. People have no homes — blown apart. I mean, it's unbelievable. And so we just want you to pray and ask God to keep our kids safe as they are there. And we found a source in Ukraine that is making wood-burning stoves, and we're giving these out. We have generators with them to give to the churches, to give power, because there's no power, there's no water. And here are kids that I rescued from orphanages 15, 16, 17 years ago, now adults, married, some with kids, and they're out there right now on the front. And so we are just excited about this. I want you to watch this video about this house in Ukraine that we're trying to buy. I think you'll be blessed and challenged watching this.
Look at this. God challenged us to open a home. You know this — years ago we looked for many months to find a place big enough to make a difference in young girls' lives. We finally found the perfect place that can house 24 girls. We signed a long-term lease with the owner, and it has just ended. At the moment, we are able to house the Ukrainian girls in Moldova.
But as the war drags on, there is pressure to have those who escaped the Russian invasion return to Ukraine. Moldova simply cannot afford the cost of maintaining so many refugees. Many have returned to Ukraine. Many have left for Europe and the USA and will never return. Our girls wait every day to return to their homeland. If their home is sold, there will be nowhere for them to go.
In the natural, it seems impossible. We have already strained every sinew in our ministry this year to care for thousands of destitute lives. We are about to send at least two containers packed with warm clothes to help these lost souls survive the brutal winter. But what about the young lives we already committed to protecting? Where would they go? Can you imagine handing them a bus ticket to a war zone and telling them, you are on your own. We have nowhere for you to go. Your home has been sold. How would they survive in a country stuck in the no man's land of war?
We are going to believe God to buy this special place. We will continue our work in Ukraine and trust him for protection as the days ahead unfold. We will be right there in the middle of tragic events, with a place of refuge for young girls to find rest in a home provided by loving hearts. If God moves, the home we need is already waiting. We just need you. Will you pray? Will you give? I'm certain everyone who could wouldn't even hesitate to help this miracle take place. That is how this huge door of opportunity could open. We can minister to these dear souls for years to come and be a beacon of hope in a bleak battlefield of despair.
Philip:Can you imagine the Lord challenging you to buy a house in a war zone? And that's exactly what he did when he spoke this to me. This is the craziest thing I've ever done in my life. And he said this to me — the house is $200,000. We're buying a van along with the house, and that way if we need to get out, if we need to get the girls out, a van can run faster than a tank. So the van will be able to get them back to Chișinău and then if necessary into Romania, depending on how the war works out. But when the Lord challenged me to do this, I said, Lord, this is ridiculous. And he said, would you risk $2,000 of your money to save 24 girls? That's how many girls this house can hold. And I said, yes, I'd be prepared to lose $2,000 to save 24 girls. He says, well, find 99 more people to think like that and the answer is going to happen. And we are over halfway there right now. The other day, a sister watching Daily Faith called in and gave $10,000. We are so grateful for that.
Philip:And every one of you that are watching — if you would like to help us, this is a season of believing God for miracles. Jesus — you talk about risk — a baby born in a manger in a death zone with Herod's soldiers looking for him. There's a risk. Putting the sins of the world on one man and putting him on a cross — there's a risk. God lives in risk. And so I'm asking you to pray with me, to believe God with us for this home. We take these girls if and when they've got to leave that village, and that could be tomorrow. We just don't know. The situation — the war is stuck, it's bogged down. And the people in Moldova want to get all 490,000 refugees out of the country, because there's power shortages and there's gasoline shortages. There's all kinds of stuff going on in Moldova. They've got their own problems, and all of these Ukrainians are not exactly the most favorite people of Moldovans under normal circumstances. And I would hate for us to say, okay girls, we're sorry, but we've done all we can.
Philip:You can help us if you like. If you'd like to, go write a check to the Orphan's Hands. Please designate that check — every penny you give is going completely towards this house. And the address is P.O. Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee, 37716. Or you can go to dailyfaith.tv, and there's a give button there as well. Let's do this before Christmas. What do you talk about — a Christmas gift? You talk about something incredible for Christmas, that we can say to the Lord Jesus, we have cared for the orphan, we have cared for those that have not, we have cared for those that no one else is interested in. Every face you just saw on that video — in the hands of a trafficker — is worth $300,000 a year to them. That's how much they make from one trafficked girl. And those lovely girls, taken by the hands of these traffickers, gone forever. And we're just asking you to pray with us and be a part of it. Pray for our kids that are there right now, right in the thick of this thing, in the name of Jesus. And I know if you do that, God will honor and bless you in return.
Philip:I want to get straight to our guest. All of this stuff kind of took me longer than I wanted to, but I've got a dear friend on today. Rick is pastoring in Arvada, Colorado, and I'm going to watch this video so you know more about him.
At Grace Church, we celebrate everyone's story. Here you'll find hope for everyone and a home for anyone — a place of joy, laughter, and fun, where you'll discover your purpose and the answer to life's most difficult questions. So come join us. See how we love, no matter what. Grace — your story, your community, your church.
Philip:Absolutely fabulous. I love a church whose foundation is on grace. Let me tell you something — folk talk about cheap grace, say it's all cheap grace. Let me tell you, there's nothing cheaper than grace. Not one drop of grace is cheap. It is the most valuable commodity of all time. Because when Jesus died on that cross — there was that old song, oh the love that drew salvation's plan, oh the grace that brought it down to man, oh the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. Grace is what God fought. It was the lens of heaven that lifted us — an alcoholic family in Scotland — grace lifted us out of the gutter to become sons and daughters of the King. And I'm just so glad to have you with us. God bless you from Grace Church in Arvada, Colorado. How are you doing, my friend?
Rick:I am good, my friend. Very inspired from the video. I was listening and I just thought to myself that we are in the exact same journey you are in, as we are about reaching the community with the clear gospel of grace and really inspiring and impacting everyone with the truth of God's word and with the purposes of God. And in the video, just those beautiful girls — and even what you said about being trafficked — my prayers and support are with you. By God's grace you're gonna have that house. But the statement was made that we have the house, we just have to pay for it. And in the same way, we have our Center of Hope that we thought we were building over a three-to-five-year period, and it's already built, and God has just dropped it in our lap.
The $27 Million Center of Hope Campaign
Rick:So we're doing a campaign to build a community center, and the community center's purpose was to reach the lost, educate the next generation, assist the poor, care for the sick, help the hurting. And we were in the midst of raising about 27 million dollars. And as we got to — literally a month ago yesterday — God put some enormous barriers up financially in front of me, and I went home discouraged. I was discouraged for two days. I said, Lord, you've told me clearly to do this, you have directed us as leadership to do this. There is no doubt you want us to inspire, empower, energize, and equip the next generation. And now you've put this seemingly impassable body of water in front of us. It's not the Red Sea, it's the Atlantic Ocean. And I don't know what you're doing, Lord, but I trust you. And on that Saturday, I got a text from a good friend who's the superintendent of one of the most amazing private Christian schools in town — also a building that is 45,000 square feet, nearly the same square footage we were building, only three times the land, almost four times the land, almost 14 acres. And in our part of town, Philip, you couldn't touch that for under 20 million dollars, and God dropped it in our lap.
God Closes a Door, Opens a School
Rick:He told me that the church that was connected had to sell the property and close this 51-year-old high school. And I said, no, this is our Center of Hope. I went back to our leadership team — my elder, pastor, friend, and partner in ministry Jason — and all of the leaders, the board, 20-plus people, 100% said this is it, this is the Center of Hope. I signed a contract by the next day for 12 million dollars, put down a $250,000 earnest money check, and by faith we are going to purchase it. We'll close on April 1st, and we will take over this school and we will restart it under a new name, but the mission will remain the same — to bring the grace, the clear gospel of grace, to every teenager, to equip them in the purposes of God, and to send them out into the world whether they become doctors and lawyers or stay-at-home parents or plumbers or whatever they do. And they'll do it for the glory of God, and they'll do it equipped to speak the clear gospel of grace. Because as you said, grace is not cheap — it cost God everything, but it is free to those who accept it by faith. And then he comes in and he transforms us from the inside out.
Rick:And you know, it's funny — I said to my church, I said, guys, there's good news. We don't have to wait three years or even five years to design our Center of Hope. We have it. It's going to be actually 12 million dollars. But here's the bad news — instead of having three years to raise that money, you've got three months. And our church has stepped up amazingly. Literally in the first three weeks, we brought in almost 3.4 million dollars, and it continues to just climb. And God is doing amazing things, Phil.
Philip:Well, the crazy thing is this — what I tell pastors all the time when they speak to me and ask me for advice — I say, guys, the building you're looking for is already built. Before you go through planning, and then you've got to get the sewage right, then the drainage right, then you're going to have — and all the time, what I've learned in my life is — and let me encourage pastors watching just now — God sets you in motion. You may think you're going this direction, but that's not where God's gonna have you going. But the key part of the miracle is the motion. Once he gets you moving, then he can start directing you to where he wants you to be. So you start off — I've done this so many times I can't even believe it — the times I thought, this is the way, and we start out, and God says, now I've got your feet moving and your faith started, I can start moving you and putting you where I really want you to be. And this facility obviously is the answer, and it will shortcut three years of agony and time. Building — that is torture, and it's all this time waiting for your vision to catch up with God's provision.
Signing a $12 Million Contract by Faith
Philip:And I — every penny — in fact, let me say this. I feel this right now. I'm going to give a thousand dollars from our ministry towards the purchase of the building. And a thousand dollars won't get you to where you are, but I believe that I can challenge your church — that a mission organization can give a thousand dollars — that God can speak to people in your church to match that money and say, well, if they can give it in the middle of a war zone, in the middle of a struggle, I'll have Andrew get that check on the way to you today, my brother, because we believe in what you are doing.
Rick:Brother, thank you so much. And you know, I know this about you, and it is the same with us — that when you're in the midst of raising financial support, if you just turn internally and you only focus on your need, then you're kind of on your own. But God is at work. We're humbled that you would do this, and our commitment also to you, to these orphans — and our prayers are remaining. And I know that God's gonna bring every penny you need. He's gonna bring every penny we need. I can't wait to share this with our congregation, because it's a real gift of love. But more importantly, it's an inspirational gift coming from someone who is on the front lines — literally not only in a physical war but a spiritual war. And God is gonna bless. I'm praying right now that he takes that thousand dollars and multiplies it. And the city lives — that God blesses that principle in Philippians 4, when Paul says, I'm not asking you to give for my benefit, you're giving for your benefit. I think God will provide all your needs according to his riches. And I know the next time we see each other and talk, all that money is going to come for both of our ministries.
Rick:For both of us. And he does it — you know, every time he's put me on this journey, Philip — we built our new Worship Center in 2008, and if you remember what was happening, it wasn't a good economic time for the country. And he put us in this situation right now where we're headed toward a recession. And the reason he does that is because he gets all the glory when it's done. I can't steal that glory. No one can steal that glory. It belongs to our God. And we're gonna see so many teenagers — I mean, I think about this. We have been committed to teenagers forever. I think I shared with you last time that my good friend and co-founder of the ministry, Greg Stier — we started Dare to Share Ministries, of which he's been the president and leader for 30 years. And this ministry is national — it actually is international — it trains teenagers how to share their faith all over the world. And now we get the privilege of going to the next level in a Christian school, and not just having teenagers for a couple of days a week or a few hours on a night, but all week, pouring the gospel into them, pouring the purposes of God into them, pouring the truth of God's word, and molding their minds and their hearts. And we could not be more grateful.
Encouragement for Pastors at the Threshold
Rick:And I want to just say this about our ministry — we have the most selfless people. When I went back and shared this, they could have easily said, well, wait a second, we want that place on our property because it's four miles away from here. And they could have said, how does this directly benefit us? And it benefits us because we're gonna run our night ministries, our support classes, Celebrate Recovery, our youth ministry there at night. We're gonna have a West Campus and we'll satellite our church. I'll drive back and forth, or whoever preaches. And it's a beautiful opportunity for our ministry. But the people didn't even ask that. They just said, we believe this is from God and we are behind it. And last night we had a community meeting with parents, and it was kind of the first time for our church and all those parents from all different churches to come in, and the atmosphere was electric and the excitement was over the top. And God is putting every piece of the puzzle in place, Philip.
Philip:And you know as well as I do, when he does that, he is confirming through the Holy Spirit that he is in this. I believe that our pastors watching just now, Rick, that are standing at the threshold of their own — everyone's in a challenge, whether you're a homemaker or a businessman. It's all the same principles. It's all principles of faith. And what happens is you come to these thresholds which lead to the next level, and there's always a gut-check time when you go to say, God, is this my moment? And we are encouraging you. Here's a pastor from Colorado and a missionary in Tennessee that has worked in Moldova and Ukraine. We're telling you now that there's never a perfect time to start. There's never the right moment. But now is the right moment. Today's the day of salvation. And when you do something now — I just feel faith in my spirit right now — if you will stand up in your circumstance, my dear friend watching us, and say, well, if that guy in Colorado and that guy in Ukraine can take these crazy steps of faith, I should do the same thing. And we together today join our faith with you in the name of Jesus, and we claim that out of the riches in heaven, God is going to give you the desire of your heart and the answer to your prayer, in the name of Jesus.
Dare to Share and Purpose Driven Ministry
Rick:In the name of Jesus. Love that. Hallelujah. I love pastors. I love pastors, Philip. And I have had the privilege since 1996 — I think I may have mentioned to you that I was a staff Purpose Driven Pastor. I was the first pastor who worked with Rick Warren to start a coaching ministry where I coached pastors around the world how to be Purpose Driven. It's not a denomination. It's not even created by Rick Warren, though he's been amazing. It's the purposes of God that every pastor believes in — worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission. And when you are living those purposes in your church, you are healthy, just like the body of Christ is called to be. And I want to say to all the pastors — as a pastor that's been in three different churches, youth pastor, worship pastor, preaching pastor, lead pastor — I love you. And I know right now it's probably hard times. I see statistics — the average pastor makes it a maximum of five years in a single church and nine years total in ministry. We just allow the modern church to chew up our pastors. And some of you are weary right now. Some of you are discouraged. Some of you are listening to me share about raising millions of dollars and you don't even know if you're gonna be able to pay your staff next week.
Rick:And I believe — as Philip said — in the name of Jesus, that if you trust him and you yield to his purposes and you make the clear gospel primary in your services and in everything you do, you will see new life infused into your ministry. You will see people come to Jesus. I had a pastor that came to one of my trainings there at Saddleback, and after I got done teaching pastors — believe it or not — how to share the gospel at the end of the message and still keep the impact to the Christian, he came up to me and said, I've been a pastor for 35 years, and for 10 of those years I've been in a church in Philadelphia. And I always remember him — his name was Phil, Phil from Philadelphia, in the Presbyterian Church. And he said, I'm passionate about the gospel like you are, pastor, but I've never seen a person come to Christ in my adult services.
Sharing the Clear Gospel of Grace
Rick:So I shared the gospel with him. I told him, when you share the gospel, you want to make sure you do it clearly — that God is sovereign, he created us, but our sins have separated us from God, and our sins cannot be erased by anything good that we do. We can't go to church or promise to be good enough. But the beauty is this — Jesus Christ came into this world, lived the perfect life, and died on a cross, and he paid for all of our sins. All of our sins were in the future when he died. He paid for past, present, and future sins. He rose again, and he said everyone that trusts in him will have everlasting life. And when you do that, you will see your ministry transformed. He emailed me three weeks later and he said, pastor, today is the greatest day in my ministry. I had two people indicate faith alone in Christ alone. And it infused a change in his church, and it began to not just grow spiritually, but it began to grow numerically. And so pastors, be faithful to the gospel, be faithful to the purposes of God, and he will bring all that you need.
Philadelphia Pastor's First Conversions in 35 Years
Philip:We are out of time. I want to stay in contact with this great man of God. He has a fabulous church in Arvada, Colorado. His website is Grace Church Colorado — gracechurchco.com. And I just feel — you may be watching just now and God's blessed you with finances — you want to help him buy this school and train this generation of kids. Rick, thank you for being with us. We'll do this again soon, because I wanted to talk about your book, Grace Happens, and we never got to it.
Rick:We'll do it again. I promise, if you'll come back and be with us. Thank you. God bless.
Philip:Thank you for watching Daily Faith today. We are so glad to be part of your life. Pray for us. Pray for Ukraine. Bye-bye.
Topics
rick longgrace church arvadagospel of gracesteps of faithnext generation ministrypastor encouragementdare to share ministries