Our campus, A Place for the Heart, is located on 52 acres of land in Sophia, North Carolina. We were founded in 1986 by Ken and Linda Helser when God spoke to them about creating a place where people could come away from the busyness of life and encounter His heart. In 2000, Jonathan and Melissa Helser started hosting high school summer camps. In 2008, they created a school for young adults called the 18 Inch Journey. A few years later, they founded the Cageless Birds, a creative collective and missional community that exists to raise up wholehearted disciples of Jesus. They now lead the ministry with over 30 staff.
Our campus includes a farmhouse for cooking and fellowship, studios for our leather, pottery, dance & fitness, art, and music, a coffee roasterie, garden, cabins nestled under the trees, and more. Our grounds were made to be a resting place where communion with the Trinity, creative inspiration, and belonging around the table are everyday rhythms.
18 Inch Journey Campus Campaign
The mission of the Cageless Birds is to respond to the commission of Jesus and make disciples of all nations. One of the ways we do this is through our 18 Inch Journey discipleship programs focused on spiritual formation. We do all of this at “A Place for the Heart,” our 52-acre campus in North Carolina.
Over the past 10 years, our staff, schools, camps, and retreats have nearly doubled in size. We have launched the 18 Inch Journey Campus Campaign to develop our campus to host more people on our property, provide resources for their deep spiritual formation, and equip our staff to serve a generation in a greater capacity. Click the button below to see what we are dreaming into for our campus and ministry and the goals that have already been completed with your help and support. We invite you to partner with us as we expand our campus and continue to grow the Kingdom of God.
