Kenya to be more specific. Nairobi to be even more specific. And get this, the entire trip is paid for. Let’s just say I’m more than a little excited. But before you congratulate me on how lucky I am, let me tell you how I got here.

You see, just over a year ago I started to feel unsettled, which didn’t make any sense. My marriage and family were good, my church was making preparations to launch a second campus, yet I just didn’t feel like I was doing enough with my life.

So, I decided to start this blog to help other small town church leaders like myself. Actually, let me back up a step. I reached out to some other church leaders that I admired and asked them how I could get where they are. They suggested I start building a platform, thus the blog was born.

I spent eight weeks researching and writing before scheduling my first post in September 2015. Since then, I’ve posted three times a week, which equates to more than 100 posts and over 50,000 words.

In January of this year, I hired a coach to become a better Executive Pastor. We video chat twice a month about things going on at my church and how to address them.

In May he asked me if I’d like to go to Africa as part of a Compassion International trip. I, of course, said yes, which got me in the front door. However, to be selected you have to have influence. Influence I wouldn’t have had last year.

On July 20^th they released the names of the pastors who had been selected for the trip, and to my surprise I had made the list.

It would be easy to say I was lucky, but that would discount the work I have put in and the work God did in my heart to get me here.

The truth is we make our own luck. It comes through hard work and following where God is leading.

Commit to those two things, and you’ll always be one of the luckiest people in the world.

Have you ever been to Africa? What should I expect? I’d love to know, so leave a comment below. Also, make sure to subscribe to the blog to get tips on church growth, leadership, and more delivered to your inbox each week.