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Why I Invested in a European Football Team – A Guest Post by Sam Nichols

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For me, football has always been an integral part of my mission. Coaching, and more so the relationships I developed within the team, is where I have most clearly seen God use me to impact others positively. I know that I am not alone in this call as many coaches use their platform for the same reason and with the same goal.

This is where the Prague Lions come in.

10 years ago, I started a relationship with an American coach in Prague who was using his coaching role as a platform for ministry to the Czech people. When I learned about the history of the Czech Republic and that nearly 89% of the country claims to be atheist, I began to see the need for people like Zach to bring Christ to this beautiful country.

Over the part 10 years, Zach Harrod’s heart for the Word of God, love the people of Prague, and passion for the game of football have allowed him to build many fruitful relationships and to see God’s work be done in Prague. He and his wife Míša have been part of everything from planting a church and developing a missional communities to disciplining football players and reaching out to women in sex trafficking industry.

This past year, it became clear that for the team, and in turn Zach’s ministry to continue to grow the team needed new leadership. It needed to be owned by those who have given so much to grow it into a perennial power in the Czech league and by people who are invested in the work it does to help those in its community. As part of that process, my wife and I joined with 7 others in Prague to form a new ownership group. We believe that this will add further fuel to the fire of all the work that is already being done in the Lord’s name a country that finds God to be very distant.

So here is the point…

I did not share this today to build myself up, but instead to lift up Zach, Míša, and their ministry to those in my sphere of influence. Today is giving Tuesday and Zach and Míša are in need to raise additional support to fund the great work they do in Prague as well as their growing family. It is my prayer that they could grow their ministry through new relationships with American Football coaches.

Please consider contacting Zach to directly (zachharrod -at- gmail.com) or me (coachnichols -at- gmail.com). at to learn more about what they are doing and their current team and ministry needs.

Also please prayerfully consider joining Zach’s team of financial supporters. To learn more about this, click here.

NCCtakeover 2017

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NCCtakeover 2017 – BRAVE from Zach Harrod on Vimeo.

Wanna learn more about us, the Harrodovi? “Yes?!?” Here you go. This is part of NCC’s (National Community Church) sermon series, BRAVE, which you need to check out. So this is from our Instagram Story takeover, thus the 15-second clips, all put together. We hope you enjoy this.  If you want to give, CLICK HERE, if you want to learn more about our needs, CLICK HERE.

THANK YOU FOR BEING YOU!

#GivingTuesday 2017 – Marek’s interview

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MAREK’S INTERVIEW from Zach Harrod on Vimeo.

With it being #GivingTuesday, Míša & I would like to share our story of what’s going on in Prague, as we serve there. My good friend, co-worker and now pastor, Marek Tyl, has some kind words to share about us and our work in Prague! Check it out! Wanna learn about giving needs? CLICK HERE! Wanna give straight away? CLICK HERE! Thank you in advance..!

#GivingTuesday 2017 is here!

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#GivingTuesday 2017 from Zach Harrod on Vimeo.

#GivingTuesday 2017 is here! Míša, Ollie and I greet you from just outside of Lake Geneva, WI, where my parents live. As the end of the year comes to a close we have some big needs, as we continue to serve in Prague, Czech Republic. Please consider helping us and being part of what God is doing in Prague in and through us!  Read more about those needs by clicking HERE or GIVE BY CLICKING HERE!

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!

NEEDS FOR #GivingTuesday 2017

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Hello from Prague.  We hope and pray this email finds you doing well.  We wanted to reach out to you today the day before 2017’s #GivingTuesday.  Tomorrow throughout the day we will share stories on different social media platforms – Instagram, Facebook and Twitter, so make sure you are following us at @zachharrod and @misaharrod so you can learn and hear more about our story and the story that God has written for Prague!

With that said, #GivingTuesday is tomorrow and we would like to ask that you pray for us, as this year closes we have some significant needs.  Here’s a list of some of our needs, as we close out the year.

    • Roughly $1500/monthly support – this is key for us, as from our monthly giving we receive our salary, insurance, benefits and etc.  This is what allows us to be in Prague.
    • In February Zach will travel to the States with three coaches (Kuba, Miloš and Lukáš) for a coach’s trip, to not only grow in our football knowledge, but also to give Zach a chance to speed significant time with these coaches.  Each coach is providing $500 for the trip and we are raising the funds for the rest.  The trip costs roughly $6000.
    • One-time support for events that we have every month.  Last week we hosted, with our friends from our Missional Community (MC), Thanksgiving for around 40 people.  On average we need about $500/month for these types of events, so that we can be generous.  We have learned that when we are generous our Christian and even not-yet Christian friends become more and more generous.
    • Upsizing our car – We are looking for a wise and economic way to upsize our car, as our family is already too big for the smaller car we have.  Upsizing will also allow Zach to haul around more players and more equipment.
    • Junior Jerseys – We’ve been working hard for two years to raise funds for new junior jerseys.  So far we have raised $6000, we are still working on the last $3000.  If you would like to help with this, you can take advantage of our non-profit, Interception Foundation.

A couple weeks ago we had a moment to finally check our account with our organization, TEAM, and we discovered that in the midst of life and, largely, people retiring, our monthly support has taken a dip that very soon will affect us.  We put this short video together to share with friends who have not been supporting us financially, in hopes that God would use it to stir their hearts to be part of His story for Prague and Czech.

Partner with teamHarrod in Prague from Zach Harrod on Vimeo.

 

Thank you for being you.  Thank you for taking the time to open this and read this.  We are thankful for you.  If you live in or around Lake Geneva or Oshkosh, we will be having two OPEN HOUSES – November 30th from 6pm-8pm at Simple Cafe in Lake Geneva and December 4th from 5pm-8pm at RiverValley Church in Oshkosh.  Please come out and see us, and feel free to bring a friend or 10!

With that said, thank you for taking the time to read and watch the videos here.  Please let us know if you have any questions or want to help.  THANK YOU!

Míša, Zach & Ollie

It’s RALLY CAP time!

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rally-caps

A RALLY CAP is a baseball cap worn inside-out and backwards or in some other unconventional manner by players and/or fans to will a team to a come-from-behind victory late in a game. (wiki)

ral·ly
1. To call together for a common purpose; assemble
2. To reassemble and restore to order
3. To rouse or revive from inactivity or decline

A little more than two weeks out from my return to Prague!  My 6 months of “home assignment” and my time associated with the wonderful treaty, that strikes fear in the hearts of men and women alike (known as “TOTALIZATION“) is all nearly behind me.  Yeah TOTALIZATION is kind of a big and scary word, to say that every 5 years I have to be out the country for 6 months because of tax and social security purposes.

All that being said, my time is nearly behind me and we’re, Míša and I, are still needed and trusting God to show up in some big ways in the next 2 plus weeks.  So we are in RALLY CAP MODE!

It takes me back to my little league days when I played for the Genoa City Mets, yea the Mets of all teams.  We weren’t very good and therefore we perfected the art of the “Rally Cap” and to be honest, I’m a Cubs fan, so that is a bit more common, because that is often times all us Cubs fans have!  I know it’s sad, pray for me.

Here’s the deal.  We are still $800 out from our minimal monthly goal, so that Míša and I can serve together with TEAM.  Would you help us meet that goal?

As I wrote in our 13% post, reaching our goal and even surpassing our goal is very, very, very doable, but we need help from you and we need God to show up in a big way!  I’m (Zach) still trying to fill my schedule and get in front of as many people as possible, because that gives us the best chances of meeting our goals.

With that said, would you consider turning your hat inside out and backwards and helping will us to a come-from-behind victory late in a game, before my plane takes off April 30th?  Here are a few ways you can help…

  • If you are a monthly partner, would you consider doing even a modest increase of $20/month? As I wrote in the 13% post, “Even if 20 of our monthly ministry partners increase $20/month, we would be even closer to that 100%!”
  • Are you one of the people that Míša and I were blessed to have the opportunity to meet and be with during the last few months?  You can join our team right now, by partnering with us to reach this monthly goal!  CLICK HERE
  • One of our biggest needs is actually getting in front of more people, through any means possible.  Would you consider forwarding, or passing on, this post and/or our website to people that might be interested in partnering with Míša and I to make a difference in Prague, Czech, Europe and beyond?  Or if there is a chance would you consider even trying to host coffee, dinner and/or dessert for interested people before I leave on the 30th?

WE CAN DO THIS!  THROW ON YOUR RALLY CAP AND JOIN MÍŠA AND I STARTING LIFE AND MINISTRY TOGETHER AT FULL SUPPORT!

Closing out 2012 and rolling into 2013…

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This is a post that I should have hit about a month ago, but in the midst of the holidays, a lot of transition and the coaches trip/”Reverse Missions Trip” this month I never got to post this. It has been the theme for quite some time though here at zachharrod.com, hasn’t it? Maybe, just maybe, 2013 will result in some more posts and some more writing. Towards the end of last year I began getting more ideas about writing but I didn’t do more than start a few posts. We will see what 2013 brings.

I did think it would be cool to share with you some Lions videos from last year. When I was in the States earlier this month, many people asked to see them and didn’t know where they could find them. So here you go, our highlight videos from 2012 and our charity video from Christmas time.
Senior Highlight Video

Junior Highlight Video

HOPEMONTH 2012 HIGHLIGHT VIDEO

Things are happening here! We are making a difference. 2012 was a great year for the Prague Lions on and off the field, but what you don’t see in the videos a 100% is that lives are being changed. Continue to pray for life change and a revolution in the hearts of those we are reaching out to!

BE A REVOLUTION!

COMING TO AMERICA TOUR 2011

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Will I get to see you this summer, while I’m on the “Coming to America Tour 2011?”

Here’s the dates and the locations of the churches I’ll be speaking at (click on the church name for their website).

Beyond coming out and seeing me at the church gatherings, you can also see me at a local coffee shop in those three areas – Xenia, Oshkosh and Southern Wisconsin (Lake Geneva). Times and locations will come later here on zACHhARROD.coooooooom!

Beyond, that I’m needing to raise more support, as I said in the video, so if you can help me out by connecting me with more liking-minded people, who want to make a difference here in Prague, Czech Republic and Europe, that would be great. OR if you want to host a support party that would be even better! CLICK HERE and let me know!

Thank you and BE A REVOLUTION!

the hills were alive?

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Welcome back to zACHhARROD.com! Sorry for my silence this past week. I had a short week, so I attempted to pack a full week into three days. With that said, it was a little quite around these parts, but no fear you can always follow me on twitter and I also have a whole bunch of new pics for you to check out over at my flickr page – click here or on the pics to the right!

One the things I love about living here, is that I can travel for relatively cheap! On top of that, I live in the middle of Europe, which means there is a lot at my finger tips within a few hour train ride. For example, Cesky Krumlov or Salzburg! Both of these cities have a magicalness to them that was so, so, so good for my soul. I got a good mix of sight seeing and processing/prayer/reading time. Thank you for your prayers, that I requested in a previous post. So here is a photo recap of my fav pics, mixed with some others to give you a run down of my quick holiday.

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After hoping on the train and heading south, my first stop was in Cesky Krumlov, in South Bohemia, for one night. As I spent about 20 hours there, I realized once again, that I could always spend more time in this city. I was excited to be there for the Kouzelny Krumlov (Magical Krumlov) Festival, which consisted of many traditional Czech customs. So fun.
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Maj Dej (May Day) in Krumlov.
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Loved crashing at the Krumlov House. If you are heading to Krumlov you need to crash here. This was my room and the view from my window!
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Next stop! Salzburg, Austria. Which is a mix of Lord of the Rings and Disney world. I loved wandering the streets and then catch a few of Hohensalzburg fortress with the Alps in the background! So cool.
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Salzburg is also the birthplace of Mozart and you can’t escape him nor his image! Hundreds of years after his death, he has become the icon of this city! Sadly, I didn’t get to check out a classical music concert. I guess I’ll have to make a trip back!
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I was also very blessed to get some great time with my dear friend, Jason McFarland, for a bit as he came down for a short holiday as well. It was even more special, because this dear friend is, sadly, leaving Prague in now less than a month. So getting some time to chat and hang was great. We headed into the Alps and checked out the World’s Largest Ice Cave – Eisriesenwelt Ice Caves.
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Three Zachs! I know a scary thought. While I was away, I took much time to play with my camera (thanks Mom, Dad, Wayne, Jo and Amber for helping me out with it! You guys rock!) and here is one my experiments.
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I think this may be my favorite pic from the whole time. I was blessed to catch the clouds, sun, mountains and etc. at the right moment. It was good for me to get up in the Alps, even if it was just for a few hours. Oh Mountains. I love you Mountains.

Well there you have it. I quick run down of my few days away. It was a huge blessing to get away and very, very refreshing!

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