Granville, Ohio — “You’re amazing!” Whit’s Frozen Custard shop on what looks to be Main Street America was invaded by joyful young people one recent Sunday night. After pizza, twentysomethings on a weekend religious retreat were hard to miss by locals walking their dogs or enjoying a cone. One of the young men told a mother how amazing she clearly is for being the mother of the children who were with her. An elderly woman walking her dog did the double take I’ve seen myriad times when I’m around this Hard as Nails ministry. At first, you’re not sure if you heard things right. When you realize you did, you just might be encouraged. Maybe because you needed to hear it. Maybe because you’re grateful there are young people who are not looking at their phones and are actually noticing that other human beings in the world are valuable.
Hard as Nails has a sense of urgency about it. People do not know they are loved. The founder, Justin Fatica, frequently will get high-school assemblies of boys to say, “I have a God who is my father who loves me very much.” Over and over. Because they probably still don’t believe it. But if they hear it enough, maybe they can get to talking with one of the missionaries who follows up after about what that could mean in their lives. While the missionaries know not to tell me that I’m amazing — because I know they say it to everyone! — I love that it’s their icebreaker. Because people have no idea how amazing they are by the mere fact that they are alive. And, yes, they are also capable of amazing things when they know that.
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