Rick Caron

Rick was first called into the ministry on January 9, 1999, while praying and traveling on business when God spoke to him almost audibly: “I didn’t bring you to Raleigh to work for man, but for Me.”

“It was very emotionally overwhelming for me,” said Rick. He was unsure of what this calling would mean for his growing family. Son number three was due to arrive later that year, and the adoption of his daughter would soon follow in mid-2001 through an international adoption from China.

The Caron family was in full swing when Rick stepped out in faith to begin fulfilling that calling on his life in late 2002—not in the traditional sense of pulpit or church ministry, but through a unique ministry to men, particularly in the marketplace. That’s where the vision for the Christian Business Network (CBN) was born.

The mission of CBN was to connect Christ, companies, and customers. The method was simple: to gather locally as a body of believers and followers of Jesus, helping them grow as marketplace ministers and professional businesspeople.

What Rick found almost immediately while visiting with these men—beyond getting to know them and connecting them with others—was that although they were believers and followers of Jesus, many were struggling with very real and raw issues in life. Their lives were filled with sin, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, lust and pornography, infidelity and adultery, and every other struggle known to man, including financial problems and wayward children.

Often, their lives were so out of control that many turned to the network to connect with other Christians in hopes of escaping their troubled circumstances, yet remained silent about their struggles. Many somehow felt safe enough to open up to Rick—all the while unaware that he wrestled with many of the same life struggles. His own battle was one of rejection and abandonment.

Fast-forward ten years: Rick’s struggles eventually led to his own escape—running away from his problems, his 20-year marriage, and his ministry. He spent the next decade living recklessly, repeating many of the same sins and struggles as the men he had once led and ministered to.

It was in 2024 that both God and Rick had enough. After 11 days holed up in his RV, Rick had a life-changing encounter with the living God through Jesus. Just as the prodigal son in Luke 15:17 says, “When he came to his senses, he returned to his father,” so began Rick’s journey home.

The road to redemption started at that moment of surrender on August 21, 2024, in his RV. As the prophet Malachi describes in Malachi 3:2–3:

“But who can endure the day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?For he will be like a refiner’s fire and a purifier of silver.He will purify the Levites (Rick) and refine them like gold and silver.Then the Lord will have men who will bring offerings in righteousness.”

Over the course of the next year, Rick experienced that refiner’s fire firsthand. He was reminded of an expression his former pastor of 14 years had once shared during difficult times in life and ministry—words that resonated deeply as he reflected on his journey:

The Birth of a Vision (January 9, 1999)
The Death of a Vision (December 26, 2011)
The Resurrection of a Vision (September 16, 2025)

Today, Rick feels led to take his message of hope and redemption to men who suffer from similar struggles in life, knowing that the Lord Jesus wants to do the same redemptive work in their lives—if they will surrender their will and their ways to His.

Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.