Cultivating Christian Entrepreneurs: Life Surge’s Vision for Faith-Driven Business Leaders
Sometimes you just need to hear it from the horse’s mouth. Life Surge has called upon some of the most successful business leaders, from Auntie Anne’s Pretzels founder Anne Beiler to Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec to twins David and Jason Benham — pro baseball players turned entrepreneurs — to share knowledge with audiences at its in-person events.
This rapidly growing organization, founded by Joe Johnson, is working to unite spiritual beliefs with professional success, creating a movement that inspires, transforms, and equips believers to thrive in the marketplace.
Johnson lives the message of Life Surge. The ambitious business leader launched his first lawn-mowing business at 13, and this early venture taught him valuable lessons about resourcefulness and leadership, setting the stage for his future endeavors.
Johnson’s path took an unexpected turn when he found himself bankrupt at 21, owing $330,000. This setback, however, became a pivotal moment in his spiritual and professional life. He realized that his previous view of separating faith from business was flawed, leading him to develop a passion for integrating Christian principles into entrepreneurship.
“We want to lead a global movement of people surging their lives God’s way, by inspiring, transforming, and equipping believers to do all that God has called them to do,” Johnson said. “By bringing together some of the top Christian speakers, business minds, entrepreneurs, and worship teams, our hope is to create an atmosphere of transformation.”
A Vision for Faith-Driven Business
Life Surge’s core mission revolves around what Johnson calls the “Four W’s of Kingdom Impact”: worship, wisdom, work, and wealth. The organization seeks to create an environment where believers can explore these concepts in harmony, challenging the notion that faith and financial success are mutually exclusive.
“We believe you’re not going to have true transformation unless you can really equip people with true practical strategies,” Johnson explains. This philosophy drives Life Surge to offer more than just inspirational talks; it provides tangible tools and education to help attendees succeed in their professional ventures.
Life Surge’s live events stand out in an increasingly digital world. The organization prioritizes in-person gatherings, believing in the transformative power of community. These gatherings unite thousands of like-minded individuals, creating an atmosphere of shared purpose and mutual encouragement.
Rob Collins, Life Surge’s chief marketing officer, highlights the impact of these gatherings: “Especially if you come from a smaller church, you’ve never been with more maybe than a couple hundred people and all of a sudden you’re surrounded with thousands of people and you’re worshiping together and you’re learning together and you’re being challenged together. That’s really powerful.”
Selling out in more than 80% of the cities it visits across the country, Life Surge is planning a fall tour hitting Denver on Sept. 21, with top motivational speaker Nick Vujicic, talk show host Elizabeth Hasselbeck, and former NFL player turned philanthropist Tim Tebow. Then Life Surge will touch down in Portland, Oregon, on Oct. 12 with another full roster of inspiring voices, including a return appearance of Vujicic and Tebow, Christian recording artist Natalie Grant, and many others.
These events are designed to inform and inspire audiences through meaningful presentations. Attendees haven’t been shy about sharing what it was like to soak in this spiritual wisdom.
“I am so glad I went,” Pearl L. posted in a review on lifesurge.com. “It was very inspiring, uplifting and powerful. I left with a totally different, positive attitude. God is good and has truly blessed all the speakers.”
Another Life Surge eventgoer commented on the life-changing experience they had.
“I consider myself blessed to have made the choice to attend this event. The worship was phenomenal, and the day was positively outstanding,” Kaylee M. wrote on lifesurge.com. “Experience this for yourself. I walked out of that building with a newfound spiritual foundation to create a pillar of success.”
Betsy G. added, “This event CHANGED MY LIFE. First, it was really amazing…May you be blessed by this beautiful event!”
A Legacy of Transformation
Johnson emphasizes that Life Surge’s ultimate goal isn’t about building its legacy, but about empowering attendees to change the trajectory of their families and communities. As Life Surge continues to grow and inspire Christian entrepreneurs, it remains committed to its core values, summarized in the acronym SURGE: Surge obsessed, Uniquely entrepreneurial, Results-driven, God-centered, and Excellence-focused. Through this approach, the organization hopes to fulfill what Billy Graham Jr. once predicted: “I believe one of the next great moves of God is going to be through the believers in the workplace.”