While most organizations rushed toward digital platforms during the height
of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Life Surge CEO Joe Johnson
unexpectedly pivoted to in-person events.
He committed to in-person gatherings, believing physical community would
prove more valuable than virtual connections. That decision helped fuel the
faith-based organization's intense growth over three years.
“In 2020, most of our industry said, ‘Events are dead and are never coming
back again,’” Johnson explains. “And we looked at it and said, ‘No, it's
actually the exact opposite.’”
Building Real Relationships in a Digital Age
Life Surge events create what Johnson calls "local like-minded
communities — networks of Christian entrepreneurs and business leaders
who support each other’s growth. “People ever since 2020 lack community
in a major way,” Johnson adds. “And so a lot of what we do and the power
of the effectiveness of what we do is because of community, local
communities, local like-minded people, building relationships and getting
together.”
Life Surge attendees have been flooding social media platforms with
reviews praising their transformational experiences attending Life Surge’s
in-person events.
“Life-giving, life-encouraging, life-motivating, and life-surging!! I wished all
my friends and family could’ve been there with me!!” wrote Tricia A. from
SeaTac, Washington.
Other Life Surge users shared their stories of making meaningful
connections and having a positive experience at a Life Surge event.
“Our experience at Life Surge was empowering and informative. We felt
like we walked away with practical steps to take toward building wealth!”
shared Christen J. from Hampton, Virginia.
Rob Collins, Life Surge’s chief marketing officer, witnesses this community
impact firsthand.
“Many of the attendees have not been in a large venue like that with other
believers,” Collins remarks. “And so there’s power and there’s
encouragement. If you come from a smaller church, you’ve never been with
more than maybe a couple hundred people, and all of a sudden, you’re
surrounded with thousands of people, and you’re worshipping together, and
you’re learning together, and you’re being challenged together. That’s really
powerful.”
This emphasis on physical gathering extends beyond the main events. Life
Surge deliberately structures its educational programs around in-person
learning. “Just like you wouldn’t learn to play golf by reading a book or fly a
plane by watching YouTube, we believe trading and investing are real-life
skills,” says Jeremy Nosek, chief strategy officer.
A Movement Built on Authenticity
Each Life Surge gathering centers around what Johnson calls the "Four
W’s of Kingdom Impact." Worship, wisdom, work, and wealth-creation
strategies are the core parts of this concept. High-profile speakers from
entertainment, sports, and business share both practical knowledge and
personal faith journeys.
“We learned that they’re actually the same people backstage that they are
onstage,” Johnson shares. “That’s a very important factor for us. As the
leadership of Life Surge, we want to be authentic to who we are. We bring
our faith to the workplace and our speakers [do, too].
Madison Martin, Life Surge’s marketing director, sees this approach
resonating with attendees. "One of the other things that I’ve learned that I
think a lot of attendees take away is the people that are on our stage are
the body of Christ. There’s no difference between the people who are on
stage and us.”
Martin also references Nick Vujicic, a frequent speaker at Life Surge’s
events. Born without arms or legs, Vujicic has become a top motivational
speaker, sharing his personal story of faith, adversity, and triumph. “We
have Nick Vujicic on our stage who has no arms and legs, and one of the
things that he talks about is, ‘If I can do it, why can’t you do it?’” Martin
says.
Making Community Impact
Johnson’s vision for overcoming challenges and creating community impact
traces back to his own journey. Raised in Brazil as a missionary’s child, he
started his first business at 13, managing a lawn care operation before he
could drive. A bankruptcy at age 21 taught him crucial lessons about
integrating faith and business — lessons he now shares with thousands.
“Because church leaders have been silent on wealth creation, it creates a
vacuum,” Johnson explains. “The church goes to other people to get
practical instructions on how to create more resources. We are really
focused on kingdom impact. We’re trying to mobilize the Christian
community to really not be afraid of this issue of being a faithful resource
creator and multiplier.”
Life Surge measures transformation through various metrics. “When
someone comes to our events and makes a decision to change their life,
whether it’s giving their life to Christ or whether it is to move forward with financial education or whatever it may be, we have lots of different metrics,”
Johnson says.
Nosek acknowledges they must consider some virtual options for reaching
people outside major markets. However, as Johnson emphasizes, Life
Surge remains committed to its core philosophy: “God’s way all the way.”
He adds, “We’re not afraid to do hard things. Most people skip the need
and the process and the hard work of what it takes to create local
communities.”