My Story of How a $2,000 Step of Faith Led Me to Think Big—And Create a Course That Would Reach Thousands

Two years ago, people didn’t believe a faith-based course that costs money like The Neighbors and Nations Course could really be as successful as a secular course.

Hundreds of students from sixteen countries around the world later, with three revenue streaming profit launches, and thousands of beautiful followers wanting to reach the world, I say, yes it can…aaaaaand praise God for mentors like Amy!”

Here’s what happened—a story of God’s faithfulness ...and a surprise $2,000 yes from above. 

So, I work for a non-profit doing good in some of the most spiritually oppressed and physically impoverished places in the developing world. 

That also means I do a lot of what I do for free. 

One day, with kids heading into college and bills piling up, I said to my husband, I think I’m going to have to get a “real” job back in the corporate world and give up gallivanting around the world doing philanthropic work that I love and brings so much purpose.

At the same time, my book Across the Street and Around the World released with a major publisher.

Churches started asking me to train them on how to respectfully, authentically, and intentionally welcome refugees and international students—and follow Jesus even farther to move to the ends of the earth.

I found myself spending time in airports away from my family for days, often teaching a dozen or less people, for gift cards, sometimes a modest stipend, but mostly loads of grateful thanks in return.

Then, I stumbled into helping co-launch a digital course called Getting Started in Disciplemaking Movements making waves in the faith-based world. 

A wide seed sowing online funnel drew THOUSANDS of students and the little Facebook video with over 1,000 shares blew. my. mind. What?!!

And people, Christians, were seeing value in it and paying for it.

Turns out the creator, C. Anderson, learned it all from my now-mentor Amy Porterfield.

I was hooked.

But I didn’t have $2,000. 

I prayed about it and I felt like God whispered to me, Do it anyway. I want to use this to grow your influence in something I care deeply about, way beyond your wildest dreams. 

The week her course Digital Course Academy (DCA) opened (exactly two years ago) a church in Pennsylvania told me they wanted to give me a $1,000 honorarium for a speaking engagement.

Wow! Half of Digital Course Academy covered. 🙏🏼 🤲🏼 

The day I enrolled in DCA, the generous church wrote again and said, we believe in what you’re doing and we want to give you another $1,000 to take DCA and change the world with your training. 🎉😭

It still summons a few tears of gratitude. I’m glad now that I waded into the waters of the Jordan river before I knew if it would part. In fact, I wanted to TELL YOU this story, so click below to watch.

Now two years later, a LOT of work, learning, God’s favor, sweat-equity and, yes, three five-figure launches of The Neighbors & Nations Course later—

✔️ I DIDN’T have to go back to my corporate job to contribute to our family income. (Yes, people will pay for a high-quality faith-based course that gives them results! A worker is worth his or her wages.)

✔️ I still have time to work for the non-profit that I love.

✔️ God gave me hundreds of students from sixteen countries, changing the world. 

✔️ My e-mail list grew from 300 to almost 5,000 people that I get to influence every week with more of my writing. 

✔️ Full-pay enrollments have scholarshipped almost 100 students for free from Africa, Asia and South America.  

✔️ And a personal desire for me, I’m home when my four kids are home.

✔️ Lastly, I coached three amazing course creators through DCA last year to create three more faith-based courses, Broken to Beautiful, Foundations for Fertility, and Hearing God’s Voice (more about them next week).

Thank you Amy and Team Porterfield and Digital Course Academy … the church who believed in this … and yes, a faithful God who provides, for helping me to bust out of small thinking and go big to change the whole world through my students.

Now it’s YOUR CHANCE.

If you resonate with what I’m saying and you want to explore this path of creating a digital course to create a new revenue stream, give you more freedom, and reach more people in the world with the message God gave you…

✏️ You can watch her free one-hour training on how get started building your e-mail list…SO THAT…if you want to join Digital Course Academy to create and launch your own course when it opens next year in the fall of 2023 (yes, she only opens it once a year), you’ll be ready!