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A mixture of community, faith and business acumen comprise fast-growing Christian business organization Life Surge. Founded by Joe Johnson in 2019, Life Surge is rapidly transforming the portrait of faith-based entrepreneurship.

At the heart of Life Surge are its live events. Described as a movement and not just a Christian concept, Life Surge is popping up in the top 60 markets across the nation and selling out the majority of the in-person, one-day events that feature well-known Christian speakers such as The New York Times bestselling author and entrepreneur Priscilla Shirer; Jonathan Roumie, who played Jesus in the television drama The Chosen; and former Denver Bronco and New York Jet footballer, Tim Tebow.

“Life Surge is passionate about bringing our events to our attendees, live and in-person.” Life Surge CEO Johnson shared on lifesurge.com. “We believe in the power of a local community that fellowships together, worships together, and encourages each other exactly where they are. By bringing together some of the top Christian speakers, business minds, entrepreneurs, and worship teams, our hope is to create an atmosphere of transformation.”

What Is the Life Surge Event About?

The Life Surge event is about its strong commitment to in-person gatherings, which is what sets it apart from other Christian movements. While many organizations pivoted to virtual events during the COVID-19 pandemic, Life Surge doubled down on live experiences. Johnson explains, "We knew it was going to be hard, we still were willing to do it. We just are built to do hard things."

Life Surge’s events teach the audience how to expand their resources, why growing resources is important, and how to harness these resources for the greater good of God’s people through what it calls “kingdom impact.” 

This focus on community has paid off. "There hasn't been a movement like this since Promise Keepers,” remarks Rob Collins, Life Surge’s chief marketing officer. “That in-person experience is hard to be replaced."

Life Surge events feature a mix of inspirational speakers, worship, and practical teaching. Recent headliners included Frasier star Kelsey Grammer and Shark Tank’s Robert Herjavec. 

Beyond inspiration, Life Surge emphasizes equipping attendees with tangible skills. Jeremy Nosek, Life Surge’s chief strategy officer, explains the group’s approach to education in areas like trading: "These are real-life skills ... much more of a subject to be mastered than a topic to be studied."

How Life Surge Is Using Technology 

A large part of Life Surge’s appeal to everyday people of Christian faith is its mission to respect and connect as a community. “If you look at our mission statement, our goal is to inspire, transform, and equip,” Johnson says. “That word equip is very important.

“We believe you're not going to have true transformation unless you can really equip people with true practical strategies. So everything that we talk about on the Life Surge stage is somewhat inspirational, but it leads to very practical, ‘How do I actually do it and how do I actually multiply resources?’ with the right technology tools that go along with that.

“Most of our industry or our world has gone through shortcuts in the focus of technology and information at the expense of community. We have been exactly the opposite. We believe in live and in-person events, not digital events, not Zoom calls, because 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.”

The Legacy Life Surge Aims To Leave Behind

The intuitive CEO says that for him and his Life Surge team, it’s always been more about the human element rather than the organization itself. “It's not about Life Surge, it's really about the people who are attending Life Surge and having the opportunity to really change the direction that their family's headed,” Johnson says. 

He brings up the example of Ed Mylett. The entrepreneur, motivational speaker, author, and podcast host of "The Ed Mylett Show" is known for his emphasis on mindset, fitness, and strategies for personal and professional growth. Mylett has been a solid staple of many recent Life Surge events. He graced the stage at recent events in Tampa, Florida, and Raleigh, North Carolina.

“What Ed talks about is that legacy that the people there, they have the opportunity to change the path of their family and the legacy of their family and where they're headed. And he talks very openly about his own family and how his father changed that legacy and how he changed part of that legacy.”