Medically, she should have died four times. But God wasn't done with her yet.

Brittany DeRoche is a cancer survivor, heart failure survivor, pulmonary embolism survivor, five-time Ironman, and mother of four who keeps rising again. This episode shows you what it looks like to survive the unthinkable, surrender everything to God, and discover purpose in the storms.

Key Discussion Points Brittany shares how four near-death experiences, cancer at 19, pulmonary embolisms, heart failure at 15% heart function, shaped her faith, and how an unplanned pregnancy led doctors to find the cancer that saved her life.

She recounts the Holy Spirit's promptings that kept her alive when doctors nearly sent her home, and the honeymoon she spent in the ICU after the friend who officiated her wedding had a fatal stroke the next day.

Brittany describes surrendering everything to God in January 2020, landing a grounding job at a ministry company, then being fired, something she now sees as being freed for what came next.

She unpacks Church Activation Strategies, her business helping churches turn underused spaces into childcare partnerships that serve families and fund ministry sustainably.

Brittany explains her RACE acronym, Rise Again with Courage and Endure, and how it ties her athletics, faith, and entrepreneurship together as she trains for her sixth Ironman and chases a Kona qualification doctors said she'd never reach.

About the Guest Brittany DeRoche is the founder of Church Activation Strategies, where she helps churches activate underused spaces through childcare partnerships that serve families and create sustainable funding for ministry. A cancer survivor, heart failure survivor, five-time Ironman, and mother of four, she has survived four near-death experiences since her diagnosis at 19 and spent nearly three decades finding purpose in the storms. She is now training for her sixth Ironman with the goal of qualifying for Kona, the Ironman World Championship.

Learn More: Connect with Brittany on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brittany-deroche/

Learn more about Church Activation Strategies: https://www.churchactivationco.com

Follow her Ironman journey and upcoming book, Rise Again: https://www.instagram.com/brittanyb_deroche/

Connect With Follower of One:

Join our Online Community: http://community.followerofone.org

Get social with us:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/followerofone

Instagram: https://instagram.com/followerofone1

Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/followerofone1
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one

Podcast (Plink): https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686

Chapters:

0:30 Welcome & Introduction

0:52 Meeting Brittany & God's Timing

4:35 Purpose Through the Storms

4:43 Surviving the Unthinkable

6:50 Brittany's Full Story

14:58 Resting & Healing

17:18 Faith Meets Work

28:11 The Ironman Dream & Kona

28:55 Church Activation Strategies

38:11 Encouragement & Final Advice

You spend most of your week at work, often with people who don't share your faith. Keeping your faith active Monday through Friday takes more than a Sunday habit. In Episode 25, Trace Roth shows you how to stay the same person at your desk, in traffic, and at home, and why your workplace is your mission field.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
Start your workday in the Bible. Trace reads one short passage over coffee each morning and carries one takeaway into his day.
Keep your grace on. Stay consistent when a driver cuts you off, your kids yell, or work stress builds. Apologize fast when you fall short.
Watch for people. The Follower of One marketplace mission trip trained Trace to pray, know his story, and pay attention to the people he meets each day.
Answer the "now what?" question. Trace explains why people come home from mission trips changed, and how your workplace becomes your next mission field.
Nancy's story. A Dominican girl who sold bananas to support her family stayed in school with a local pastor's help, became a doctor, and now serves on Mission Possible medical teams.

ABOUT THE GUEST
Trace Roth is President of Mission Possible, a ministry serving students in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He has worked with the organization for 18 years, starting in finance and mission team coordination. He now helps people returning from mission trips carry their faith into their jobs and communities.

CONNECT WITH TRACE
Website: https://www.ourmissionispossible.org/
LinkedIn: Trace Roth | LinkedIn

====
*Connect With Follower Of One*
Join us over in our Online Community(http://community.followerofone.org)

*Get social with us*
https://www.facebook.com/followerofone
https://instagram.com/followerofone1
https://twitter.com/followerofone1
https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one
https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686
====

Chapters
0:00 Intro
3:30 Meet Trace Roth of Mission Possible
7:52 What Daily Discipleship Looks Like
13:33 Integrity, Faith, and Action in Haiti's Schools
20:53 When Faith and Work Collided
26:45 Trace's Lesson from Follower of One Marketplace Mission Trip
30:21 Don't Let Your Grace Turn Off
36:09 Nancy's Story: From Bananas to Doctor
40:24 Don't Discount Who You Are
42:35 Conclusion and Connecting With Trace

You show up to work every day, but is your faith pointed at God or at the pressures around you? Eliyahu Lotzar explains why the real question is not whether you have faith, but where your faith is going. If you feel lost in your emails, meetings, and deadlines, this conversation gives you a practical way to keep God at the center of your workday.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS
Why the first mode of leadership is intent, and how to aim your faith at God instead of self, money, or approval
What Peter walking on water teaches about faith and action, and why losing focus on Jesus sinks you at work
How to look for God in ordinary tasks like a marketing plan, an email, or your next meeting
Why crying out to God in hard moments matters, drawn from Eliyahu's own story of illness and searching for answers
How to build simple structure, such as praying before meetings or journaling, so you hold onto God after a spiritual high

ABOUT THE GUEST
Eliyahu is a Jewish believer, dedicated to helping individuals and groups broaden their perspective to be more alive. He's done this as a therapist, a spiritual counselor, a student counselor, an executive coach, workshop facilitator, business owner, and organization development consultant. He is the author of Working With God: The Ten Modes of Elevated Leadership

Website: https://workingwithgod.live/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eliyahulotzar/

RESOURCES MENTIONED
Book: Working with God: The 10 Modes of Elevated Leadership by Eliyahu Lotzar: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1961202298?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback
Working with God free monthly roundtable, 2-day intensive, and executive coaching for Christian business leaders: https://workingwithgod.live/events/
The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry and Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer: https://www.amazon.com/dp/0525653090?lv=shuf&channelId=500&plpRedirect=mhFallback

====
*Connect With Follower Of One*
Join us over in our Online Community(http://community.followerofone.org)

*Get social with us*
https://www.facebook.com/followerofone
https://instagram.com/followerofone1
https://twitter.com/followerofone1
https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one
https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686
====

Sometimes the boldest business decision is to hand the whole company back to God. Geeta Chopra left Hinduism, surrendered her startup to Jesus, and built a global Christian platform that uses technology to bless the Kingdom instead of replace it. This episode shows you what it looks like to make God your CEO, deny your flesh, and obey the Holy Spirit in the marketplace.

Key Discussion Points

Geeta describes growing up Hindu in the United States, praying in church parking lots as a child, and the 2015 Sunday morning the Lord woke her and told her to get up and go to church right then, one year before her baptism.

She explains what she calls redemptive technology, using tools like AI to bless and prosper the Kingdom rather than prohibit or replace it, and how that conviction shapes everything the Excellence Directory does.

Geeta unpacks the Excellence Directory itself, a vetted platform where Christian consumers can find faith-aligned service providers, freelancers, businesses, churches, and ministries in one faith and work ecosystem.

She shares the global vision the Lord gave her in the fourth watch, giving the persecuted church in places like Nigeria, India, and Pakistan a free profile and a voice.

Geeta describes what it means to make God the CEO of your business and to deny your flesh, obeying the Holy Spirit even when His direction does not match human logic.

She opens up about her book, Kingdom Mindset, including the chapter on love and what God taught her through hiring a team of Muslim developers, and leaves one piece of advice, obedience.

About the Guest

Geeta Chopra is the founder and CEO of the Excellence Directory, a global Christian digital platform founded through her startup American Dream Enterprises LLC, and the author of Kingdom Mindset. A former Hindu who was baptized in 2016, she is a prayer minister who has dedicated her company and her life to bridging the gap between faith and the marketplace, connecting Christian professionals, businesses, churches, and ministries, including the persecuted church, around the world.

Learn More

Excellence Directory: https://www.excellencedirectory.com/
Kingdom Mindset (book): https://us.amazon.com/Kingdom-Mindset-Fulfill-Your-Destiny/dp/B0GJ3Z1MY7
Email: partner@excellencedirectory.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/geeta-chopra

====

Connect With Follower Of One

Join us over in our Online Community(http://community.followerofone.org)
Get social with us https://www.facebook.com/followerofone https://instagram.com/followerofone1 https://twitter.com/followerofone1 https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686

Joe Daly left a decade of church staff work to build a leather goods company, and he treats the business as ministry, not a step away from it. Have you ever wondered if your regular job matters to God as much as "real" ministry does? Hear how Joe Daly, founder of Daly Goods, went from 10 years on church staff to running a faith-driven leather company, and what he learned about worshiping God through everyday work.

KEY DISCUSSION POINTS

How Joe moved from finding his identity in sports and performance to resting in what Christ already did
The three Ps he uses to run Daly Goods: quality products, people treated as image-bearers, and profit set aside to give away
Why materialism is the modern idol he fears most, and how he guards against it as a business owner
What servant leadership looks like day to day, including a recent season of humbling with his wife and employees
His case for radical community, where a few people know your finances, marriage, and struggles with nothing off limits

ABOUT THE GUEST

Joe Daly is the founder of Daly Goods, a custom leather goods company in Waco, Texas, known for handcrafted bison leather journals and custom B2B gifts. He served on local church staff for 10 years before taking his kitchen-table hobby full time in 2024. His path from church work to the marketplace gives him a grounded view of living out faith on the job, driven by a message of biblical generosity.

RESOURCES MENTIONED
The Sacredness of Secular Work by Jordan Raynor: https://www.amazon.com/Sacredness-Secular-Work-Matters-Eternity/dp/0593193091
Every Good Endeavor by Tim Keller: https://timothykeller.com/books/every-good-endeavor
Daly Goods: https://dalygoods.com/
Connect with Joe Daly on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joe-daly-67b31928/

*Connect With Follower Of One*
Join us in our Online Community
(http://community.followerofone.org)

*Get social with us*
https://www.facebook.com/followerofone
https://instagram.com/followerofone1
https://twitter.com/followerofone1
https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one
https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686
====

Sometimes saying yes to God costs you the biggest bill in your wallet. Joanne Hickox spent 15 years as a feature film accountant for the major studios before founding a ministry that has served hundreds of older adults. This episode shows you what it looks like to hear the Holy Spirit, say yes, and trust God with the cost.

Key Discussion Points

Joanne describes 15 years as a film accountant for the major studios, where her faith got trampled on before she found protection in the Billy Graham Organization's film division.

She recounts a late-night prompting to call a friend, a director of photography in the middle of taking his own life, and how that one phone call led to his salvation.

Joanne explains the moment a senior asked what she could do for her, revealing how society makes older adults needy instead of needed.

She shares how a simple tithe of her time, writing cards to sick church members while working in Paris, grew into a full seniors ministry waiting for her when she got home.

Joanne unpacks G3 Village, a 20 to 35 acre homestead where about 40 older adults will live together, each giving at least 10 hours of service a week and helping grow the food they eat.

She gives her one piece of advice, stay in your lane, and why the job you already have is usually the lane God has already placed you in.

About the Guest

Joanne Hickox is the founder and executive director of Seniors on a Mission and the G3 Foundation, an ordained missionary, and the author of G3 and Me and the God Timer series. A Canadian farm girl and former feature film accountant of 15 years for the major studios, she has spent nearly three decades nurturing the lives of older adults, through day-long mission trips and now G3 Village, a housing community where independent seniors live and serve the Lord with purpose.

Learn More

Visit seniorsonamission.org to learn more about Joanne and her work with older adults.

Find her book G3 and Me on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/G3-Purposeful-Living-Giving-Glory-ebook/dp/B0GY2C6KTC

Learn more about the G3 Foundation and G3 Village: https://g3.foundation/

Connect with her on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanne-hickox-50900624

Pastors in expensive cities often cannot afford stable housing on ministry salaries. That financial pressure quietly threatens their ability to serve. If you want to see your faith show up in practical, tangible ways at work and with your money, this episode gives you a real example of what that looks like.

Key Discussion Points
Nicole explains how the Aslan Housing Foundation builds down payment assistance programs for pastors, using church investors, donor-advised funds, and self-directed IRAs to fund stable housing without competing with the church's general giving.

She describes a core operating value: do nothing about staff without staff. Surveys go out to both church leadership and pastoral staff before any housing strategy is built, so the people with the actual need have a voice in the solution.

Nicole unpacks what she calls a triple bottom line for investors: market-rate financial returns, a stabilized ministry, and a more secure pastor and family.

She talks about how she brings her faith into secular professional settings without forcing it, including sending a simple email to a real estate team in Hawaii during flooding to let them know she was praying for their safety.

She and host Addison Williams discuss how Christians in any profession hold two marketplace roles: what they do with their time at work and what they do with their money outside of it.

About the Guest
Nicole Marie Bergeron is the founder and CEO of Aslan Housing Foundation, a California-based nonprofit that helps churches develop housing strategies for their pastoral staff. She holds a joint degree in law and public policy and spent two decades in philanthropy and social impact work before launching Aslan in 2018. Her background gives her a systems-level view of a problem most church leaders have never named out loud.

Links
Website: https://aslan.org/
"Yeah, I'm Vehemently Pro-Pastor" — Nicole's essay at Faith & Leadership: read it here
Nicole's writing: glittercanon.com

*Connect With Follower Of One*
Join us over in our Online Community(http://community.followerofone.org)

*Get social with us*
https://www.facebook.com/followerofone
https://instagram.com/followerofone1
https://twitter.com/followerofone1
https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one
https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686
====

Chapters

00:00 Cold Open and Intro

01:12 Meet Nicole Aslan, CEO

02:08 Why Pastors Need Housing Help

05:10 Spreading Awareness Word of Mouth

08:51 Building a Church Housing Strategy

13:08 From Strategy to Homeownership

17:17 Investors IRAs Triple Return

20:58 DAFs Donations Transparency

24:15 Marketplace Housing Exchange

26:07 Faith Work Collision

28:56 Sharing Faith at Work Naturally

32:43 Planting Seeds at Work

33:38 Know What You Believe

35:54 Serve People Mindset

36:47 Collaboration Over Competition

41:07 Building Pastoral Housing Market

44:08 Marketplace and Money

49:33 Be Available to God

51:59 Keep Faith Simple

59:26 Final Takeaways and Sendoff

Most Christians spend 40+ hours a week at work but never think of that time as ministry. If you believe faith belongs only in church, you are missing most of your week. Tom Lutz spent decades building a global business and coaching Christian CEOs, and he makes the case that your job is where your calling lives.

Key Discussion Points:
Tom explains why work was part of paradise before the fall, and why that changes how you should think about your job today. Every role, from HVAC technician to trash collector, contributes to a world that God wants to see flourish.

He walks through a practical framework for identifying every role God has called you to, including parent, spouse, and employee, and allocating intentional time to each instead of defaulting to busyness.

The Ten Commandments are not a checklist for earning God's approval. Tom shows how they function as a guide to wise daily life, including how you tip, how you drive, and how you treat the person picking up trash.

Tom draws a clear line between religion as rule-keeping and faith as a changed identity. Christianity starts with who you are, not what you do or what you know.

He shares a simple, repeatable habit for making Jesus attractive at work without cold outreach or pressure: lead a life others notice, then tell them why.

About the Guest:
Tom Lutz is the president of Vision Planners LLC and a Convene chair in Atlanta. He founded a global construction information firm that grew to $120 million in revenue across 18 countries, then shifted to helping business owners and executives build companies that serve their communities. His doctoral research and two books focus specifically on equipping Christians to see their work as a calling, not a career.

Links;
https://vocational-discipleship.com/
https://convenenow.com/tomlutz
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/VocationalDiscipleship
LinkedIn; https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-thomas-lutz-6119682/

*Connect With Follower Of One*
Join us over in our Online Community(http://community.followerofone.org)

*Get social with us*
https://www.facebook.com/followerofone
https://instagram.com/followerofone1
https://twitter.com/followerofone1
https://www.linkedin.com/company/follower-of-one
https://plinkhq.com/i/1482955686
====

Chapters

00:00 Intro
00:45 Meet Tom Lutz
05:35 Why Your Job Is Ministry
10:49 Work Was Part of Paradise Before the Fall
14:51 Rethinking Busyness and Intentionality
23:36 The Ten Commandments as a Daily Work Guide
41:34 Religion vs. Relationship with God
49:02 Being, Knowing, and Doing
57:32 Conclusion