“The reality is that 98%, probably, of Christians across America are in the marketplace. But many times we don’t think about that as our mission field, that that is truly where God has called us to live out and preach the Great Commission,” Life Surge President Shawn Marcell said in an interview with ChurchLeaders.
Marcell joined ChurchLeaders to discuss the mission of Life Surge, how it got started, and how the organization is not only equipping Christians and church leaders but is also providing space for unbelievers to trust in Jesus.
“Life Surge is really for the body of Christ in general to truly step into the call of God in the marketplace,” said Marcell. “It was a desire to see people recognize that God has given you gifts, talents, abilities that he anoints for his purposes to go and make impact.”
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“But [the marketplace] is also a source of where you get your revenue,” he continued. “And those revenues, if you understand and you have a vision for what God can do in and through you—through your resources—then you can make greater impact.”
Life Surge President Shawn Marcell: ‘God Wants To Use Your Gifts’
Life Surge is an organization that offers education and training in addition to live, one-day events. It began in 2020—a year that offered quite a few challenges for many—and the organization currently holds in-person events at major cities throughout the U.S. Marcell said Life Surge expects to reach over 200,000 people this year.
The company’s extensive lineup of speakers includes Tim Tebow, John Maxwell, Priscilla Shirer, Dennis Quaid, Kelsey Grammer, Nick Vujicic, Jonathan Roumie, Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Sadie Robertson Huff, Willie Robertson, and Korie Robertson.
Marcell, who spent over 22 years in full-time vocational ministry prior to joining Life Surge, explained that while the speakers vary at each live event depending on availability, all Life Surge events focus on four key areas of life: worship, wisdom, work, and wealth. A primary goal of the organization is to equip Christians to use their resources to impact the world for God.
“Many times the church is skittish about talking about resources,” Marcell said. “I don’t know why that is when so much of the mission of the church requires resources, but many times Christians don’t want to have a conversation about money and worship in the same context.”
“We completely disagree with that,” he said. “We believe it is the space to talk about [money] because it influences so much of kingdom impact. And then of course, we just really believe that all these subject matters need to be addressed.”
“Many times we’ve [relegated] ministry to the outreaches we do, whether that’s a missions trip or whether that’s a sidewalk Sunday school or some function of the church, and all those things are powerful and necessary,” said Marcell. “But…business people who love God and feel that calling recognize that there is a powerful space within their areas of influence.”
