Faith-Driven Leaders W/Brittany DeRoche
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Episode Description
In this episode of the On The Rise Podcast's Faith-Driven Leaders Series, host Nick Stromwall sits down with Brittany DeRoche — cancer survivor, heart failure survivor, five-time Ironman finisher, mom of four, and founder of Church Activation Strategies. Brittany shares a remarkable and deeply moving story of trial after trial — from a tumor the size of an ostrich egg at 19, to full-blown heart failure two days before Christmas, to pulmonary embolisms following a hysterectomy — and how her faith carried her through each one. She also unpacks the work she is doing to help churches turn underutilized space into sustainable revenue through strategic childcare partnerships, and what it means to finally be walking in the vocation she believes God designed for her. An unforgettable conversation about resilience, surrender, and purpose.
Summary
1. Medically She Should Have Died Four Times — But She Didn't Brittany's story begins at age 19 with a cancer diagnosis and a tumor the size of an ostrich egg discovered during her first pregnancy. Over the next decade she survived pregnancy-induced heart failure at 15% cardiac function, a cancer recurrence requiring a full hysterectomy, and two large pulmonary embolisms that would have killed her had she not gone to the hospital that night. Each survival deepened her conviction that she was still here for a reason.
"Medically I shouldn't be here, but I am, and I have a purpose, clearly."
2. Endurance Athletics Became a Language for Resilience After her first cancer diagnosis, Brittany channeled her experience into distance running — completing her first marathon, then century rides, then Ironman triathlons, then a 100-mile race nine weeks pregnant. She draws a direct parallel between the suffering and finishing of endurance events and the suffering and surviving of medical crises — both teach you that the darkness ends and the light comes.
"It hurt. It wasn't fun, but then I finished and it felt great. It's similar to going through a cancer diagnosis — it sucks, but then it gets better, and then you finish and you realize you survived it."
3. Faith Was Always an Anchor — Even When She Was Asking Why Brittany grew up Catholic, drifted through different faith expressions, was re-baptized as an adult, and had seasons of genuine anger at God. But she never fully walked away. Through every trial her faith functioned less as a feeling and more as a tether — something she held onto even when she could not see where it led.
"I don't think I ever had a point in my life where I completely veered away from the faith. If anything, it was there lingering — okay, I know it's there. There's got to be a reason."
4. Letting Go Was the Beginning of the Right Path In January 2020, after years of a fractured career path and medical setbacks, Brittany fell to her knees and surrendered her plans entirely. Within weeks she was hired at a ministry consulting firm for a role she never would have found or chosen on her own — and eventually discovered it was the exact vocation a woman had prophesied over her a year earlier.
"God, I don't know what your plan is for me. What do you want from me? Just take it and guide me because I don't know what to do."
5. Being Fired Became a Divine Redirect After building an entire program from scratch — closing deals, speaking at conferences, partnering churches with childcare providers across the country — Brittany was unexpectedly let go. Rather than starting over, she recognized that she had already built the blueprint. God had not taken her away from the work. He had freed her to own it.
"I built the lane for them. Why not rebuild it? I can see where God was protecting me and really kicked me out of my comfort zone."
6. Churches Are Sitting on Untapped Assets The average church building is actively used one or two days per week — while the childcare crisis leaves families on waiting lists for months. Brittany's company, Church Activation Strategies, bridges those two realities by connecting churches with third-party childcare operators who can fill that space Monday through Friday, generating 150 to 200 thousand dollars annually in ministry funding while serving the surrounding community.
"Buildings are now funding ministry — creating a space where communities are short in childcare slots, and the church has the space to solve it."
7. The Partnership Model Protects Everyone Rather than encouraging churches to operate childcare themselves — which creates operational burden and staffing risk — Brittany structures true partnerships between churches and experienced childcare providers whose missions and values align. She handles the feasibility study, vets the providers, and bridges the gap between two worlds so both parties win and the church's name and mission are protected.
"The church staff wakes up every day to minister. They don't wake up every day to operate childcare."
8. God's Timing Is Not Your Timing — But He Is Always On Time From a canceled flight that stranded her in a hotel lobby full of church pastors to elevator conversations that became key relationships, Brittany has lived enough God-orchestrated moments to know that surrender is not passive — it is the most active and courageous thing a person can do. Her advice to anyone at the end of their own rope is simple: trust, let go, and watch what He does.
"When you truly let go and have Him guide you, know that He does have a plan — on His time, not your own."
Resources
Website: churchactivationco.com
