Living Abundantly Ministries

Our Story

At Living Abundantly Ministries we foster small group experiences that share God's love and build community in a way that strengthens spiritual and physical wellbeing.

We believe that all people are lovingly created in God’s image. We are multi-faceted children of a holy God; made of spirit, body, mind and relational community. Each of these parts are delicately intertwined and make up our unique, whole selves.

As Christians and church communities, we tend to focus on the spiritual part of our lives. We often ignore the other parts of our whole selves AND IT SHOWS. In the U.S. over 85% of us struggle with lifestyle related issues of overweight, chronic disease, low energy and significant stress. The health statistics for Christians are the same or a bit worse than the entire population.

​The Bible is clear that taking care of the health of our whole being is important to God. How much is our lack of health and wellbeing impairing our fulfillment and service as Christians? That’s what got us inspired…

By the world’s standards, Living Abundantly Ministries began as a radical idea. Could we create a new approach to wellbeing that starts with our relationship with God and leans on the power of the Holy Spirit? …An approach that promotes healing of the whole person, including those often neglected places where the spiritual, physical, mental, emotional and social aspects of who we are come together?

This radical idea was initially tested and validated in a successful study of a pilot program conducted in a church setting, which is now published in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.

Living Abundantly Ministries is a small but mighty team of Christ-followers working to empower faith-based organizations to encourage whole person wellbeing. Co-founded by our Executive Director, Angela Stephenson and Keith Wakeman, CEO of SuperBetter, the ministry is a 501c3 non-profit organization and is supported by an incredible team of volunteers.
(See Team Below)

Our unique Christ-led, evidence-based approach​ attracted the attention of the We Raise Foundation, a National Christian grant maker, who provided funds to develop and publish the Come Alive! Small Group Program. Written by Angela, the Come Alive! Program was created and optimized over several years with input from experts in nutrition, exercise, psychology, church small group program development, small group facilitation, ecumenical faith and cultural diversity.

Today, churches across a wide variety of Christian denominations have implemented Come Alive! small group programs. Additionally, Come Alive! principles have become an integral component of the Student Health Services Wellness Strategy of a respected Christian college.

​We are humbled and encouraged by the many lives impacted so far. We are excited to walk with God as He reveals the way and amazes us by opening doors and expanding our ministry with each delightful person and beloved faith community.