Episode 138 · April 2, 2024
Lisa Bain is Supporting People through Hardship
with Lisa Bain, Founder & Director, Lisa Bain Ministries
42 min
Lisa Bain is Supporting People through Hardship
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In this episode
In this episode I sit down with Lisa Bain, director of Lisa Bain Ministries, and we go straight to the raw and vulnerable place: what it feels like to be let go as the founder of a nonprofit you poured yourself into. Lisa first started Joy in the Cause about fifteen years ago alongside her mom, after her mom's stage four cancer diagnosis and Lisa's own diagnosis with inherited autoimmune diseases. When a board wanted to change direction and take the faith out, Lisa couldn't compromise the foundation her mom built — and that heartbreak became the doorway to something new.
I love that instead of staying stuck in the betrayal, Lisa chose to walk through it and come out the other side. Today Lisa Bain Ministries carries the exact same mission — supporting people facing life-altering illness, special needs, and crisis situations — with care, connection, and community at its heart. We talk about the resilience boxes, the therapy dog ambassadors, Treasure Talks, and the way every gift is intentional and covered in prayer.
If you're in a valley right now, this one is for you. Lisa's story is a reminder that the peaks and valleys are part of finding your purpose, that your authentic tribe matters, and that sometimes the hardest chapter becomes the best thing that ever happened to you. Keep going.
Key takeaways
- A board can remove a founder — Lisa was let go from the nonprofit she started, and shares openly how traumatic that was and how she chose forgiveness over bitterness.
- The peaks and valleys aren't detours from your purpose — they're part of how you become the person you're meant to be. As Lisa says, she'd go through it all again.
- Guard your foundation. Lisa's mom told her to never compromise the faith or purpose of the work, and staying true to that shaped every decision.
- Choose your authentic tribe — you want people paddling the boat, not drilling holes. You often discover who they really are through the hard seasons.
- Lisa Bain Ministries sends 'resilience boxes' — 14x14x14 boxes filled with practical, hygiene, and comfort items, a prayer quilt, and a stuffed Mabel dog, each one intentional and covered in prayer.
- It's about relationship, not experience. Being someone's 'slice of normal' during illness or crisis can matter more than the gift itself.
- Community over competition — partnerships with other nonprofits, businesses, and animal therapy groups are the number one reason the ministry can grow and help more people.
- Vision boards work. Lisa put 'be the benefiting charity' on her board for years, and Lisa Bain Ministries became the permanent charity for the Grady Nichols Christmas Show.
“There's treasure in the darkest places.”
“When people are finding their purpose and walking out what they're passionate about, there's going to be these really big peaks and valleys. But without them, you would not be able to reach the person God really wants you to be.”
“Some people feel the rain, others just want to get wet.”
“You want people in the boat paddling, not drilling holes.”
“It's about completing, not competing with each other.”
“Love wins. Love always. Forgive often.”
Resources mentioned
About Lisa
Founder & Director, Lisa Bain Ministries
Lisa Bain is the founder and director of Lisa Bain Ministries, a nonprofit supporting people facing life-altering illness, special needs, and crisis situations through care, connection, and community. With nearly 25 years in the nonprofit world, Lisa is an author, a champion for spreading joy and kindness, and the person behind the ministry's therapy dog ambassadors and 'resilience boxes.' Her work grew out of her family's own journey through cancer and hardship.
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