Our most recent guest on the Everyday Faith podcast is Alissa Brinkman. She is a holistic health practitioner and a mom of four, living out her faith in the frosty state of Minnesota!
Alissa grew up in a home where her dad was agnostic. Being agnostic means that you hold to a view that any ultimate reality (such as God) is to remain unknown and unknowable. Alissa’s father was really wounded by the Church during his upbringing, which influenced him to be agnostic. There were even times when he was angered by the presence of a Bible in their home.
However, Alissa’s mom received Christ, started living in faith, and started praying over her family. Eventually, Alissa’s father came to know the Lord, too! Unfortunately, things weren’t all rainbows and roses in their home. Due to the lack of life change she saw in her father post conversion, Alissa began to interpret Christianity as a label, rather than a group of people who were living out their faith in God.
Adversity & Hope
To make things worse, there was a theme of sexual abuse during Alissa’s most formative years. She experienced this harm from the age of 5 until adolescence. Because of this, a lie around love meaning manipulation began to form in her heart. As Alissa grew up and attended high school, she was also met with intense bullying. Alissa got good at putting on a fake smile as she wrestled with severe depression throughout her high school experience.
In the midst of her trying to stay afloat, her brother was diagnosed with cancer. As her brother was coming off chemotherapy, he felt conviction around finding new friends and a community that wasn’t involved in drugs. He decided the best place to look for a newfound community with his new license on life was at his local Church! While there, he saw a group of people who were living in faith and following God. Because of this, Alissa's brother gave his life to the Lord!
Hoping to surprise her brother and make him smile, Alissa went to church spontaneously one evening. While there, Alissa felt the presence of God and began to weep, raising her hands in worship and praise. After this moment, Alissa was forever changed and drawn to following the ways of Jesus, living in faith each day.
Shortly after giving her life to Jesus, Alissa asked the Holy Spirit, “What in my life needs to change?” The Holy Spirit began to expose the lies she was believing, and He started healing her body, too. Because of the intense encounters she had with God, Alissa was all in — Jesus only, no boys or relationships! But God had different plans. 3 days after telling the Lord she’d be single forever, she met her husband.
Their love story was precious and profound. Alissa’s husband was saved shortly before she was. In his newfound salvation, her husband devoted his drives to work as times of prayer for his future wife. This is one way to grow in living out your faith each day.
He even prayed that God would meet her and bring her salvation. Little did he know his prayers would be answered! Alissa’s salvation was in direct response to her future husband's prayers on her behalf.Learn about living with faith through prayer: 11 Bible Verses Christians Should Know About Prayer
Learning How to Live By Faith
After giving her life to Jesus, sharing faith with others was a little rocky at first. She was so excited, so on fire with passion for God, and so ready to talk, that when Alissa decided to share her faith, it was sometimes an abrasive experience for others. Learning how to live by faith takes time.
Learn more about how to live out your faith with evangelism: How to Cultivate a Lifestyle of Evangelism
Alissa goes to work each day with a resolve to be intentional in her workplace. As a holistic health practitioner, she meets a lot of patients who are weary and have done everything they can to heal. In the midst of this, Alissa utilizes her partnership with the Holy Spirit to minister to them individually. Staying connected to the Holy Spirit in prayer is essential to living out your faith every day..
Before she meets with someone, she’ll ask the Holy Spirit to move through her. She reminds God, “This is your child. This is someone you want to help and someone you want to heal.” This is one of the ways Alissa practices living out her faith.
She always asks her patients first if she can pray for them before she does, and to this day, she can’t remember someone saying, “No” to prayer. One tool that Alissa shared with us on the podcast is the practice of always being quick to ask questions vs. offering your advice. This mindset shift can change everything and cause others to be open about hearing your story.Learn more about living out your faith by showing love to others: 5 Simple Ways to Show God’s Love to Others
Living in Faith through Prayer
A Testimony of the Power of Prayer
One of Alissa’s most significant stories of living in faith was at her work. She was helping a client who had been on a natural healing journey for over 20 years. This patient was very strict on herself, making sure to follow all of Alissa’s instructions without error. This woman was also in her 70s, living alone, and was walking through intense circumstances with her adult children.
Over time, Alissa found that she spent more time praying with this patient rather than consulting her on what to eat or what not to eat. Living in faith through prayer changes everything! The more they prayed, the greater the shift they saw in her health. Pain began to leave her body, the buzzing in her body went away, and she was even sleeping better! Because of Alissa’s living out her faith, God showed off his compassionate love and healing power.
Read more about stories of the fruit of living out your faith in our blog: A Life Transformed, Healed, Saved, and Delivered
Seeing Every Interaction as Living in Faith
Despite the fact that Alissa’s kids love to run around the neighborhood and invite everyone to church, Alissa and her family have always seen their neighborhood as a mission field. Jesus' words show us that living out your faith looks like loving your neighbor!
One story Alissa shared with us was about when a neighbor appeared at her door, unannounced and angry! When coming out of the shower, Alissa heard a knock on her door. When she ran outside, she was surprised to see her neighbor in a very angry state. This neighbor began to share everything she disliked about Alissa’s family, directly with her.
Rather than operating in offense, Alissa began to ask her neighbor questions. Over the course of time, her neighbor started crying and sharing about what she was going through in her own family. Alissa practiced living in faith and shared the Gospel with her, telling her about the great love of God.
Walking through a tough time? Read our blog on how to live out your faith in every season: How to Have Joy & Peace in Difficult Time
Another story of Alissa living in faith was when she shared the love of God as patient and unwavering. For four years, Alissa and her family hung out with a neighborhood couple, prayed for them, and often invited them to Church. After four years of living out their faith, the couple finally came to Church!
However, it wasn’t a walk in the park. The wife was pregnant, and when she entered the Church, she passed out. Nurses helped her, the ambulance was called, and the spiritual warfare was plain to see over Alissa’s neighbor. But thankfully, God had other plans! A few months later, the same couple got enough courage to come back to Church. When they did, both the husband and the wife gave their lives to the Lord. Learn more about God’s redemptive love: It’s Never Too Late: A Real Story of God’s Redemption with Armin Assadi
Practical Tools for Living Out Your Faith
As we finished our interview with Alissa, she shared one simple tip for our listeners on how to live out your faith.
1. Share Your Testimony: Sharing your testimony is one of the easiest ways to live out your faith every day. Even if you think your testimony is boring, it is a story of how God has changed your life. Remember: your story is powerful!
But this will be your opportunity to tell them about me. So don’t worry in advance about how to answer the charges against you, for I will give you the right words and such wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to reply or refute you!
- Luke 21:13-15 NLT
How Can You Live Out Your Faith?
1. Pray: One easy way to live out your faith is to pray for others. Whether you are praying at home or praying with someone in real-time, a life of prayer is a great way to grow in living out your faith!
2. Start Conversations About God: In every conversation, there is a God-intersection. If someone is talking about how they’re feeling afraid, you can share with them that God’s love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) If someone shares that they’re feeling overwhelmed, you can tell them about how God wants to carry their burdens and give them rest. (Psalm 55:4-8) Living out your faith and practicing the skill of how to live by faith is as simple as talking about God.
3. Help the Poor: In the Bible, Jesus told his followers to help the poor. (Luke 12:33-34, Matthew 25:40) How to live by faith can be as simple as helping the poor. By creating packs for the homeless, giving to a family in need, or by serving at a soup kitchen in your city, you can live out your faith by following the commands of Jesus.
Conclusion
Alissa's stories provide powerful examples of how to live out your faith every day —through prayer, compassion, resilience, and intentional relationships. A life rooted in the love and power of God is possible for you! Whether she’s praying for patients or comforting a neighbor, Alissa shows that living with faith isn’t about perfection—it’s about connection with God and placing your trust in His word. Her journey reminds us that we, too, can live out our faith by inviting God into our days and seeing what faith-filled adventures He takes us on!
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