We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jody McPhearson. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jody below.
Alright, Jody thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?
The Belong Mission was born from what I wish I had growing up, and what I desperately want for my sons today.
I was raised around church but didn’t truly know Jesus. I learned to perform faith before I ever understood how to live it. And for years, I carried that tension of feeling like I had to be something or someone to belong. To be honest, there are days when I still do.
That’s why a community like this is so vitally important for young people.
The Belong Mission is powered by the B³ Model™, (Belong Believe Begin), a discipleship pathway I created, when I was a young youth pastor. It is for young people who are searching for identity, craving purpose, and trying to figure out if God even sees them.
This is for the young person who sits in church wondering if they’ll ever be enough.
This is for the athlete who feels more pressure than peace.
This is for my sons, and every young person like them, who need to know:
You belong before you behave.
You can believe even if you’ve been hurt.
And you can begin to live like Jesus.
This mission matters because it’s not about building a brand or a church, it’s about building bold believers who are ready to change the world.
That’s why I wrote You Belong Here.
That’s why we are launching Witness Wear.
And that’s why I won’t stop until every young person knows they belong in the Kingdom.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
About Me, My Work, and What Sets It Apart
I’m Jody McPhearson, a speaker, author, and youth advocate with over 30 years of experience in leadership development, faith-based mentoring, and building inclusive, purpose-driven communities. At the heart of it all is one simple but powerful belief: You can belong before you believe. Belonging is one of the simplest and most powerful acts of grace we can give to one another. It’s a gift that opens the door for someone to believe and, in time, begin to live like Jesus.
I’m the founder of The Belong Mission — Powered by B³, a discipleship movement rooted in my signature framework: Belong Believe Begin Model™ (B³). It’s a pathway I developed during my time as a youth pastor, working with students navigating trauma, poverty, fatherlessness, identity confusion, and spiritual apathy. I realized most programs focused on behavior before belonging, and skill-building before soul-work. They wanted you to assimilate before you were accepted. I flipped that model, like Jesus flipping table in the temple.
I believe what I offer is more than services, it’s space. Safe space for young people to belong, to explore, to discover, to try and fail, to be supported, to believe—and ultimately, to begin. It’s not about pushing perfection. It’s about creating the kind of community where faith can grow in the soil of grace. Like a garden, it takes time, light, truth, and care. I often say:
“A gardener can plant a flower, but he can’t tell it where to grow.”
My job isn’t to control the outcome. It’s to tend the soil, make space, and trust God with the growth. That’s what we’re building;…Holy ground for transformation.
Here’s how The Belong Mission shows up:
BOOK
You Belong Here is my forthcoming book that introduces the B³ Model as a discipleship roadmap. It’s written especially young people grappling with faith and identity. (Even old people like me would benefit from it!) A book about the life-changing power of God’s unconditional love. A love that doesn’t just change you, but empowers you to change the world, one relationship at a time.
👕 APPAREL (Witness Wear)
Our Witness Wear apparel is designed to help young people “preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” Every piece is a conversation starter—an opportunity to live out the Great Commission found in Matthew 28:19–20. From the B³ wrist logo, (a reminder of the sacrifice Jesus made for us), to the witness cards tucked in every hoodie, our apparel is more than merch, it’s ministry. The message is simple: “I Belong, I Believe, I am ready to Begin to live like Jesus.”
DISCIPLESHIP & LEADERSHIP INITIATIVES
Through The Belong Mission and our broader leadership training under The B³ LeaderShift™ Co., I work with schools, churches, and communities to create real, scalable pathways for young people to become leaders. I run school-based cohorts, youth retreats, and leadership programs rooted in the B³ Model. We help young people, and the adults who lead them, activate identity, purpose, and faith through real-world leadership and Christ-centered growth.
What problems do I solve?
• Spiritual disconnection: We show young people that they don’t have to wait to be “worthy” to follow Jesus.
• Cultural confusion: We give students a framework for identity and truth that holds up in real life.
• Discipleship gaps: We equip leaders, parents, and mentors with practical tools to make disciples, not just churchgoers.
What sets me apart?
I have no desire to be famous, I just want to be known. Known by God. Known by the young people I serve.
My work is grounded in my own story, guided by the Word of God, and fueled by a mission to exhort bold believers who know who they are—and whose they are.
I’m not building a platform. I’m building up God’s people.
What I’m most proud of: It’s not a title or a stage, it’s moments.
Moments when a student who once felt invisible says, “I finally feel like I belong.” Moments when my sons start to walk in the identity I’ve spent my life trying to model. Moments when a young person reads the witness card in their hoodie and realizes the gospel is for them. Moments when someone says, “You created a holy space here, and I don’t want to leave.”
Because in that moment, I know that the presence of God is showing up in the work. and that’s the only thing that matters.
I’m proud that I’ve stayed faithful to the call, even when it cost me.
I’m proud that the B³ Model™ has helped thousands of young people find identity, hope, and a place in God’s Kingdom. And I’m proud that everything I create, from books, to apparel, to programs, is pointing back to Jesus.
If you remember one thing about my work, remember this:
I want people to know that I didn’t create the Belong Believe Begin Model™ (B³) to impress anyone. I wasn’t looking for praise or applause. built it because I believe young people deserve better. They deserve truth, grace, structure, and space to grow into who God called them to be. I want them to know that they matter. That their story isn’t too messy for God. And that following Jesus isn’t about being perfect, it’s about being in his presence. My goal is to remain faithful to my calling to make disciples, build bold believers, and raise up a generation who knows they belong to God—and live like it. That’s The Belong Mission. And I’m all in!
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
That I needed someone else’s permission to follow God’s call on my life.
I remember approaching a pastor I respected, excited, passionate and ready to serve. I told him what I felt called to do. And he looked me dead in the eye and said, “I think I need to watch you for a while first.”
I don’t believe I’ve ever fully healed from that wound. It made me feel like I had to prove I was called. Like I had to earn what God had already confirmed. And over time, that seed of doubt didn’t just sit in one area of my life, it spread. Remember what I said about the gardener? Well, as it turns out, you can’t tell doubt where to grow either.
That need for approval became an infectious disease. I found myself waiting for permission in rooms where God had already said, “Move.” I second-guessed my ideas, my calling, even my voice. I thought I couldn’t begin until someone else said I was ready.
But the truth is, waiting for validation leads to paralysis. And God never called us to stay stuck. He called for us to go. To speak. To build. To begin.
I had to unlearn the lie that belonging comes from man. It doesn’t. It comes from God.
That’s why I created The Belong Mission, so young people don’t have to spend years waiting for someone else to say “You’re enough”, “You Belong Here”.
Because they’re growing up in a world that’s shouting at them. Whether it’s through social media, music, books, movies, or clothing, the world is attempting to tell them who they are, what they’re worth, and who they’re supposed to be.
If they can learn the truth now, that they already belong, they can believe, and they’re ready to begin, how much more could they accomplish?
How much more confident, secure, and impactful could they be if we stopped making them wait for permission to walk in their God given identity?
Because if they know now that they belong, believe, and are ready to begin…
They could change the world. Heal what’s broken in all of us.
And maybe, just maybe, create a future that gives us hope.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
Before the pandemic, I was pastoring and leading an outreach ministry with my family, serving those experiencing homelessness, leading school programs, and discipling young people from every walk of life.
I was living in my values of faith, family, and community. It wasn’t easy, but it was fruitful.
Then the pandemic hit. And it became very hard to build community when the community couldn’t gather.
Over time, as you probably recall, everything changed. I was forced to stop leading groups. Everyone stopped going to church in person. I took odd jobs to help pay the bills. And when they finally said it was “over,” nothing returned to how it once was.
I accepted it. Called it the new normal. Told myself the season had passed.
But my sons are getting older now. They’re approaching high school.
And I can see clearly how much the world is trying to shape them, speak to them, and steal their identity.
I know that I am running out of time. I can’t sit back and let the world disciple my sons. I can’t stay silent when I’ve seen too much, lived too much, and walked with too many lost young people to pretend I don’t know what’s at stake.
So here I am picking the mantle back up. And this time it’s personal.
I want better for my sons. I want better for your sons and daughters too.
Resilience, for me, looks like refusing to let comfort, or disappointment, write the final chapter. It means showing up again. Not because I feel ready, but because I realized the next generation can’t wait.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.jodyspeakslife.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jodyspeakslife/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jodymcphearson/
