Bobby Gruenewald joined the Life.Church staff in 2001, and along with Senior Pastor Craig Groeschel, he helped launch MySecret.tv in 2006, an online forum that allows users to anonymously confess secrets. Bobby is passionate about exploring new ideas and finding practical ways to leverage them for the global Church. He has helped pioneer the missional use of technology that allows Life.Church to reach people all over the world, and oversees the YouVersion, Open Network, Church Online, Information Technology, Creative Media, Spaces & Places, and Communications teams. Bobby and his wife, Melissa, live in Edmond, Oklahoma with their four children.

Today on the podcast Bobby discusses the entrepreneurial lessons that God showed him in his teenage years and how they shaped later forays into the world of business. He shares how his money mindset changed when he sold his tech companies and why he made a conscious decision to embrace the abundance mindset. Bobby also explores why we shouldn't be afraid to take risks and be willing to fail sometimes, and how we can reframe obstacles as opportunities to fine-tune our knowledge.

"We invest in people more than we do ideas." - Bobby Gruenewald

"My passion for the church just eclipsed my passion for entrepreneurial things business. It wasn't that one got smaller, it was just one got really big." - Bobby Gruenewald

"Sometimes we take these risks and fail, and it's one of the hardest things to do, but you've got to be able to quit." - Bobby Gruenewald

This Week on The Wow Factor:

• The radical transformation that Bobby made in his life just before he started high school
• What Bobby learned about leadership through traveling with the Christian rap band he formed
• The opportunity that God showed him that changed the path he had planned out for his life
• How Bobby got involved with Life.Church as a volunteer then went all-in despite initial misgivings about whether it was right for him
• How Bobby discovered that he could apply his knowledge of technology to ministry, and began to generate ideas on how they could reach people not just in church locally but globally
• How Bobby came up with the idea for YouVersion and some of the unexpected problems that the concept had along the way
• How God has made His voice heard in Bobby's life

Bobby Gruenewald's Words of Wisdom:

If you surrender all parts of your life to God then don't be surprised when God uses all of your experiences for His purpose, not just the things that you're proud of, but the regrets too.

Connect with Life.Church:

• Church Website
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• Church on YouTube

Connect with The WOW Factor:

• I Like Giving: The Transforming Power of a Generous Life by Brad Formsma
• Words of Wisdom Website
• Brad Formsma on LinkedIn
• Brad Formsma on Instagram
• Brad Formsma on Facebook
• Brad Formsma on Twitter