how to overcome fear and live faithfully with Multiply founder Madison Stutzman

meet Madison,

founder of Multiply, a worship event in Birmingham, Alabama. we all know that social media can be a mixed bag, but i can’t tell you how much of a blessing it is to follow Madison and see the way God works through her. in awe of her courage, i’ve been wanting to talk to her about her testimony and how Multiply came to be for a while now. no matter what you believe, i hope this conversation reminds you that you are more than your past, your struggles, how people define you (or even how you define yourself), and that pursuit of something bigger than yourself can lead to incredible things.

It seems like you’ve kind of grown up in a family where Jesus was talked about faith was a very present part of your upbringing.

It was. I feel like there’s a lot of different aspects to my testimony. I definitely grew up in the church. It was always a part of my life. I accepted the Lord when I was seven. And it was real. I believe that was when I was saved. Of course, you don’t understand everything at seven, but at that age, I did step into a relationship with the Lord. And then actually, when I was eleven, my parents divorced, which I feel like is not something a ton of people know or can pick up on from just Instagram, you know? My mom was always kind of the leader as far as faith in the household. She’s who really pointed me to Jesus consistently. My biological dad was not super present in my life growing up. I never really thought it was weird though, because it was all I knew. He was there, but kind of always checked out, I guess. And so it was just kind of me and my mom and my sister. And so growing up, yes faith was important, but then going through my parents’ divorce, it got really dark and just a lot of scary things were happening. So that is the time in my life my faith became very real for me. When my parents separated, I guess you could say I was shocked by it just because you know, I grew up in a Christian household, so I was thinking divorce is always wrong. I just never thought it would be a part of  my story. But as a child, it was a shock to me and then as soon as they separated, my dad kinda went off the deep end. There was a time he broke into our house. There were times he’d show up to our house in the middle of the night drunk, throwing rocks at our windows. There was a time I heard him threaten to kill my mom on the phone. Like, just some really, really scary stuff. And going through that as a kid, I was like, “I know this isn’t what a father is supposed to be,” So I kind of got to know Jesus as my dad. He really became like a father figure in my life, and so I think that’s why I got so close to Him at such a young age because He was truly my dad. I knew that He was my protector. He was the constant and so what I didn’t get in an earthly father, I knew I had in my Heavenly Father. I just really clung to that. It was a struggle being so young walking through something so scary because I think that’s when fear was really instilled in me at a young age, and I think even before they separated, there were things that would happen that I didn’t even realize were making me become so fearful. But even to this day, fear has been something that I’ve really had to work through and of course, the Lord’s done an amazing work in my life. He’s pulled me through that, but because of what I went through, it’s been a struggle just having to work through that. Even in middle school, I would have breakdowns because I would think my mom’s dead if she doesn’t respond to my texts – Satan really, really attacked me in that area. But it’s just been so cool to see how the Lord has grown me and pulled me out of that. I got to know Him so intimately because of what I went through and because of that, I would never change it. I would say that’s when my faith became very real to me, and it became my own when I had to fully depend on Jesus because that was really all I had. Like, that was the only thing I knew that was constant in my life and I knew wasn’t going to change, so that’s when I really stepped into my faith. And Jesus, honestly, just became my best friend. I would live it all over again if it would get me to where I am today. 

Thank you so much for sharing that with me. Seeing you and your family on social media, I never would have thought or expected that, because I can feel how much love you all have for each other.  In a way, it’s a testament that God has so much more in store for you than you think when you’re in the middle of what you’re going through.

Absolutely! It’s been so cool to see how the Lord has brought so much restoration in my life, and in my family's life. My mom got remarried to a man who has been such a godly husband and father, and through all that I was able to see what a biblical marriage is supposed to look like. Even in the midst of struggles, if we just seek and trust him He brings us through it and can restore so much.  He truly is a good good Father through it all!

Fear is universal, but God has really spoken to you directly about stepping out in faith. A few years ago, you posted something about the phrase “I will.” It really transformed you and spoke to you, because it’s about how no matter how scared you are, it’s about being obedient and trusting and having faith, but it’s not always easy or comfortable, but it’s worth it.

Absolutely. That year, I had been praying that the Lord would give me a word for the year to focus on. I’d say it was like a vision because it wasn’t really a dream, but I was starting to drift off to sleep, and these words just popped in my head and it said, “I will.” And I knew that that was the Lord telling me, like, “That’s what I want you to cling to this year.” Saying, “God, whatever you ask of me, no matter how scary it is, no matter how inadequate I feel, I will.” The period at the end – no if’s, and’s or but’s about it, like, just being totally sold out in obedience to Him. And that was a big thing for me because in high school, I was so shy. I had a very close relationship with the Lord throughout high school, but I was not quite bold enough to step into some of the things He was calling me to. It wasn’t that I was ashamed of my faith; I was just very shy. I just didn’t like being the center of attention, didn’t like changing things. If I could have been invisible, I would have. When He gave me that word, I knew He was just saying, “Okay, it’s time. I’m ready for you to step out and be obedient.” And I knew when I claimed that word, He was going to call me to things that scared me and that I didn’t want to do. And He did, but through all of that, He grew me. With each yes I gave Him, He knew He could trust me with more. And that’s what He’s done and it’s just been so cool to see how. Even in high school, He called me to start this little Bible study in my car with like five girls. And at the time, I was so scared of that, but now to see where He’s brought me, like looking back, that’s no big deal, but He had to call me to the little things before He could call me to the big things.

Right? It’s interesting because what is little to you or me is big to somebody else, or what is big to somebody else is little to us. Time gives us a weird perception of things. For some people, they would see the Bible study you did before school, which I’m sure was not an hour, two hours long…

Nope, it was literally five minutes.

Yeah, they would be like, “Why do that, then?” But no matter what you’re doing, even if you’re working, you bring God into it and you maximize that time because it’s about planting a seed, not to be cliché, but the thing is that seed will grow.

It does. And it’s funny because with that little Bible study in my car, I had thought the Lord was gonna grow that and it was gonna become this huge, cool thing, and other people would start doing it in their cars, and it never became that. I always wondered, “God, why’d you even call me to that?” Because I was doing it with my closest friends who also loved the Lord. It wasn’t like the Lord really used that to reach the lost, like I had hoped. So I was like, “What was your purpose in that?” But now I get to see His purpose in that wasn’t really about anyone else; it was about growing me and growing my boldness and growing my willingness to say yes. Then I could say yes to the next thing and it wasn’t as scary as the first one was, you know?

Right. And eventually, God called you to start Multiply, and that seems huge compared to the Bible study in your car.

Yes! The Lord laid Multiply on my heart for the first time as a senior in high school. I was actually at the Passion conference in 2017 and He just planted this little idea in my head to start this worship event in Birmingham that wasn’t affiliated to one church, but just like a community thing for young people. At the time, that was literally all that He had given me. I was still in high school, so I was still kind of in that place of like, “Okay, God, that’s not gonna happen. Who are you calling? I have no resources, I can’t do that.” So, I kind of just didn’t do anything with it for a long time. I would think of it every so often, but I was like, “That’s impossible. I can’t just start that out of nothing.” And so it was 2019 and I was at a women’s conference, and the Lord had been bringing it up in my head a lot that year, but I was still like, “I can’t do that. I’m not equipped for that.” I wasn’t ready to fully go all in, but He was bringing it to my mind more than He had in the past. And so at the women’s conference in September, through the whole conference, He just kept speaking things to me about it and I was like, “Okay, God. I feel like you’re trying to tell me it’s time,” and then the speaker at the conference actually –  who I had never met before in my life. There were like 1,200 women there. She called me out of the whole crowd and prophesized over me and she said, basically, “The Lord is calling you to do something, and He’s telling you it’s time to run.”

Wow. 

I was like, “Oh, my gosh.” Obviously I knew exactly what the Lord was telling me to do, and as I was praying through it at the conference, He so clearly said to me, “Madison, it’s time, and this is something that I want to do, and if you say no, I’m still going to do it, but I’m gonna call someone else.” So basically, “Make your choice. Do you want to be a part of this?” And of course, I was like, “God, yes. I will do it.” That’s when I basically full-on started trying to plan it. And I literally had no resources to start an event. I was like, “God, how do you even do this?” I was like, “Okay, I’ll do it in my backyard, and if I have five people, and I have one person playing a guitar and that’s all it is, then that’s all it’ll be, but at least I was obedient.” I knew I had to be obedient to this, even though I had no idea what it would look like. And so I started an Instagram page, I started promoting it, and I literally said, “It’s gonna be in my backyard.” Because before that, when I was actually trying to find a venue, nothing would fall into place. But the second I stepped out in faith and said, “Okay, God, I’m doing this and if this is what it’s gonna be, then that’s fine, but I have to be obedient,” then literally everything fell into place so perfectly. From the venue we ended up using, to the speaker, to all the little details.I feel like I can’t even take credit for planning it because He made it so easy. All He needed was me to step out in faith and He was like, “Okay, I’ll do the rest.” He literally did, and it’s been so amazing to see.

Even seeing what you do from across the country, it feels special. I could totally see it growing even bigger. Because like you said, it’s not about church affiliation. It’s not about labels or limitations; it’s really just about relationships and a relationship with God. 

Absolutely. And the thing with Multiply that He laid on my heart from the very beginning is the word truth. Because in our society right now, and even among certain churches, the truth has become something so relative and watered down and not absolute. And the truth of Jesus is absolute.

I wanted Multiply to be a place where we weren’t afraid to say the truth of the gospel, even when it’s hard to hear, and we weren’t afraid to talk about the hard stuff. That’s my whole mission behind it - finding that fine line between speaking the truth and love. Because it’s so easy to go one way or the other, and my prayer is that Multiply will always be right on that line, because that’s where the Lord calls us to be.  

You bring up a good point that the truth is absolute, because sometimes it can be used subjectively. I’ve been in environments where it felt very much like “me versus you” or “us versus them.” What you guys are doing is for everybody.

Because the gospel is for everybody. And the thing is, He will meet us wherever we’re at, whether we’re as close to Him as we have ever been, or we’re in the darkest place in our life. He meets us there, but the coolest thing about it is He doesn’t want us to stay there. If we’re willing to follow Him, He’s always going to pick us up and then lead us closer to Him and lead us into better things. And I think some churches obviously approach it like, “If you’re in that dark place, He’s not coming to you,” and that’s false. But then some other churches kind of approach it like, “He’s gonna meet you in that dark place and then He’s gonna let you keep living in that sin,” and He doesn’t call us to that. He says, “Go and sin no more.” That’s just what we’re trying to do with Multiply. Everyone’s welcome, but hopefully no one leaves the same. Hopefully everyone allows themselves to be changed by Jesus because He’s the only one that can do that. 

With Multiply, you also speak to younger age groups. You’ve talked about how this will not be the generation of anxiety, and depression, and hopelessness. Because like you’ve said, God will meet you there, but you’re not going to stay there.

Exactly. I just have such a burden because our generation is known for fear and anxiety and depression. They are. I feel like, as young believers in this generation, it’s time that we start getting bold and rising up and being willing to speak the truth, letting the enemy know that he’s not gonna have that hold on us anymore. There’s a group of us who will rise up and will speak the truth to a generation. Through Multiply, I hope this starts a movement. I hope that tone starts to shift and we become a generation known for being bold warriors for Christ, and not those other things the enemy is trying to label us as. 

Right. I think you paint it really clearly. You’ve lived through trials and hard times; it’s not all sunshine and good days. As someone who has walked through the fear and come out on the other side, what would you say to someone who feels so fearful and consumed by what they’re going through?

We, in ourselves and our own power, will always be there. The enemy can keep us there. Jesus is the only one who can pull us out of that. Because I’ve been there, I’ve tried, and my fear literally did go so deep. I had moments where I thought I would just live in fear forever and there are still days where Satan tries to bring that back. But I think it goes back to when the Word says, “Take every thought captive.” We have to do that. We just have to be so willing. Our life is a living sacrifice to the Lord, and, when you live like that, He takes those things that you thought you would have to carry forever… He just takes them away because we’re willing to sacrifice them. Because the thing is, He gives us the power to get rid of them, but we have to be willing. I think sometimes it sounds like, “Well, why wouldn’t you be willing to give up fear?” But it goes back to a control thing. We feel like we’re controlling things. You have to say, “Okay, God, I’m yours.” That control has to go because we can’t be in control if He’s really the Lord of our life. I think letting go of control is when things like fear and insecurity really go. It’s when we’re willing to let Him take over. And there is so much freedom and peace that comes along with that.

I have a lot of respect for you and what you’ve shared about insecurity because sometimes it’s not about getting to the other side. Maybe we’ll always have to deal with insecurity, so there’s value in talking to people while we’re in it and sharing that vulnerability.

Right. I don’t know that there’s ever a moment that we’re like, “Okay, I’ve totally overcome that forever,” you know? Some things we do, but for a lot of things in life, the enemy is going to try to keep bringing that back. And that doesn’t mean we don’t get to a better place, because we will, but the enemy is never gonna stop attacking us. That’s the thing. We have to be on guard. I feel like when your mind’s so set on Jesus, that’s when those things don’t seem as big. There have been times in my life where I’m solely focused on Him, I’m in His word, I’m seeking Him, and those feelings of insecurity… they might come up here and there, but they’re not as strong as they are in the times of my life when I’m more consumed with Instagram and where I’m at in life, and just different worldly things. It really is so interesting - even in my own life - to see how those change based on what I’m seeking. When I'm seeking worldly things, I'm consumed with worldly things. But when I’m seeking God, I become consumed with Him. And that’s when we can come to realize that we truly have overcome all those things, because HE has overcome them within us. 

Absolutely. I think that’s why community and the people you surround yourself with have such a big influence on you.

It’s huge. It really is. I’ve been so blessed recently. I’ve prayed for years for good, solid friends who will point me to Jesus, and I’ve had them throughout my life, but I just feel like recently, the Lord has just overflowed His blessings on me as far as community. I’ve noticed the difference it makes when you have people surrounding you that are willing to speak truth into your life and are willing to say, “No, that’s a lie. That’s the enemy speaking to you,” and calling it out for what it is and holding you accountable. For them to say, “You know, are you seeking Him? Are you feeling this way because you’re seeking other things?” Accountability and community is definitely huge in that.

Yeah, and like you said, they help you to hear God. Sometimes I think people worry so much about whether or not we’re hearing from God, but it doesn’t have to be so tricky. 

It’s just continuing to seek Him. I think sometimes we overcomplicate it a little bit and confuse ourselves. He is always speaking, sometimes we just aren't still and quiet enough to hear him. If you want to hear from God, open His word, then get still and listen. And I think over time, as we’re willing to be obedient and listen to His voice, we get to know His voice more. Now, I know when God is speaking to me. He’ll speak something and it might sound crazy to the world, but I can be confident in this because He’s done it before and I’ve learned His voice. The Word says his sheep will know his voice. And so I think also trusting that if we’ve been seeking Him, that we do know His voice and we can be confident in that.

Of course. When you say that something might sound crazy to the world, I can’t help but think about the time we’re living in right now, because there’s so much noise and brokenness. Everyone sees the brokenness, even if they don’t necessarily believe. The climate right now seems to be like, if you are one thing, then you’re not the other. There’s no room for compromise or meeting someone halfway. Things have been radicalized, but not in the best way.

For sure, and I think that’s the enemy. He’s going to try to twist and water down the gospel, and convince us we don’t need it. So, I think just as believers, it’s so important to just follow the Lord’s calling on our lives, and try to become more like Jesus daily. Of course we’re not perfect and we’re gonna mess up, but living as closely to Jesus as we can because as we’re close to Him, He’s gonna lead us. Those people who are truly living for Him and seeking Him are gonna stand out to the world because it’s gonna be different than what they have perceived a Christian to be, you know? I think just being willing to step out in faith and being willing to do the things that seem crazy – I mean, Multiply seemed crazy. You know, a girl who literally didn’t even talk in high school… all of a sudden, the Lord’s calling her to start this worship event that’s growing and doing great. It’s so clear that it could only be God because everyone who knew me before knows that I could not do that in my power. Like, I couldn’t even make a school presentation without literally feeling like I’m gonna pass out, much less get up at an event and speak. And that’s what’s so cool about it and I think it’s so cool that God chose me to do it because my favorite verse has always been 2 Corinthians 12:9, which says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in your weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weakness [so that Christ’s power may rest on me].” That’s been my life verse because He literally called me to step straight into my weakness so that I could then step straight into His strength and everyone could see that it’s only Him. Everyone knows it could not be me. 

Talking to you, I can’t help but think about how we are the ones who complicate life – and it kind of all starts in our mind. If we just focus on God, even if that means going slowly and taking our time to talk to Him, to make choices that reflect Him, it’s simple and it’s easy. We will always continue to fall short, of course, because we’re human, but if we learn from it and lean on God, it doesn’t have to be so hard or painful. 

Absolutely! I think it goes back to our human nature desiring to be in control. We feel like we have to be the one in control of what happens in our lives, but the truth is we never will be. Life is unpredictable. But as followers of Christ, the freedom is truly found in letting go of control, and knowing that the one who actually is in control of it all loves us and has a plan so much greater than anything we could imagine. All He needs from us is a willing and obedient heart, and He truly does the rest. It is definitely not always easy, but it is simple.

What does a day in your life look like? 

I’m a hairstylist and I love getting to go into work everyday and love and invest in people, all while making them feel beautiful. It really is the best job! After work I try to make it to the gym as much as I can (although that doesn’t always happen lol) and then most of my evenings are spent with my family! I  am super close with my family so I love getting to spend time with them. And then my days I don’t work I try to work on Multiply stuff, and continue planning our next event! I also love to hang out with friends in my free time, because like we talked about earlier, community is so important! I typically wind down my day with my quiet time and spending time with Jesus. I have been trying to journal more so I never forget how faithful he is even in the average day to day!

Speaking of quiet time, I want to get into something that you’ve touched on in the past and something that we all go through - the seasons of life. I think for me, they’ve felt even more vivid this past year. You went through a season of disappointment recently. How did you learn to find peace in it as part of God’s plan for you? Because we’re human; it’s normal and it’s natural to feel disappointed, but we can’t let it discourage us.

I think this past year, so many people were walking through disappointment because of the circumstances, but for me, I had gotten accepted to be an intern at Passion City Church. It had been a couple-month interview process, and I felt super called to it. When I heard I was accepted, I was super excited and honestly overwhelmed that I had gotten picked to be a part of something like that. And so when I heard it was canceled because of COVID, of course I was disappointed and I was kind of confused, like why God even let me go through that if it was just then gonna kinda fall apart because I feel so called to ministry. In my head, this was kinda like a step into that, and so it just felt like, “Well, this is perfect. This is the Lord’s plan. He’s leading me straight into this.” And so with that disappointment, even though I was bummed, I knew that the Lord had a purpose, whatever it was. Me going through that process and getting accepted, I knew that if it didn’t happen, He had something for me this summer in Birmingham that I needed to be here for. Of course I didn’t automatically feel that way, but through praying through it, I trusted Him enough to know His plan is perfect, His plan is sovereign, He is good, and He wants the best for me. He did so much this summer in me. He worked on my heart as far as Multiply. He was blessing me so much and He gave me friendship that I wouldn’t have met if I had been in Atlanta this summer. He showed His faithfulness. He told me right away, “I have you here this summer for a reason.” And then I just got to live that out and watch Him work. And that has happened so many times in my life where things will happen that disappoint me, but then I get to see His faithfulness through it. So this time, even though it was disappointing, I knew that He wasn’t changing. He was gonna show up again and He did and it was really incredible to see. 

He uses everything. One argument that took me too long to figure out is the worldly argument that God would not let suffering or brokenness happen, but like you said, whether it’s super small or super big, God uses it.

He does. He’s always faithful and that is an argument that so many people use but it’s not Biblical. The Bible actually promises us the opposite, and promises us that we will have trouble. And so I think it’s important to remember Jesus warned us about this, but He also promises us Himself, and that is more than we ever deserved and more than we could ever want. Living this life through suffering is going to be worth it for the ultimate reward of getting to be in eternity with Him, and we owe Him everything. We definitely don’t deserve what He gives us and so it’s almost like you have to switch your mindset to be like, “It’s an honor to suffer for Jesus because of the suffering He went through for us.” 

It is. I think sometimes with people who grow up in the church, as they grow up, they start to feel confined. Instead of seeing what we’re given, like you said, they focus on the rules and the limitations. It’s, like you said, a huge perspective shift that being obedient is important and it’s worth it. Having a relationship with God is more than lyrics or verses in social media bios.

I think it’s so important to remember that God is for us. He loves us. He wants the best for us. And so, when He says something is wrong, it’s not to withhold from us. it’s actually to give us life and to give us abundant life. Because the things the world is gonna throw at you as, you know, “This is what you want to do. This is fun, this is good,” if it’s contrary to the Word of God, it’s always gonna lead us into destruction and to pain and to more suffering. The world is just deceiving people, telling them, “This is good and God’s withholding good things from you,” when in reality He’s withholding harmful things because he's a GOOD God. He wants to do immeasurably more in our lives than we could ever ask or imagine.

What is something you would say to someone who has turned away from Christ or someone who has felt ostracized by a church, or as though they’re unwelcome or excluded? 

Get in the Word of God. Because I think so often people who feel like that were hurt by people in a church, and that’s terrible and I hate that, but we have to remember that the church is not Jesus and the church is still broken people. So we have to go back to who Jesus is because none of us are going to live out Jesus’ purpose perfectly, because we’re in a broken world and we’re sinful people. I would encourage them to get to know Jesus for who Jesus is, not just getting to know Him through other sinful people. Get in His word. See who He actually is and the relationship He desires to have with you. And I think that’ll change a lot of people’s perspective when you actually get to know Him for Him, and not through other people. 

You kind of answered my next question, which is what is something everyone should know how to do?

Yeah, I would say, getting in the Word, reading His Word. I think sometimes it can be overwhelming. I would encourage people that if you get in the Word for the first time and you have no idea what it means, don’t stop. There’s still times that I get in the Word and I read a passage and I literally have no idea what it means. But as you continue to be in the Word, the Lord’s gonna reveal to you what He wants to reveal to you. And I think to people who aren’t close with Him, that does sound crazy, but it’s true. Just continue to seek Him, because like the Word says, when we seek Him, we will find Him. Be confident that as we continue to seek Him, He will reveal Himself to us, even if it doesn't come immediately.

Lastly, what does Christianity mean to you?

To me, Christianity is so much more than a religion. It literally is a relationship. Christianity is the fact that we have a savior who was willing to die a brutal death on a cross and be separated from the Heavenly Father for us. For us, who He knew would betray Him. He knew all that we would do and He loved us enough to do that for us, and so to me, it’s just… I owe Him everything. It means living fully sold-out to Him - whatever He asks. And of course, we don’t do that perfectly, but I’ve seen in my life how much more fulfilling life is when I’m living like that. He’s become my best friend and it’s just so worth it to live a life for Him because I am here for Him. We’re all here for Him. We’re His creation. And we’re here to tell the rest of the world about Him. I just think it’s so cool that we get to be a part of the story, you know, that He wants to use us.

Our whole life should be a reflection of Him. 

seven questions with madison stutzman:

I can’t go a day without… coffee. Iced coffee.

Everyone should listen to... the Auburn Community Church’s sermons.  I drive to Auburn every couple weeks just to go to church because it’s so good.

Life is better with a little… adventure.

Everyone in their 20s should… travel. Even if it’s day trips, which I do a lot of.

One thing to do in Birmingham… come to Multiply :)

What the world needs right now is… Jesus.

One way to spread love is… serving others. 

Follow Madison on Instagram here.

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Photo by @diegomezzzz.