There are countless books about becoming a better leader. They teach strategy, influence, communication, and vision. But there's a deeper question worth exploring:

How do we continue walking with God while carrying the responsibility of leading others?

That's the heartbeat behind Leading With God, a collaborative anthology bringing together more than twenty believers sharing real-life stories of leading alongside God. From ministry and business to family, creativity, and personal challenges, these stories reveal how God shapes ordinary people into faithful leaders.

Now, we're inviting you to join the mission!

This is a reader-supported publishing mission, made possible by people who believe these stories deserve to be shared. By becoming a supporter, you're helping bring this book into the world and encouraging others to lead with greater wisdom, humility, courage, and dependence on God.

Together, we can help more people discover what it means to lead with God.

Why This Matters:

Leadership has a way of revealing what's happening beneath the surface. It exposes our fears, our pride, our insecurities, and our need for God. The greatest lessons are often learned through uncertainty, difficult decisions, failure, and quiet acts of obedience.

Leading With God isn't a collection of leadership techniques. It's a collection of real stories from people who discovered that the most important part of leadership is learning to faithfully follow God.

Inside these pages, you'll find stories about:

Leading through uncertainty
Learning humility in positions of influence
Leading with integrity when no one is watching
Serving others instead of striving for recognition
Learning to walk with God instead of leading alone

Each chapter offers a different perspective, but together they tell one story: God faithfully forms leaders through everyday moments of faithfulness.

Who this is for:

This book was written for anyone who desires to lead with wisdom, humility, and faith. Whether you lead a business, ministry, classroom, nonprofit, creative project, team, or family, these stories will remind you that leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about learning to trust God one step at a time.

Perhaps you're navigating uncertainty. Maybe you're rebuilding after failure. Or maybe you simply want to become the kind of person whose private character reflects their public influence.

Leading With God is an invitation to grow as a leader by first growing as a follower of Christ.

Our Team:

This Anthology is being carried by a team that blends experience, care, and follow-through.

Jesse Rivas, founder of Above The Sun, serves as an author mentor, developmental editor, and publishing coach. He’s helped guide hundreds of authors from early ideas all the way to finished books, and brings both structure and steady leadership to the project.

Sally Webb, founder of Inspiring Perspectives, is both a coach and a relationship expert. She brings a pastoral heart to the process, helping create a space where stories are not just written, but truly supported and shepherded with care.

And then there’s the contributors themselves:
Alan E., Amber E., Andi S., Barbara G., Christine N., Debbie W., Heidi V., Jesse R., Jordie J., Kitty C., Kristin G., Kylie D., Linda H., Linda H., Maxine T., Rachel C., Sarah B., Sally W., Sue B., Tina M.

These contributors share real moments where God shaped them through responsibility, challenge, surrender, relationships, and faithful obedience. Together, their stories offer encouragement for anyone seeking to faithfully lead wherever God has placed them.

Supporter Blessings & Thank You Gifts:

As a way of thanking you for joining this mission, our contributors have generously come together to shower our supporters with special gifts, experiences, and resources. It's our way of blessing you as you help us bring these stories into the world!

Every gift makes a difference! Whether you give a little or a lot, you're joining a community of people who believe these stories of faith, leadership, and walking with God deserve to be shared with the world.

For support of any amount, you'll receive:

Thank-you recognition on social media
Exclusive behind-the-scenes newsletter updates, including early glimpses of chapters, cover reveals, and special milestones as the books come to life

Digital Supporter ($10+)
Help bring these stories of faith, leadership, and walking with God into the world while building a growing digital library of encouragement and inspiration. For support of $10 or more, you'll receive everything above, plus:

Lifetime digital copies of both current and all future Leading With God anthology volumes published by Above The Sun

Paperback Supporter ($30+)
Receive both volumes of Leading With God to read, treasure, and share, knowing you helped make these stories possible. For support of $30 or more, you'll receive everything above, plus:

Physical paperback copies of both Leading With God volumes
Your name listed in the acknowledgments of the printed books

If you're unable to pick up your books from one of our contributors, please consider adding $5 or more to help cover shipping.

Superfan Bundle ($50+)
Go deeper into the stories, connect with the people behind them, and enjoy additional resources created to encourage and equip you in your own walk with God.

For support of $50 or more, you'll receive everything above, plus:

12 monthly online book club gatherings featuring 1–2 contributors discussing themes from their chapters, with live Q&A
Contributor Digital Bundle featuring curated bonus resources from participating authors. See more details.
Additional thank-you gifts unlocked through campaign stretch goals if we exceed our goal

Insiders Circle ($150+)
Go behind the scenes and become part of the creative journey! As an Insider, you'll have opportunities to help shape the books, connect personally with contributors, and enjoy exclusive experiences that extend far beyond this anthology. You'll also become part of the growing Above The Sun community, with special access to future projects and gatherings.

For support of $150 or more, you'll receive everything above, plus:

Premium Contributor Experiences: Exclusive workshops, teachings, and special resources from participating contributors. See more details.
Help Shape the Books: Vote on cover designs and receive early digital Advance Review Copies (ARCs) with the opportunity to provide feedback
Lifetime Insider Access: Enjoy exclusive Zoom gatherings with participating contributors, access to the Above The Sun Insider Community, behind-the-scenes previews and early opportunities for all future Above The Sun anthologies and projects, plus a special yearly Insider gathering with the Above The Sun team.
Personalized Thank-You: A personal message of appreciation from participating contributors

Vision Partner ($500+)
Support the mission in a deeper way while receiving meaningful personal encouragement, mentorship, and experiences from our contributors. This level is an invitation to invest in the stories we're releasing while also investing in your own journey of faith, growth, and leadership. For support of $500 or more, you'll receive everything above, plus:

Five or more individual Zoom sessions with offerings from up to 12 contributing authors, including Alignment Coaching, Author/Business Coaching, Hearing From God, Inner Healing, Goal Setting, Food & Cooking Consultation, and more based on availability. See more details

Angel Investor ($2,000+)
Partner at a leadership level to help expand the long-term vision of Leading With God and future Above The Sun projects. Your generosity helps us reach more readers, encourage more leaders, and release more stories that carry hope, wisdom, and the transforming presence of God. At this level, you will receive everything above, plus:

One year of Brilliant Life Adventures with God, Sally, and Kerri. (Valued at $1697)
Three-day hospitality stay at Castlehill, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (Valued at $697) (Transportation not included)
Recognition as a major project partner.

Legacy Partner ($5,000+)

Be out of this world generous! In addition to our huge thanks and everything above, at this level you will receive:

Run with us weekly for a year with the One-year Leaders in Life Mastermind.
One-week hospitality stay at Castlehill, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand (Valued at $697) (Transportation not included)

Project Timeline & Funding Goals

Leading With God is a collaborative anthology focused on helping stories of faith-filled leadership reach readers through professional editing, publishing, mentorship, and launch support. Below is an overview of our current funding goals as we move toward publication.

Stage 1 | Professional Editing & Production (OCT-NOV)

This first stage helps professionally edit and prepare the anthology for publication. During this phase, our editors, mentors, and publishing professionals have graciously agreed to work at reduced and sliding-scale rates to help make this project possible.

This stage includes developmental editing, line editing, proofreading, and early publishing preparation.

Stage 2 | Publishing & Development (DEC-JAN)

This stage moves the anthology through the professional publishing process while supporting the editors, coaches, and publishing professionals who have invested throughout this year-long journey.

This stage includes cover design, formatting, ISBN registration, distribution setup, revisions, contributor support, fulfillment preparation, and publishing platform costs.

Stage 3: Marketing & Fulfillment (FEB-MAR)

This stage helps us print books, fulfill supporter rewards, and place copies directly into the hands of contributors for outreach, events, giveaways, and personal ministry as we prepare for launch.

This stage includes final proofing, printing, author copies, supporter fulfillment, shipping preparation, outreach resources, and production-related expenses.

April and Beyond | Expanded Reach & Ongoing Impact

Support beyond our initial funding goal allows us to place more books into the hands of readers, expand marketing efforts, create additional promotional resources, and help these stories reach even more people around the world.

Supporters at the Superfan Bundle ($47+) level and above may also receive surprise bonus gifts throughout the campaign and launch season, including additional books, digital resources, contributor sessions, and other special offerings. More information about stretch goals and bonus gifts will be announced as the project develops.

Risks and challenges

Publishing always includes variables such as editing timelines, production schedules, and printing logistics. We've built realistic buffers into our schedule and will communicate openly if adjustments become necessary.

Our priority is to steward these stories with excellence while delivering a high-quality anthology to every supporter. We'll keep backers informed throughout every stage of the journey.

Refunds and cancellations

Because Givebutter contributions are processed immediately at the time of support, anyone wishing to request a cancellation or refund should contact us directly at team@abovethesun.org.

Refund requests made shortly after a contribution may be eligible for a full or partial refund depending on processing status and whether fulfillment or digital delivery has already begun. Please note that portions of each contribution are used for payment processing, platform, and transaction fees that may not always be recoverable. As a result, some refunds may be issued as partial refunds.

Digital products, downloadable resources, memberships, and fulfilled physical items may not be eligible for refund once they have been delivered or accessed.

If you experience any issues regarding your contribution, please reach out. We'll do our best to work with you fairly and compassionately.

Other Ways to Support

If you're unable to contribute financially, you can still play an important part in helping this project succeed.

Pray

Pray for the contributors as they continue refining their chapters and preparing for launch.
Pray for wisdom throughout the editing, publishing, and production process.
Pray that every story reaches the readers God intends and encourages leaders to walk more closely with Him.

Share

Share this campaign with your friends, family, church, or community using #LeadingWithGodAnthology.
Or personally send the campaign to someone you believe would be encouraged by these stories.

Join Our Next Anthology

The support from this campaign helps Above The Sun continue releasing collaborative anthologies that inspire, encourage, and equip readers through authentic stories of faith.
If you or someone you know would like to be part of a future anthology, we'd love to have you join us on the journey. Visit: https://abovethesun.org/collaborativebook/

Leading With God Anthology

Stories of Faith, Leadership, and Walking with God.

Authors