Alicia Lee didn’t leave ministry. She left Wall Street.
After nearly two decades at Goldman Sachs, Alicia was managing a massive trading floor and rubbing shoulders with IPO titans. She loved the fast pace. She was good at it.
And then God pulled the plug. A missed promotion became a divine pivot - and what followed was not a sabbatical, but a startup.
In this episode, we dive deep into Alicia’s unlikely journey from investment banking to launching Faithly, a digital ecosystem for ministry leaders - built not to replace community, but to amplify it.
She opens up about her hustle, her heartbreak, and her unshakeable sense of calling.
If you’ve ever wrestled with identity in a transition, if you’ve ever been tempted to white-knuckle your way to the next thing, or if you’re still unsure what ministry looks like outside the walls of the church - this conversation will hit home.
Alicia’s story isn’t just about leaving a job. It’s about finding your voice when your title disappears.
Key Takeaways:- God uses closed doors as clear signs to redirect us into new assignments.
- Your calling may not change - but your context can. You might already be “in ministry” and not even know it.
- Faithly is filling a gap for pastors and ministry leaders left out of traditional professional networks like LinkedIn.
- Slow growth is still real growth. There’s value in patient building and prioritizing soul care over speed.
- Transitions can tempt us to over-identify with productivity, but our identity is not in what we do - it’s in whose we are.
- 00:00 – From Wall Street to the ministry: Alicia’s surprising career shift
- 03:30 – The promotion that didn’t come - and what God did instead
- 06:45 – The vision behind Faithly: Why ministry leaders need their own platform
- 09:50 – Why LinkedIn doesn’t work for ministry - and what makes Faithly different
- 14:40 – Bringing Wall Street hustle into the startup world
- 17:00 – Juggling a tech startup and raising three kids
- 21:00 – Redefining identity after leaving a high-powered career
- 24:45 – Building slowly: Why Faithly is growing at the speed of trust
- 30:00 – What’s next for Faithly and how ministry leaders can get involved
If you’re a ministry leader in transition, don’t navigate it alone. Visit ministrytransitions.com for guidance, coaching, and care to help you land well.
And if you're ready to connect with others who get it - people who are walking the same road - join the growing network at faithly.co. It’s not just a platform. It’s your new ministry ecosystem.
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