Our Story

Welcome! This is a place to take a deep breath, kick up your feet, and come as you are. We’ve got a big ol’ table with plenty of comfy chairs. This one is saved just for you.

Let us tell you the story of (in)courage.

Founded in 2009 by DaySpring, the Christian products subsidiary of Hallmark Cards, Inc., (in)courage is a vibrant online community that reaches thousands of women every day.

Since then, (in)courage has grown into a vibrant community that reaches thousands of women every day, offering stories of what Jesus looks like in their everyday, gloriously ordinary, often messy lives. Our name represents DaySpring’s goal of bringing women into deeper community with Christ and with one another. The (in) means that we are in Christ, connected, and in community with each other. From all of this comes true courage.

We feel called to be real, authentic, brave women for the kingdom and want to connect with others who do as well. We have more than twenty-five amazing women who bravely share their stories and a behind-the-scenes team that you’ll love getting to know here too.

At its core, (in)courage is a friend that comes alongside you. We aren’t offering quick fixes for your struggles, but rather, a community that clings to the hope of Jesus and life-giving tools to equip you right in the midst of the chaos. Through the power of shared stories and meaningful resources, (in)courage celebrates the strength Jesus gives to live out our calling as God’s daughters. Together we build community, celebrate diversity, and become women of courage.

(in)courage History

2008: While working at DaySpring, Holley Gerth and Stephanie Bryant dream of an online home for the hearts of women.

2009: Holley and Stephanie introduce (in)courage for the first time at the She Speaks conference. First contributors are invited to write for (in)courage. The first post goes up in August.

2010: Guest posts are featured at incourage.me.

2013: (in)Mercy is launched, and the (in)courage community raises $100,000 in 5 months.

2014: (in)courage products and resources are launched at DaySpring.com.

2014: Nine new contributors are added.

2015: Partnership with LifeWay and B&H Publishing begins.

2018: Ten new contributors are added.

From 2010 to 2017, Lisa-Jo Baker served (in)courage as the community manager. Lisa-Jo’s creativity and passion for connecting women helped grow this community and shaped the landscape of (in)courage for seven beautiful years.

In January 2018, Lisa-Jo handed the baton to Becky Keife. Previously the editorial coordinator, Becky is thrilled to serve (in)courage in this capacity and help lead the community into a new season of growing deeper with Jesus and one another as we link arms as sisters in Christ.

Over the years (in)courage has hosted:

(in) Real Life Online Conference and Meetups: 2012 – 2014, 2017
Derived from the social media acronym “IRL” or “in real life,” (in)RL was one of the first virtual conferences of its kind, combining online learning with real life meet-ups. Instead of asking women to travel to us, we brought all the content to them through webcast videos and local meet-ups. In 2017 we hosted (in) real life: FRIENDED in partnership with LifeWay Women. (in) real life FRIENDED was held live in Nashville and simulcast around the world.

Online Community Groups: 2012 – 2014
We believe friendship can transcend time zones, cultures and blog comment boxes – and out of that the vision for (in)couragers community groups was born. For two years, thousands of women came together with like-hearted sisters-in-Christin online communities, where they were encouraged, heard, and supported by new friends around the world.

Book Clubs: 2011 – present
We firmly believe that a good book and a good friend are two of God’s greatest blessings. You can access our past book studies, find more recent book clubs (read along at your own pace), and our recommended reads titles.

Partnership with LifeWay / B&H Publishing: 2015 – 2020
We partnered with B&H to write and produce books, devotionals, Bibles, events, and gifts that will help you live as women of courage. Find all these titles in the (in)courage library, which include:

(in)courage is a place where you’re always welcome, just the way you are. At (in)courage, our heart is for you to always find yourself in the stories shared by women in all ages and stages of life, living in different areas of the world, who all love Jesus. We celebrate unique voices and experiences at (in)courage: married, single, working full-time in or out of the home, stay-at-home moms, empty nesters, young adults, city dwellers, rural farm gals, and everyone in between.

Meet our monthly contributors. These are the women who write regularly for (in)courage. Every day they take turns pulling up a chair to share their stories of what Jesus looks like in their every day, gloriously ordinary, and often messy lives. You can also meet our behind-the-scenes team here.

Along with our current writers, we deeply value our past contributors. These women, the ones who helped shape this place and spoke to our souls, remain dear to our hearts. You can continue connecting with (in)courage alumni, as we like to call them, by enjoying their past (in)courage posts and visiting their websites:

We’d love to hear from you too! Submit a guest post and share your story with us.

You can also connect with us in our other online spaces:

Together, let’s be women of courage.