Draw nearer to God.
Become more like Jesus. Grow in freedom to live and love his way.
Spiritual direction, coaching, retreats, and formation for Christians who want a deeper life with God and greater freedom to follow Jesus in everyday life.
You love God. You want to follow Jesus.
And still, the way you want to live
is not always the way you show up.
You may know what love, grace, forgiveness, trust, and surrender look like—and still find yourself anxious, reactive, discouraged, or exhausted when life gets hard.
You may have prayed, studied Scripture, served faithfully, and practiced many of the things Christians are encouraged to do, while quietly wondering why you still get stuck in some of the same places.
You may love your church and still long for people who want to talk honestly about deeper life with God and becoming more like Jesus.
There may be more happening beneath the surface than trying harder—or knowing more—can reach.
A gentle first conversation to discern what kind of support would serve you best.
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"My head knows that God loves me, but in real life, my heart struggles to know it. I still find myself striving, worrying, or reacting in ways that do not reflect that truth.”
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“I hold space for others, but I need a quiet place where my own soul can be held.”
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“I believe God is near, but in the places where I feel unseen, fearful, restless, or alone, God does not feel near at all.”
A core shift in formation
Trying harder is not the same as being transformed
Many faithful Christians have been taught what to believe and what to do, but not always how transformation actually takes root in our bodies, stories, relationships, and life with God.
Part of the problem is that Christian formation is often fragmented. Our life with God, our inner world, and our relationships with others can be treated as separate concerns, even though all three are involved in becoming mature followers of Jesus.
We can know God loves us and still struggle to feel loved.
We can teach peace and still live from anxiety.
We can serve others and still feel alone.
We can pray, lead, and work faithfully while hidden patterns of fear, striving, control, withdrawal, or over-responsibility shape our responses.
Inside-out formation begins here: not with shame, but with honest attention to the places where God is already present and at work.
The ache is not proof that God is absent.
It may be the place where God is meeting you.
Formation from the inside out
God himself is the goal of the Christian life. We draw near to him, abide in Christ, and follow Jesus with our whole lives. As we do, the Spirit forms us—gradually shaping the way we see, respond, relate, and love.
Inside Out Ministries pays attention to three interwoven parts of that life:
OUR CORE FOUNDATION FORMATION:
We are formed in love, through relationship, by the Spirit, into the likeness of Christ.
1. Life With God
Drawing near to God, abiding in Christ, and learning to bring your real life—joy, fear, questions, grief, desire, and ordinary experience—honestly into relationship with him.
2. Inner Knowledge
Noticing what is happening within you—your emotions, bodily reactions, fears, longings, motivations, and familiar patterns—so that more of your actual life can be brought into God’s love.
3. Life Together
Growing alongside others who help you tell the truth, receive love, practice repair, discern God’s movement, and learn the way of Jesus together.
These strands belong together.
As the Spirit forms us through this whole life with God and others, the way we want to follow Jesus can become increasingly the way we actually live.
What kind of support would help you right now?
Inside-out formation happens in different kinds of spaces: quiet listening, reflective conversation, cohort learning, retreat, embodied practice, and wise companionship over time.
Spiritual Direction
SACRED SPACE
A listening space for your life with God.
Offers a gentle, prayerful space to notice God’s presence and invitation in the real terrain of your life — including longing, dryness, discernment, grief, transition, desire, and ordinary faithfulness.
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Best For: This may be for you if you are longing to listen more deeply, pray more honestly, or become more attentive to how God is already present and at work.
Coaching
REFLECTIVE ACTION
A reflective space for faithful action and integrated leadership.
Helps Christians notice recurring patterns, discern next steps, and grow in freedom to respond more thoughtfully and faithfully in the places where they tend to feel stuck.
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Best For: This may be for you if you are navigating transition, carrying too much alone, discerning your vocation, growing a ministry or body of work, or seeking to respond rather than react under pressure.
Wellspring Cohort
FORMATIONAL JOURNEY
A formational journey for renewal, resilience, and secure life in Christ.
A cohort-based experience for ministry leaders who need more than information. Offers guided teaching, reflective practice, embodied rhythms, and sacred companionship.
Cohorts integrate: Spiritual formation, attachment, interpersonal neurobiology, and personality patterns.
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Best for: This may be for you if you are weary, stretched thin, spiritually dry, or ready for a slower, deeper, more integrated way of being formed with others.
Retreats & Workshops
EMBODIED GATHERINGS
Spacious, embodied formation for groups and communities.
Retreats and workshops create room for churches, teams, cohorts, and communities to slow down, listen, reflect, and practice a more integrated life with God.
Topics may include spiritual formation, discernment, burnout and renewal, attachment and God-image, the Neuro-Based Enneagram, resilient leadership, emotional integration, and life-giving rhythms.
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Best for: This may be for your group if you need a guided space for renewal, deeper connection, or formation that moves beyond information into lived experience.
Not sure where to begin?
You do not need to know which pathway fits before reaching out.
A discernment call is a simple first conversation to notice where you are, what you are carrying, and what kind of support may serve you best in this season.
Meet Deborah Owen
Deborah C. Owen, DLd, is a spiritual director, coach, leadership scholar-practitioner, cohort facilitator, and founder of Inside Out Ministries.
She helps Christians draw nearer to God and become more aware of what shapes the way they respond, relate, and live. Her work brings Christian spiritual formation into conversation with attachment, interpersonal neurobiology, the Neuro-Based Enneagram, Ignatian spirituality, and relational approaches to growth.
“My hope is to create spaces where people can stop striving, draw near to God honestly, and become increasingly free to live and love in the way of Jesus.”
Deborah created and facilitates Wellspring for Renewal and Transformation in Ministry, a neuroscience-informed spiritual formation model for ministry leaders. Her doctoral research focused on burnout, resilience, attachment, embodied practice, and spiritual formation for Christian leaders.
Before founding Inside Out Ministries, Deborah spent more than thirty years in congregational leadership, adult education, retreat facilitation, music ministry, and formation-focused teaching. Her work is shaped by deep listening, theological reflection, contemplative practice, and a heartfelt desire to help people become more fully alive in the love of God.
This is not about doing more for God or using spiritual practices to
become a better version of yourself.
It is about drawing near to God, abiding in Christ, and allowing the Spirit to form more of your actual life in his love.
What others have experienced:
“Deb is one of the most authentic, approachable, and powerful coaches I have met. I am most moved by her effortless ability to create a safe, loving space and connection. The openness and kindness she offers enabled me to feel safe and heard, and she has had a profound effect on my life and my approach as a coach.”
— Michelle Anne, CEO, system2
Let's begin with a simple conversation.
You do not need to know exactly what kind of support you need before reaching out.
A discernment call is a gentle first conversation to notice where you are, what you are carrying, and what God may be inviting you to tend in this season.
Together, we can listen for whether spiritual direction, coaching, a cohort, a retreat, or another formational pathway would serve you best.
Come as you are. We will listen together for the next faithful step
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