""By having [Johanne] schedule meetings with my team and leadership, I can be fully present during the conversations. That time is blocked for them. In the past, they would just walk in my office and assume I am available and focused on what they are saying. But now, I feel I am winning at life!""
— Brent Hofen, Founder and Lead Pastor
The Challenge
Brent Hofen is the founder and lead pastor of Mission Church in Oregon, a man with an extraordinary calling: to make disciples who make disciples who make disciples, planting churches throughout the Pacific Northwest to help touch hearts and change lives. But with that expansive vision came an equally expansive to-do list.
As the visionary behind a growing multi-site ministry with campuses in Bend, Redmond, Madras, and Portland — plus an online presence — Brent found himself stretched impossibly thin. In addition to leading his congregation, he serves on multiple community boards, manages several inboxes, and coordinates a constant flow of meetings with staff, leadership, and partners.
His days were consumed by administrative demands that left little room for the deep, creative, and relational work that defines effective ministry. Team members would walk into his office unannounced, assuming he was available, fragmenting his focus and limiting his ability to be truly present. Brent needed a way to multiply himself — without sacrificing the quality of his leadership or the depth of his relationships. So he reached out to BELAY.
The Solution
Brent was paired with BELAY Virtual Assistant Johanne, and the impact was immediate. Rather than wading through a flood of messages each morning, Brent now has Johanne manage his inbox, triaging multiple accounts and surfacing only the most critical items for his attention.
"I have [Johanne] go through my inbox, adding hours back to my week. She handles all meeting coordination directly on my calendar. And with involvement in my community and other boards that I serve, I have multiple in boxes to be reviewed – and she triages all things and puts only the critical in front of me."
Johanne also became the keeper of Brent's big-picture thinking. Using Voxer, he captures ideas on the go — and Johanne organizes them into actionable tasks or handles them herself. She also ensures Brent's calendar stays balanced, preventing the Zoom fatigue that can erode a leader's presence and performance.
"[She] also makes sure that I have the right number of meetings in a day so that I am not Zoom-meeting 'fatigued' that I can't give my best."
""When I'm in the car, I use Voxer to download a list of things that are running through my brain. [Johanne] then organizes the tasks on my task list or handles the items that she can. Having this headspace allows me to be present with my family, as well as think creatively on ideas.""
— Brent Hofen, Founder and Lead PastorThe Impact
With Johanne managing the operational and administrative layer of his work, Brent has experienced a profound shift — not just in productivity, but in the quality of his leadership and relationships. He's more present with his family, more creative in his thinking, and more focused in every meeting he takes.
He acknowledges that some pastors worry a VA will make them seem less accessible to staff and leadership. His response is direct: the opposite is true.
"By having [Johanne] schedule meetings with my team and leadership, I can be fully present during the conversations. That time is blocked for them. In the past, they would just walk in my office and assume I am available and focused on what they are saying."
For Brent, a BELAY VA isn't just an administrative convenience — it's a ministry strategy. By multiplying his capacity through a trusted partner, he's freed to multiply his impact across Oregon and beyond.
"If you want to be able to multiply your leadership which in turn multiplies your ministry, you need someone to help you prioritize the many demands of your time!"