"It created less stress in my life, and, in all honesty, that's probably more valuable than what I pay for BELAY at the end of the day. [We're] spending a couple hundred bucks a week to be able to create space and margin. It frees me up to do other stuff that I need to be doing as opposed to being bogged down with the details of everything else."
— Nick Newman, Lead Pastor & Founder
The Challenge
Nick Newman wears many hats — lead pastor of Propel Church in Mount Pleasant, North Carolina, and founder of Selah Leaders, a nonprofit dedicated to helping pastors embrace rest and sustain longevity in ministry. With two growing organizations demanding his attention, Nick's inbox and calendar had become unmanageable, and things were regularly slipping through the cracks.
Nick had attempted to solve the problem internally by bringing in a volunteer to handle emails and scheduling, but the experiment never gained traction.
"They would do my emails for a little while, but then I would be right back in it because they needed so much of my input, or they would do scheduling until it became easier for me to just book X, Y, and Z."
Recognizing that an in-house solution wasn't sustainable, Nick looked outside his organizations for professional help. When he discovered that a large portion of BELAY's clientele was in the church and nonprofit space, the decision became clear.
"I realized I'm not just hiring a Virtual Assistant. I'm hiring a company that specializes in helping people who do these things. Once I figured out what you guys do and do well, it's like, 'All right, let's jump in.'"
The Solution
BELAY matched Nick with Virtual Assistant Britt Boller, and the impact was nearly immediate. Within just two weeks, Nick noticed a dramatic shift in his day-to-day stress — particularly around his inbox, which had long been a source of anxiety.
"I quit worrying about whether or not I was missing emails. A couple weeks in, I was like, 'Oh, I'm actually not worried about whether or not my email is covered anymore.'"
Britt took over management of Nick's inbox and calendar, scheduled his social media content, and handled personal logistics like dinner reservations and date nights. What stood out most was Britt's proactive approach. When Nick asked what she needed to do her best work, she surfaced a skill he hadn't thought to leverage: building comprehensive travel itineraries.
"I travel a ton, and I'm always scrambling once my plane hits the ground. Where is my rental car, where am I staying, and what's my next meeting that I have to get to? And now she's building a document that puts all that in one location. I would've never asked for that because I didn't think about it, but she's able to do it because I'm tapping into the gift set that she has."
"Since Britt's come on, I've finished writing three books that are going into editing. We have conversations at the beginning of the week, and then she gets to strategically build my calendar accordingly, and that's huge for me."
— Nick Newman, Lead Pastor & FounderThe Impact
With Britt managing the details, Nick has experienced a profound sense of relief — less stress, more margin, and the freedom to focus on his most important work across both organizations. The measurable results have been remarkable.
"It created less stress in my life, and, in all honesty, that's probably more valuable than what I pay for BELAY at the end of the day. [We're] spending a couple hundred bucks a week to be able to create space and margin. It frees me up to do other stuff that I need to be doing as opposed to being bogged down with the details of everything else."
Since partnering with BELAY, Nick has finished writing three books currently in editing, Propel Church has grown by approximately 50% over the last 12 months, and Selah Leaders has scaled from hosting one or two events per year to ten events on the calendar. The growth across both organizations only reinforces the value of the investment.
"It's a worthwhile investment. If it creates more space for you to do what you're supposed to be doing, then it's worth it. But normally when you're at that spot where you're looking at alternatives, it's already not working. So you really don't have much to lose."