Christ-Centered Leadership
An 8 month life & leadership coaching program for men and women who want to deepen their relationship with God, discover their true identity in Christ, and have high-level accountability and support in their commitment to God’s ways, His works, and His will in their relationships, leadership, and life.
"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." 1 Peter 2:9
For nearly a decade, I ran a business focused on helping people release the weight of guilt and shame that, I observed, leads to inner torment, inhibits authenticity, vulnerability, and intimacy in relationships, and creates debilitating self-doubt and fear as it comes to doing what we feel called to do with our lives. I was featured in the media, on television, and spoke to audiences in three different countries on what I believed - at the time - would help people heal the heaviest and most disempowering emotions. I supported individuals who were entrepreneurs, business owners, c-suite executives and CEOs. I supported caregivers and stay-at-home mothers, professional athletes, fitness models, social justice advocates, and girls in their teens to adults in their 60s. I supported those who felt they lacked purpose, were exhausted from the years of constant striving and performing, those who were overwhelmed from the demands and expectations of the world around them, and those who were taught to wear a carefully curated mask representing the person they thought they needed to be, out of fear that the truest version of themselves would never be enough.
I saw individuals worn down by years of trying to earn the love and approval of a parent, partner, or society, I observed both men and women avoiding and sabotaging the very intimacy and connection they most desired in relationships (coincidentally enough, the depth of intimacy we were designed to experience), I saw powerful people minimize their potential and refrain from pursuing the dreams that God placed on their hearts, and I even supported both women and men who found themselves in abusive, manipulative, or controlling relationships because that’s the love they were taught they deserved (or all they ever knew). Regardless of the age, stage, or circumstances, I saw incredibly gifted, deeply compassionate, wildly loving, and powerful-beyond-their-own-understanding individuals who were simply unable to see themselves as God sees them. They were unaware or never taught the truth of who they were, or the truth of who they were created to be. Regardless of the age, stage, or circumstances, I realized that shame does not discriminate; it affects us all.
And yet, despite nearly a decade’s worth of investing in my own education, coaching certifications, various leadership trainings and programs, and experiencing various levels of breakthrough in both the lives of those I supported and my own, it always felt like something was missing. Like every tool or technique that existed was a temporary solution. I became increasingly weary and exhausted from the self-help industry, while I simultaneously sought truth in every religion or every spiritual text I could get my hands on, convinced that shame was - at its root - a spiritual crisis. I explored various philosophical teachings, worked with spiritual mentors and teachers, and obsessively sought truth in every form of spirituality and human consciousness literature I could find… every form of spirituality except for Christianity.
And then in February of 2024, I had an experience that I know I will never be able to adequately explain: A moment in time in which I knew that neither my life, my work, nor I, would ever be the same.
I had an encounter with the one true living God…. and everything changed.
And out of that experience came the unshakeable and life-altering realization that Christ Himself was the only one who could truly and permanently heal shame. While every other teaching and learning was understood at merely an intellectual level, this was a full body experience, a deep and undeniable knowing within me. I suddenly knew within every fibre of my being that He was, and is, and always will be the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Following this experience that can only be described as a profound and all-consuming depth of love that had the power to heal decades of self-hatred in an instant, I choked out the words between sobs “Jesus, are you the one I’ve spent my whole life searching for?”
I finally picked up the bible, the very book I had criticized, judged, and refused to believe in for years, and I realized that this was the Truth I had been seeking. I felt as though I was being fed after feeling spiritually starved for decades. I knew I needed the type of spiritual teachings, mentorship, and biblical foundations that would support the work and life that God was calling me into. I sold all of my possessions, packed up my car, and my dog, Molly, and I moved to California where I found myself enrolling into a ministry school (the very last words I every thought would come out of my mouth), which was led by fiercely loving, deeply powerful, and hungry-for-God leaders that taught individuals from all over the world how to deepen their intimacy with God, and equipped them to walk in their kingdom identities in whatever sphere of influence in which God had called them. I spent the year desperately consuming every word, line by line, from cover to cover, feverishly taking notes, documenting, cross-referencing, and soaking in the truth of God’s nature, His character, His promises, His goodness, and who He created us to be. I began to understand my identity through His eyes, and not the one cloaked in the guilt, shame, fear, and regret from my past. And, very gradually, everything started to become clear.
I began experiencing a heightened state of His presence, a new level of peace and joy I had never known, and life suddenly took on a new sense of meaning and purpose that I had always longed for. It became crystal clear why it always felt like there was something missing from my life, that nothing from this world could ever fill; no amount of money, material possessions, alcohol, entertainment, career promotions, likes on social media, or relationships could ever fill the missing void that I discovered only God could fill. Instead of shame and regret for my past, I began to understand:
Why I began drinking at the age of 12 to the point of near death (on more than one occasion), and turned to many other unhealthy and toxic forms of escapism to numb that empty void inside of me.
Why I resorted to seeking my worth, value, and approval through relationships (many unloving and unhealthy) which only seemed to reaffirm the low or insignificant sense of worth and value that I had for myself.
Why the opinions of others had the power to sway many of my decisions or my direction in life, despite feeling like there was something unexplainable pulling me into a different direction that made me feel alive.
Why I nearly destroyed my mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing climbing the corporate ladder that only ever led to quick, momentary bursts of fulfillment, before quickly reverting back to the unhappy or unfulfilled state I was in before.
Why I experienced a deep sense of anxiety over what others thought of me, uncertainty of my future, and fear that I would never reach my potential.
Why, regardless of my awards, accomplishments, achievements, and external recognition & validation, nothing could even truly compensate for how “not enough” and inadequate I always felt.
And why, over the years, I was never able to shake such a deep sense of regret over my past, my choices, what I did or didn’t do, or the deep sense of shame I felt that I was failing at this thing called life.
What gradually became so undeniably and crystal clear for me was that the debilitating, disempowering, and potentially life-destroying emotions of guilt, shame, fear, regret, uncertainty, inadequacy, and the lost sense of identity many of us experience could all (and only) be solved by one thing; a personal relationship with Christ and discovering our identity through Him. It is only in relationship with Him will we be able to live, love, and lead from the place of who He says we are (and not the shame-filled, guilt-ridden, anxiety-prone, and fear-based nature that we’ve come to believe is normal, and will inadvertently be our default when we feel separated from His presence.
Our relationship with God is where everything begins. It is from that source of unconditional and selfless love (that can only be understood through experience and not simply read about) will everything else in our lives begin to change, and my life is living proof.
I knew then, that I would spend the rest of my life teaching others how to discover and deepen the most important and fulfilling relationship we were all created to experience, to learn and live out their true identity in Christ, to experience freedom from the guilt, shame and fear that attempts to destroy their God-given identities and callings, and to become more deeply aware of the expansive, awe-inspiring, and glorious reality of our existence when we are in relationship with Him. It is only when we understand and are rooted in our true God-given identity, can we begin to experience the life and love for which we were created.
And that is where our journey together begins.
Client Words
“After years of feeling like something was missing, I listened to a podcast that interviewed Sarah Lajeunesse and I knew immediately that I needed to speak with her. I was not new to therapy or talking to others, but they all fell short….I knew it, I felt it, but I just didn’t understand it. Enter Sarah….from the day I filled out the Questionnaire on her website through our most recent conversation, it was clear she was different. For me, there is just something about her voice…a calmness and a clarity that that I noticed and felt. Bundle that with a patient ability to listen and really understand, Sarah helped me find my path. I end every call with her with a deep feeling of gratitude and clarity of my own that helps propel me through the week. SL, thank you! I have experienced some of your gifts firsthand and I am truly grateful for that. This has helped me zero in on my own gifts and understand what that “missing” feeling was. Your gift is powerful and I am so grateful that we connected.”
Male | Pennsylvania, USA
"Sarah has changed my life. Her faith in God and a God-centered life has slowly (but surely) been transferred through to me in her gentle, kind, and loving approach to connecting me with the love of God and the Holy Spirit. With this base foundation in my life now I feel much more secure, safe, peaceful, patient, kind and loving than I've ever felt in my life. Anxiety, depression, insecurity, fears and worry seem to melt away as I anchor and place my trust and faith in the Father, our God. I have now come to believe that He has a bigger plan for my life. To teach me, to cleanse me, to heal me, to guide me, and to deepen my faith in Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit. No matter what the circumstance, He will help me and He will heal me. I can see and feel Him healing my heart and guiding my spirit as we deepen our relationship and my faith grows. My learning and healing has been a process but with Sarah's strength, knowledge, love and faith in the Lord our God, I am moving closer and closer to God everyday as I release and allow myself to trust in Him with all my heart. I am so grateful that God sent [Sarah] to work with me and would highly recommend that if you want to heal and change your life that you open your heart to her. God and the Holy Spirit will take the wheel from there."
Male | Alberta, Canada
“Working with Sarah, even though only for a short period of time, has felt like the release of a giant weight being lifted off my body. I had spent the last year and a half of my life carrying this looming sense of guilt and embarrassment from decisions I had made to end a long term relationship and making life changes. I remember going to bed every week with my throat full of dread and grief. I remember this numbness at trying to accept that perhaps I would never be “as happy” again. That even though I was “doing” the things I had set out to do and making brave choices, that I would never feel the fulfillment from those choices down in my core. I sunk down to my lowest point a couple of months ago when I woke up like usual, numb but with a smile on my face for the outside world, and I briefly wondered what the point of living was, if it was just more of this. I was terrified. It was so unlike myself , and I knew that. Immediately, I felt shame and selfish for entertaining these feelings. Here I was, a privileged woman with a life for whom many had made sacrifices to get me here, and I was suffering.
One of the most poignant moments in my work with Sarah was when she told me “your problems are my problems now too. You’re not alone on this journey”. And I think what I want people to know, is that working with Sarah is about her letting myself, and whoever else is willing, start the work to come home to myself. It’s about starting the journey to rediscover the relationship I have with myself, and being liberated to live a life that feels authentic to my being. Am I there yet? No of course not, there is so much left to do. but for the first time in months, I feel more connected and hopeful for where I am than I have in a long, long time. I want to protect this feeling at all costs, and Sarah helps me do that. Working with Sarah is like having an inner mirror - you always wish you could see yourself from someone else’s eyes and be able to love what you see. I think Sarah has the ability to see your person and understand your motivations while also loving it back.”