From One to Millions: David Bereit on the Spiritual Blueprint to Save a World in Peril
David Bereit at the the Heroic Leadership Summit, 2024
At first, David Bereit didn’t set out to become the leader of an international movement. He just wanted to stop an abortion clinic from opening in his Texas town. That simple, faithful response would eventually grow into 40 Days for Life—a pro-life campaign that’s now spread to 1,000 cities across 64 countries.
But at the 2024 Heroic Men gathering in Anaheim, CA, Bereit made it clear: his message wasn’t just about activism. It was about leadership. And not just any leadership—heroic leadership. The kind that starts in silence, grows through struggle, and multiplies through others.
“This is the day the Lord has made,” he said, opening his keynote to a crowd of men with a prayer. “Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
A World in Peril—and a Man’s Call to Lead
Bereit wasted no time confronting the cultural moment. In his words, the world is in great danger. “Satan is on the prowl,” he warned. “In our homes, in our parishes, in our communities… putting our families, our communities, and future generations in eternal peril.”
He pointed to declines in church attendance, the erosion of marriage, gender confusion, and the increase in abortion rates even after the Dobbs decision.
“Marriages are falling apart. Young people are living in a hookup culture. Entire months celebrate perversion and sexual immorality. And since Roe was overturned? Abortions have gone up 10% nationwide.”
The implications are more than political. For Bereit, they’re deeply personal—and spiritual.
“If we were arrested for being Christians, would there be enough evidence to convict us?”
Holiness Isn’t Flashy. It’s Faithful.
To understand heroic leadership, Bereit turned to an unlikely guide: St. Thérèse of Lisieux. “She said the most important part of holiness is to seek growth—even when you don’t see any progress at all.”
That spiritual realism—acknowledging the dry seasons, the winters of faith—set the tone for what Bereit described as the first step in any leadership journey: self-leadership.
“That’s where it begins. Divine intimacy. If we’re going to lead others, we have to let God shape us first.”
That means daily prayer. Scripture. Eucharist. Silence.
A man can’t give what he hasn’t received.
The Framework: Win. Build. Send.
Throughout the talk, Bereit returned to one model—a simple but powerful framework borrowed from Curtis Martin and refined through years of missionary work:
Win. Build. Send.
“This isn’t just some catchy phrase,” Bereit said. “This is the method modeled by Jesus Christ. If we simply do what Jesus did, we’ll see impact.”
The three-step framework emerged from Bereit’s own leadership in 40 Days for Life—and it offers a roadmap for any man who wants to evangelize, lead a men’s group, or revive a family.
1. Win: Start With Witness
Bereit began with the foundation: your life. “People will be looking at you. What you say doesn’t matter as much as how you live. Are you authentically living out your faith?”
The “win” phase isn’t about convincing the masses. It’s about investing deeply in a few.
“Find a few men. Walk with them. Enter into their life. Find out what animates them. And when the time is right—share the Gospel.”
Bereit offered two versions of the Gospel message: the more traditional kerygma, and what he called the “Good news, bad news, better news” summary.
“Good news: God loves you. Bad news: We’re sinners. Better news: Jesus came to save us. That’s all you need to get started.”
2. Build: Formation + Responsibility
Once someone’s been won, Bereit explained, the next step is building them up in the faith.
“Invite them to Mass. Invite them to adoration. Invite them to serve the poor with you. Then give them a little responsibility.”
In Bereit’s experience, one of the most transformative things you can do for someone is invite them to participate. Lead Scripture reading. Share their testimony. Facilitate a group. Each step helps build spiritual muscle.
“They won’t even know it,” he said. “But you’ll be forming them as a leader while they’re growing in their own faith.”
3. Send: Multiplying the Mission
The final step is also the hardest—and the most fruitful.
“We don’t stop at building. We send them. We help them see they’re not just disciples—they’re disciple-makers.”
He called it a “second conversion”—the realization that faith isn’t just about personal salvation, but evangelizing others. And when men embrace that mission, the ripple effect can be enormous.
A Baby in Croatia, A Sister in Tennessee, A Missionary in Morocco
To prove that point, Bereit shared a story that spanned continents.
“I met Robert in London. I trained Robert. Robert trained Ante in Croatia. Ante trained Lydia. Lydia led a 40 Days for Life campaign in a city I’d never been to… and she introduced me to a mom who’d just given birth to a little girl named Petra.”
“That baby was alive because we led leaders who led leaders who led leaders.”
The same principle applied to his own family. His daughter, mentored by FOCUS missionaries, is now a Nashville Dominican. His son, discipled during college, is now teaching English in Morocco—and working with the local diocese.
“If Curtis hadn’t started a little men’s group on a college campus, if those missionaries hadn’t poured into my kids… I don’t know where they’d be.”
Heroism Starts With the Next Step
As Bereit concluded, he challenged every man in the room to reflect. Not someday. Not in theory. But now.
“What can I do on Monday? How do I win one man? How do I build him? And how do I send him to do the same?”
The framework isn’t flashy. It’s not easy. But it’s proven. And, Bereit believes, it’s exactly what this moment demands.
“You living out a great discipleship in your own life is an example and it will make a difference,” he said. “But when you begin to develop disciple-makers, that’s where you’ll see exponential impact. That’s how we change the world for Jesus Christ and His Church.”
Bereit left no doubt about where real revival begins:
“We’ve been called to be heroic,” he said. “Great courage. In times of great crisis. All we need to do, day after day, is win, build, send. And one day, when we meet our maker, we’ll hear those words: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant.’”
You don’t need to lead thousands. You’re called to lead one. And help him do the same.
That’s how revival starts.
That’s how we change our world.
