Tim Tebow has broken his silence after an investigation into Life Surge, the Christian motivational event series he has fronted for years, uncovered a business model that critics say pushed attendees from a low-cost inspirational gathering into expensive financial courses that left some of them deeply in debt.
The joint investigation, conducted by Pablo Torre Finds Out and Mother Jones, laid out a pattern that stretched far beyond a single bad experience. According to the reporting, people paid roughly $30 believing they were signing up for a day centered on faith and encouragement. What they got instead was a marathon ten-hour program that ended with a pitch from Steve Champa for a $97 “impact class” covering stock trading or real estate.
Records the outlets obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request show the Federal Trade Commission has fielded 49 complaints about the events since 2016, many describing the same bait and switch.
One person who complained said they had expected “a Christian-based day of like-minded business people” and instead encountered “a bait and switch and the pressure to purchase investing classes.”
Those who signed up for the initial $97 class reportedly found it was only the entry point. Investigators found pricing tiers climbing to $10,000 to $13,000, then $20,000 to $25,000, with one-on-one mentorship packages reaching $40,000 to $50,000.
Attendee Karen Neal told reporters she and her husband were directed to a third-party lender, Copper Rock Financial, which relies on a method known as credit card stacking, opening several cards with introductory 0% rates to cover the cost, on top of brokerage fees as high as 12% and interest that can jump to 30% once the promotional period ends. Neal said she was also urged to take out a line of credit against her home. She said she ultimately recovered only $5,000 of what she described as “a $15,000 mistake.”
The investigation also described a sales environment where hesitation was met with spiritual language rather than reassurance about the numbers, with some former attendees recalling being told their doubts were “the devil putting doubts in your mind.” Pitches reportedly leaned on emotional appeals, including spotlighting single mothers and widows in the room to build urgency around signing up.
Reporters also traced ties between Life Surge’s leadership and a company the FTC had already taken action against. Several Life Surge executives, including Champa, previously worked at Online Trading Academy, a firm the FTC sued for targeting older consumers with inflated promises about potential earnings. That case ended in a 2020 settlement that forgave consumer debt and included multimillion-dollar penalties before the company rebranded as Trading Academy.
Life Surge’s founder, Joe Johnson, has his own history with financial and legal fallout. Before starting Life Surge, he ran a similar seminar business called Get Motivated, purchased with a $12 million loan from a former student, a deal that later triggered a lawsuit over unpaid debts.
More recently, in 2025, the Department of Justice sued Johnson over real estate tax transactions dating back to 2013 that prosecutors characterized as abusive. Johnson settled the case without paying a monetary penalty and without admitting wrongdoing.
The reporting also touched on how Life Surge responded to public criticism, noting that a former attendee and minister, John Simmons, received a cease-and-desist letter after he posted a critical review of a Life Surge event on YouTube.
Life Surge told reporters that “all speakers are provided information about Life Surge, including our services, prior to speaking,” though the organization did not specify what Tebow personally knew about the impact classes or the debt some attendees say they took on as a result.
Tebow addressed the findings directly when asked about the allegations in a recent video. “I think the allegations are very serious, and it’s something that we take very seriously,” he said. “So for us, we’re having our team do an investigation, but also pausing our relationship until we can learn more about the facts, to be able to understand more.”
UPDATE: Tim Tebow announces he is “pausing” his relationship with Life Surge following our @pablofindsout x @MotherJones investigation.
Our previous request for comment from Tebow, in reply to our detailed list of questions, still stands.
More to come. https://t.co/Sy0MOvv16t
— Pablo Torre 👀 (@PabloTorre) September 25, 2026
Asked whether he had known about the concerns before the investigation became public, Tebow said he learned of it only in the middle of his own travel schedule.
“I was at an anti-human trafficking conference yesterday, and the team shared with me when we were leaving, as we were flying to Alabama for an event. I was kind of caught off guard with some of it. I think that’s why they’re really trying to understand more of the facts, to really learn it.”
When pressed on what he would say to people still seeking answers about the alleged practices, Tebow returned to why he had gotten involved with the events in the first place.
“I think, honestly, it’s really important to get answers, to understand every bit of that. My heart in getting to share there was to be able to share something that I love to share, which is the love of Christ and the good news of the gospel. I think it’s really important that we can really understand all the facts and details of it.”
For now, Tebow’s camp says the review of Life Surge is ongoing and that the relationship remains paused while the team gathers more information.
