Faith Over Fear— God’s Blueprint for Success

Katie Guiliano is the founder of Hosanna Revival, a company she started as a college student.  She wanted other people to be as excited about the Bible as she was and thought this could happen if Bible covers were more beautiful.

She explains, “I had fallen in love with God through His word, and I looked at this Bible in my hands and thought, ‘If it's so beautiful on the inside, why on earth are the covers ugly?’”  

So, Katie re-bound and hand-painted her own bible, and within a week, she was doing this for other people, for profit.  And while the business is doing well today, she and her husband Nick’s journey came with risk and uncertainty. 

“We were so incredibly broke as we were walking into marriage,” recalls Nick. “Katie really had no income. We were dwindling down to nothing in her accounts. And then we, we were paying for a wedding.” 

Katie had dropped out of school, re-investing every penny of profit into Hosanna Revival.  She never took a salary, yet she always tithed, as a friend encouraged her to do early in the business.

“It just sparked something in me of like, this feels important to be able to tithe and to consider seriously how to invest this money that God has entrusted me with,” Katie shares.  “And I would find missionaries or organizations or individuals and just give it.” 

Nick was also a tither. 

He says, “That 10% rule thing kind of became a thing where I wouldn’t even stick it in my pocket.  I would set it aside and say, ‘God, this money is for your kingdom.  Go. You gave it to me.  I want to give it right back to you.’” 

With this kind of financial perspective, neither ever worried about how they’d get by, even when Katie didn’t have the money she needed to go from hand-painting to mass producing the Bibles.

Katie remembers, “The publisher said, ‘You need to pay us $70,000.  There was 40 grand in the bank account for the business bank account.  I drained my personal bank account, and I was still $10,000 short.” 

Katie’s dad loaned her the $10,000.  Meanwhile, two nights before their wedding, it was decided that Nick would quit his corporate job the next day and join Katie full-time in the business.

Nick explains, “We prayed about it.  I was split.  There was part of me that felt this undeniable peace, and there was the logistics side of me, the safety side of me that was like, ‘This is chaotic.  This is crazy.’” 

Katie adds, “I’m writing my vows, and I finish up, and I check my email probably at 2:00 AM, and I see in my email inbox an email from a buyer at that retailer and they said, ‘Yeah, we're in,’ and it came, I mean, within a hundred dollars of the entire annual salary we had prepared for Nick.  We made that decision; the next day, God said, ‘I've got you.’”

Katie shared the good news with Nick at their wedding reception.

He says, “I started to cry.  To see God do something so quickly, to bring so much peace.  I felt so cared for by the Lord in that moment.  It was a wedding gift from God.”

They paid back Katie’s dad.  Revenue for Hosanna Revival tripled within the next year and again in 2019.  Even in the uncertain climate of COVID, the business grew, and by 2024, revenue was up another 35%.

Katie explains, “We were faithful with what He entrusted us with and then continued to give us more to steward.  And He trusted us with more and more and more.  And I think that connection is so clear.” 

As the Guilianos make more, they give more. 

“If our business is going to continue to grow, our giving should absolutely be following that same model,” Katie declares.  “And (we) just so desperately want to honor Him with our resources and what we think is His.” 

Nick exclaims, “When we give, we get to be a part of the kingdom of God.  We get to be a part of the evangelism that's happening here on earth.  That's the blessing.  Seeing that work being done, being a joyful giver.”

The couple encourages others to be good stewards and give generously, like they do.

“If you step out in faith and in obedience, you're going to uncover something new about who the Lord is,” Katie says.

“And when you tithe and you see the impact that your money goes towards, it brings joy, life to your faith,” Nick concludes.  “Just jump in and experience it.”
 

“Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop.” Will you partner with CBN and help plant generously around the world? Your generous giving brings hope to the hopeless and the truth of God’s Word to millions around the world through our humanitarian efforts. Become a CBN partner today and share the love of Christ.