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When Nadine Dyer flew to South Africa on a missions trip to support women overwhelmed with the financial and physical stress of caring for orphans, her intent was to help give them strength, comfort and love. She never expected to learn that many American women like her needed the most help.
“I realized that the women in Africa actually were a lot healthier and happier emotionally and mentally, at least, than maybe even I was and some of my friends here in America, and I really struggled because here I am flying halfway across the world to pour into women spiritually and mentally and emotionally when really I should be learning from them because they seem happier and they were in community and they helped each other and they raised their kids together, and I was like, ‘I think we’re the ones missing something,’” she says.
Dyer, a new mother with little family near Carmel, felt troubled upon her return, facing sleepless nights and a sense of emptiness. She began studying the prevalence of depression, anxiety and suicide in America.
“How are we in this country that has resources and finances at our fingertips and yet we are struggling, if not the most, one of the most in every area?” she asks.
Dyer understood that women often facing mental stress and burnout from juggling a career, raising children and household responsibilities needed a purpose through supporting one another.
“If we can get them off of themselves and onto purpose, if we can help them heal and help them grow and help them find their inspiration and empower them to go out and do it, maybe that could change the world,” she says.
Dyer launched Purposeful Living Inc., a faith-based nonprofit in Carmel, with the help of five women. Each of them invited other women to attend a grand opening, with a goal of serving at least 50 women the first year.
“We ended up serving 307 our first year through word of mouth,” Dyer says, who began offering one-on-one free coaching to women.
The nonprofit drew so much interest that a support group for marriages and a mothers support group were added, followed by self-help workshops.
“After the second workshop, one woman who was in her 70s said, ‘I’ve gotten more out of these two workshops I’ve attended than I have all my years of therapy,’” Dyer recalls. “I think it was just the safe space that was created and women were authentically sharing and having breakthroughs in that safe community, women realizing they weren’t alone.”
Dyer and her family were financially supporting the organization; however, as Purposeful Living grew, she needed extra funding, and with the help of generous donors serving on the board and additional money raised from a fundraising breakfast, she could offer additional services and hire staff.
Susan Barnes, administrative and outreach director for Purposeful Living, started working with the organization at the beginning of COVID.
“When I came into Purposeful Living, I came in with hurts from my past that I thought were just going to stay part of my past and buried,” she says. “A lot of times women just don’t show the pain that they are working through, but through Purposeful Living, specifically through coaching and through growth groups, I personally have experienced an amazing amount of transformation and healing. It’s truly the loving, safe, authentic community that you are able to share and the people, the coaches, the growth groups that you’re in. You are loved and supported without this stigma, without this judgment and condemnation.”
After leading the organization for several years, Dyer experienced a crisis in her life. The same women she coached were there to serve and embrace her.
“I didn’t know I was going to need the Purposeful Living community to carry me, and that’s exactly what happened,” she says. “These women came alongside me, they coached me, they sent me meals, they sent me gifts, they sent me care packages, they loved me right where I was at and I don’t know how I would have gotten through that season without them and honestly the fruit of that was my child was blessed; he had a healthier mom because I was supported. I’ve grown in my faith. Purposeful Living has taught me to hold space for people and that’s made me a better mom and a better wife and a better daughter and a better friend.”
Purposeful Living offers four core programs: care, coaching, growth groups and events.
The care program helps women in need of encouragement and helps connect them to free resources such as food pantries, medical or transportation needs. Others may have a friend or relative with cancer, for example, and a team of volunteers will write cards and assemble and deliver care boxes to the woman to let her know she’s not alone and that others are thinking of her and praying for her.
Free coaching is one-on-one for women who may feel overwhelmed with life and need to process their feelings and ask for guidance.
Growth groups, a combination of a support group and a life group, are designed to offer a confidential, safe space for women to grow and heal from their wounds.
Events include networking, a night of worship, spiritual discovery, a virtual widows support group and a widows creative gathering.
Purposeful Living’s podcast, Linking Arms, is designed to empower women with themes including wellness, spirituality, self-development and more. Linking Arms can be found on the organization’s website at purposefullivinginc.org.
Next year, the organization will be celebrating its 10th year of serving other women. To date, Purposeful Living has aided 4,207 women. These women all have a story, from those who suffer from abuse or addictions to those who just experienced a family loss. Others may need a place where they can form their own identity outside of being a caregiver, employee or spouse.
“I can speak to the woman who’s just lost herself as mom and has literally forgotten who she is,” Dyer says. “Forgot what fun looks like, forgot who she is outside of her home and can be reminded and can find friendships and can go out and have a place to connect and meet women and make friends that are hers.”
On Aug. 18, Purposeful Living invites women to connect, share their stories and learn more about the organization at the 10th Annual Breakfast with a Purpose: eventbrite.com/e/breakfast-with-a-purpose-2026-tickets-1986370507660
For more information about Purposeful Living, including sponsorship opportunities, go to purposefullivinginc.org, Instagram: @purposefullivinginc, or visit facebook.com/PurposefulLivinginC.
