From Burnout to Kingdom Alignment: Tess Vergara on Soul-Powered Leadership

In a world often driven by fear, achievement, and the relentless pursuit of external validation, Tess Vergara—Kingdom Factor coach and founder of Soul Powered Leaders—offers a radically integrated approach to faith and leadership. Her journey from corporate burnout to Kingdom alignment reveals a path toward purpose, wholeness, and impact.

Burnout and the Loss of Alignment

Tess’s story begins in the demanding world of finance, where she was a high-performing financial controller. Yet beneath professional achievement, she felt powerless and disconnected.

“I burnt out. I didn’t want to be here anymore. I couldn’t find a reason to live, even though I have kids,” she recounts.

It wasn’t simply exhaustion; it was a collapse of identity, purpose, and soul—intensified by the sense of no longer being needed as she approached empty-nesting.

Beyond Mindset: The Birth of Soul Powered Leaders

Rather than numbing with antidepressants or alcohol, Tess followed a prompting she attributes to the Holy Spirit. She enrolled in a coaching certification—not to leave accounting, but to coach herself out of burnout and depression. Yet none of those tools could reach the root.

“It didn’t go deep enough,” she says. “Not into the root. Not into the soul.”

Her breakthrough came through spiritual awakening: true leadership required vertical alignment of the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual.

“When we are fragmented, when we are not integrated, we lose ourselves. True leadership begins when we are aligned with God and our soul.”

That revelation gave rise to Soul Powered Leaders—a framework where leadership is rooted in soul alignment with Christ, restoring wholeness so leaders no longer abandon themselves in pursuit of success.

The Faith Foundation: A Mother's Example

Tess’s faith has deep roots. Growing up in the Philippines, she watched her mother persevere through hardship and relentlessly pursue a future abroad for her children.

“If mom wasn’t so faithful, I don’t know that I would have that foundation,” Tess reflects.

That faith became her anchor during her hardest years: 15 years as a single mother without financial or family support, an attempted parental kidnapping, and the threat of deportation.

“I didn’t have the luxury of worrying. I just prayed and trusted.”

This spiritual resilience shaped how she now leads, coaches, and builds—with conviction, discipline, and reliance on God rather than herself.

The Leap from Security to Soul Alignment

Leaving the corporate world in 2015 was terrifying. Tess feared “financial suicide,” but clinging to the false security of a paycheck over God was costing her health.

“I would go to work nauseated. I would have to pull over to the side of the road and sleep. That’s how out of alignment I was.”

Her body forced a reckoning. The day she finally gave notice was a moment of surrender:

“Okay, God, you’re all I got.”

Fast-forward to 2024, when God prompted Tess to join Kingdom Factor. The prompting stirred resistance.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Fine. You’re the CEO, because I’m tired of figuring it all out by myself.”

The burden lifted. That act of surrender marked a pivotal shift in her leadership. Tess now operates with Christ as the CEO of her life and business—a principle guiding every decision and action.

Faith, Resilience, and Divine Guidance

Raised Catholic, Tess grew up singing psalms in choir, absorbing Scripture long before she ever read it directly. It wasn’t until Eagle Brook Church that she began encountering God without intermediaries.

“Learning the Bible for myself took out the middleman. It’s just me and God.”

That shift—from institution to intimacy—unlocked a deeper walk with Christ and revealed what Kingdom leadership truly means—beyond burnout. For Tess, faith is not an accessory to business. On her wall sits Luke 1:37:

“Faith does not make things easy—it makes them possible.”

Soul Powered Leadership emphasizes vertical alignment—body, emotions, mind, spirit. From alignment and wholeness, leaders can extend outward and walk in Kingdom leadership:

“On earth as it is in heaven.”

She acknowledges the pressures Christian leaders face—the subtle rejection when faith is spoken aloud, the discomfort in professional spaces, the temptation to shrink. Yet she sees revival in the marketplace and urges leaders to nourish their calling.

“Listen to your soul, not the rational mind that creates rational lies. Fear feels yucky and contracted. Your soul feels expansive and playful.”

Saying “yes” to God’s call requires boldness—but the reward is a life and business guided by divine purpose and unwavering peace.

A Call to Soul-Powered Success

Tess’s journey is a testament to the transformative power of aligning life and leadership with faith. It is a call to move beyond surface-level solutions, embrace vulnerability, and trust in a higher CEO—ultimately leading to profound impact and soul-powered success.

Her message to those navigating influence, entrepreneurship, and calling is simple:

“Tune in. You are not alone. You are a child of God.
Give yourself full permission to be fully expressed as a child of God.”