How Sheletta Brundidge's faith has provided her purpose: "Make me the answer to somebody's problem"

When Sheletta Brundidge arrived in Minnesota from Houston, Texas, she didn't know a single person. She wasn't planning to stay, and she certainly wasn't planning to build one of the Twin Cities' most recognizable media brands.

Today, decades later, she's a host, business owner, entrepreneur, author, speaker and community leader.

"And Christian," Brundidge said. "That's why I'm here."

Born and raised in Houston, Brundidge says her intention was to live and die there. She never planned on visiting Minnesota, much less moving there. But in 2004, her boyfriend graduated from medical school and set his eyes on a Twin Cities-based medical center. Brundidge says she couldn't risk losing him.

Like many, she moved to Minnesota for love.

"Let me tell you something, I have been working on that man and getting him right and straight for three years," Brundidge joked. "I was not about to let the Black women of Minnesota take the man that I had beat that man down, got him in the ground. He was good, he was obedient, he was wholesome, he was going to church. I was like, I have not done all this work to let somebody else reap the benefits."

During a visit, Brundidge says she walked directly into a local TV station and announced her presence. She left with a job as an assignment editor. Brundidge and her boyfriend later married and had four children.  

To understand Brundidge's faith journey, it takes understanding the absolute certainty in which she walks through life.

"I don't ever remember even not being a Christian," she said. "Being in church, being in worship, that was just what we did. It was like breathing."

Yet a key childhood experience solidified her faith forever. One day, as she returned home from school as a child, a man followed her inside the house.

"He picked me up, 8-year-old, 9-year-old girl, and put me on the sink," Brundidge said. "And I didn't know what to expect. I'm frozen."

She says what happened next will never leave her memory.

"At that moment, a picture that had been hanging on the wall of our home hit the ground. The man heard that and he ran out of the house," she said. "Now, that picture had not been bothering anybody. That picture had been on that wall for nine years. How is it that at just that moment, that picture that was on that wall hit the ground and shattered the glass? Enough to scare that man in that moment to run out of the house and not rape, kill and hide my 8-, 9-year-old body? That's when I knew Jesus was real."

Bigger Than Belief

You can listen to the full conversation with Brundidge on this week's episode of Bigger Than Belief, a weekly podcast exploring faith, belief, and religion — all through the stories of believers. 

With an emphasis on understanding belief through personal experience, we aim to create a conversation about faith that is fair, honest and easy to understand — regardless of what you do (or don't) believe. 

We'll also take a journalistic approach to concepts and questions that are difficult to understand, while helping to make sense of current events impacting believers in our communities.