By: Natalie Johnson
Howard Woodruff never set out to build a business empire. The ordained pastor was content serving his local community, offering pastoral care and rebuilding his church after a devastating fire. Then life intervened in ways he never anticipated, transforming a small-town chaplain into an unlikely figure at the forefront of international trauma recovery.
The trajectory shift began with personal devastation. Losing both his father and son within a relatively short period could have derailed anyone’s life permanently. Instead, these crushing losses became the catalyst for something Woodruff never saw coming: a calling that would eventually take him from rural ministry to the ruins of Ground Zero, from local church leadership to international disaster response.
When the planes hit the Twin Towers on September 11, 2001, Woodruff found himself deployed as a crisis chaplain to Ground Zero. The experience was unlike anything his pastoral training had prepared him for. Traditional ministry approaches felt inadequate amid such massive trauma and loss. He began developing new ways to help people process unimaginable grief while maintaining hope for rebuilding their lives.
Three years later, something even more unexpected happened. The President of India personally recruited Woodruff to assist with emotional and spiritual recovery efforts following the Indian Ocean tsunami. A small-town pastor from America was suddenly operating on the global stage, helping entire communities navigate collective trauma and loss.
These experiences revealed something Woodruff hadn’t fully grasped: his approach to healing was fundamentally different from conventional methods. While others focused on managing symptoms or providing temporary comfort, he was helping people transform their pain into something purposeful. What emerged was the Back to Abundancy™ process, a framework born not from academic theory but from real-world crisis response.
The authenticity factor became Woodruff’s greatest asset. Unlike many in the healing industry who speak from professional training alone, every principle he teaches has been tested in his own life. When he tells clients that emotional responses are choices, he’s not reciting motivational platitudes. He’s sharing hard-won wisdom from choosing hope over despair during his darkest moments.
This credibility opened doors that traditional business strategies couldn’t. Podcasters and keynote organizers weren’t booking another motivational speaker; they were accessing someone who had genuinely walked through fire and emerged with practical tools for others facing similar challenges. His message resonated because it came from experience rather than expertise alone.
The transition from local ministry to global influence happened organically. Emergency service agencies began requesting his chaplaincy services for their teams. Word spread about his unique ability to help first responders process traumatic incidents while maintaining their emotional resilience. Awards for excellence in trauma chaplaincy and humanitarian service followed, building a reputation that extended far beyond his geographic community.
But perhaps the most unlikely aspect of Woodruff’s journey is how naturally he’s embraced the entrepreneurial mindset. ReClaimed Living LLC represents something rare: a business built entirely around genuine need rather than market opportunity. The company exists because people desperately needed what Woodruff had learned to offer, not because he identified a profitable niche.
His vision for training an international network of coaches reflects this same organic growth pattern. Rather than franchising a business model, he’s reproducing a methodology that works because it’s rooted in authentic human experience. Each coach he trains carries not just techniques but a philosophy forged in real crisis situations.
The small-town chaplain who once focused solely on his local congregation now influences trauma recovery practices worldwide. Yet Woodruff’s approach remains remarkably unchanged from his early ministry days: meet people where they are, honor their pain, and help them discover they’re stronger than they realize.
Sometimes the most powerful leaders emerge not from boardrooms or business schools, but from broken places where authentic transformation becomes the only path forward.
