Frequently Asked Questions:
What topics will Dee cover when speaking?
Dee’s calling is to help women see how living and relevant the Word is for their lives. While she is very aware of women who do not know the Lord in her audience, and is sensitive to their needs, her calling has also been to believers. Many of you may have heard her speak on The Friendships of Women or Falling In Love with Jesus. Her most recent books are The God of All Comfort and Idol Lies (Facing the Truth about our Deepest Desires.) Dee is so excited about the changes she is seeing in the lives of women who piloted her study on Idol Lies, that she longs to speak about this. She also finds that this topic of particular interest to women who do not know the Lord. She wants to hear your needs and also asks for freedom to hear from the Holy Spirit and where He is particularly anointing her. She’ll listen hard to you and to the Lord.
Here are a few comments on Idol Lies:
From Jan Silvious:
When I started to read Dee’s new book, I thought, “Whoa,” this is so honest. As I kept reading ( because I couldn’t put it down), I thought this is big! Something (or Someone) has struck nerve struck in Dee’s life and it is reverberating throughout the whole book…
From Sara Groves
Dee teaches from a place of humility, modeling with her own life, guiding the reader to greater freedom and understanding of the many things that entangle us. I am convicted and encouraged by this book!
How do I invite Dee to be a speaker at my next women’s event?
Your first step is to fill out our Booking Request Form.
Dee prayerfully considers each speaking invitation, however, to maintain a reasonable speaking and writing schedule, Dee simply cannot accept every invitation. Her confirmed dates can be seen on Dee’s speaking calendar, but that does not list tentative or prison dates. Dee seldom speaks to groups smaller than 300…not because she wouldn’t love to, but because there’s only one Dee! One way to gather that many women is to form a committee of women leaders from churches in your area so they have ownership and want to invite their women.
However, we do have an alternative for small groups and that’s Dee’s Retreat in a Box. She also has videos to accompany her Falling in Love with Jesus trilogy and her newest release, Idol Lies for weekly studies. And a Dee Brestin app is coming with free videos for your small groups.
How will I know if Dee has accepted my invitation?
Once Dee has had time to prayerfully consider the invitation and the date requested of the event, Dee’s scheduler will notify the event contact person. Dee is good about not keeping you waiting a long time. A contract will be emailed to the contact person who in turn will print, sign and return the contract with a $500 deposit to reserve the date requested. She may wish to speak to you before she decides.
Will Dee Brestin Ministries help me with promotional materials?
Yes. We will provide you with various examples of promotional materials used at past events, plus we will equip you with press photos, Dee’s bio, and other information needed to create a promotional piece to be used in your church and community. There is a promotional video of Dee on her website you may request a copy of that to show if you like.
Is Dee willing to do radio interviews?
Yes. This is a very effective way to promote your women’s event. Dee’s assistant will work with the event coordinator to make the necessary arrangements needed with radio personnel for a phone interview.
What should we charge for tickets?
This is not something we can advise you on as each group is different. Your event team will want to consider this question. Dee does require a speaking honorarium and there are travel expenses to be covered by the event team.
What is Dee’s speaking honorarium and what other expenses are involved when booking Dee?
Dee’s has lowered her honorarium to cover paying her staff. She keeps none of it — any that is left goes directly into her prison ministry, so as you support Dee, you are supporting your sisters in prison who cannot pay for curriculum. The following is her usual honorarium range for typical situations within the United States, but she doesn’t make her decision on the basis of honorarium.
Saturday Event: $2,000 – 2,500
Friday night/Saturday event $2,500 – 3,000
Friday night through Sunday morning event: $3,000 – 4,000
Dee needs her travel and hotel expenses covered. She prefers to bring an assistant so that the program runs smoothly (it is technically complicated) and she can freed to visit and pray with the women at breaks. She knows this requires an extra airfare and hotel, and sometimes an alternative can be found, but this is her preference and tends to make everything run much more smoothly.
Who makes the necessary travel and hotel reservations?
Dee’s assistant will make the appropriate airfare reservations 3-4 weeks in advance of the event date. We book ahead, fly coach, and look for the best rates. The Event Coordinator will be responsible for making local hotel reservations or can work with Dee’s assistant, Rebecca.
Is Dee willing to have dinner with members of the event team prior to the day of the event?
Dee loves celebrating with an early dinner after the retreat where they can reflect on what God did and also evaluate. If the team wants to meet with Dee the night before the retreat, it needs to be an early supper so that Dee can be back at the hotel no later than 7:00pm. It’s so important that she wind down and get a good night’s sleep before she speaks. This will be dependent on Dee’s travel – she’ll make her plans to get in by mid to late afternoon, but sometimes planes are late, and then she will have to regrettably pass on Friday dinner plans.
What kind of technical equipment is needed when Dee speaks?
Dee’s presentations are enhanced with VIDEO CLIPS, AUDIO CLIPS, AND PHOTOGRAPHS. It is important that the facility in which Dee is to speak is equipped with a computer, sound system and projection equipment that can support this type of multi-media presentation. Dee’s assistant travels with her for almost every event and will be operating the media presentation while Dee speaks. A technical person will need to be available on site prior to and during the event for any assistance needed.
Are Dee’s books and other merchandise sold at the event?
Yes, and this is a great opportunity for volunteers to help serve Dee and her assistant. Instructions for operating the book tables will arrive along with the inventory approximately one week before the event. Dee’s assistant will train volunteers on the details of handling the inventory and purchasing process.
Will Dee spend time signing books and meeting with women who attend an event?
Absolutely! It is Dee’s hope that the Lord will use her to minister to ladies throughout the event, not just from the stage. While meeting the women and signing books, Dee finds herself often led to pray with women and takes the necessary time to listen to their personal stories.
Does Dee still take an offering for her prison ministry?
Dee loves to partner with retreats to make a five minute presentation on what she sees happening in the fertile field of women’s prisons and take an offering — but that is completely optional. Many retreat committees have their own charity or prefer not to include this. You might look at Dee’s website to learn more about it and pray about it. At one time Dee lowered her honorarium to groups willing to do this, but that ran into problems, so she has basically stopped doing that. (If you are the exceptional group with which it worked well, she would do it again, or if you are confident it would work with your group, please feel free to discuss it with Dee and she’ll consider it.) She has lowered her honorarium to help you keep ticket prices reasonable.
What is Dee’s church affiliation?
Dee is a part of a church plant of the Evangelical Free Church in Wisconsin. She has also been a member of the Presbyterian Church of America and the Conservative Baptist Church. Dee sees herself as a member of the Body of Christ and is sensitive to differences in denominations. She often talks about how Jesus prayed that we would love one another well in the body of Christ.
Is there an Event Tool Kit that covers more details regarding the setup/teardown of the merchandising tables, the pre-event preparations, sample agenda for the event, etc.?
Yes. You can go here: Event Planning Tool Kit for these and answers to other specific questions.