How to Start a Christian Moms’ Ministry
As we close out this chapter of Risen Motherhood, we’re excited to see a multitude of other ministries and Christian influencers springing up to reach moms with the good news of the gospel. Today’s landscape is so much wider and richer than when we first turned on our podcast mic ten years ago, and we hope it only continues to flourish, as more and more moms replicate “risen motherhood” in their own voices and niches.
We’ve had a lot of help and support over the years, from practical tool recommendations to big-picture “lessons learned” in ministry, and it’s our heart to pass that along to the sisters who will pick up the torch behind us. If God has laid it on your heart to serve moms through a specific resource, small group, or organization, we’re so excited for you! And we hope these how-tos will be helpful as you seek the Lord for the shape and scope that your ministry might take:
Target Audience/Niche
Before you begin, take time to think through who you would like to reach and what message God has laid on your heart to share. Since you’re starting a ministry for moms, obviously they’re your target audience. But consider narrowing it down even further. This could be moms to young children, moms who are experiencing infertility, moms who have husbands that work long hours, or even by location: moms at your local church or who have children at the same school. By narrowing it down, content creation actually becomes easier (truly!), and you’ll build trust and loyalty with your community as they know what to expect from you and why being a part of your community will benefit and encourage them. A great way to do this is to build a profile of your ideal community member. What is her life like? What are her pain points? Her sorrows? Her joys? Keeping this type of person in mind can help as you shape content and resources, ensuring it meets both felt and true needs.
Equipment/Tools
What’s great about today’s digital age is that it doesn’t require much to start an organization. All you really need is a computer or phone and a connection to the internet. After that, it’s just determining the platform(s) you’d like to operate from to build your community. This can be through a podcast feed (how Risen Motherhood started) or platforms like Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest, etc. No matter what, we highly recommend creating an online home through a website and starting an email list as soon as you’re able. Social media sites are “rented” space, meaning you don’t determine what will ultimately happen on that platform and access to your community can be taken away at any moment. Email lists are “owned property,” so even if your email client goes away, you still have those addresses and will always have a direct line of communication to your community. In addition, it’s consistently shown to be one of the most low-cost and consistent ways to reach an audience.
Once you’ve created a few “homes” for your content, you can start to build out other tools in order to run your organization efficiently and effectively as it grows. Here’s a list of what we use at Risen Motherhood:
MailChimp - Email Client
ClickUp - Project management tool
Google Drive - File creation and storage
Dropbox - Large file storage
Libsyn - Podcast feed
RØDE Mic and Mixer - Podcast recording
GarageBand - Podcast editing
iPhone - Photography and videography
Canva - Graphic design
InDesign - Graphic design
Theological Beliefs
The rockbed of any Christian ministry is its theological beliefs. From the outset, consider writing down what you believe and what theology your ministry will represent and align with. This can be as simple as a theological statement like the Nicene Creed, or depending on what your aim and vision is, it can be extremely detailed. Say, for example, your ministry is centered around apologetics for moms or a woman’s role in the home; you may need a more robust, publicly facing statement. Remember, your statement of faith is the guardrail around which you develop all your content—free downloads, articles, podcasts, videos, Bible studies, talks, etc. In addition, if you choose to welcome a guest contributor, you can ask them to sign or agree with a statement of faith so that you can trust the content they develop for you will align with your ministry’s beliefs. At Risen Motherhood, we post a short statement of our beliefs on our About page and share our more detailed theological beliefs in an additional document available online that guides us and our guest contributors more specifically in content creation.
Mission Statement
It’s exciting to start a new endeavor. But even when you have a few clear things you know you want to do, without an established mission, it can be hard to stick to the right path. Think of your mission as a map for your journey, helping you know when to stop, where to turn, and how to know when you’ve reached or are heading toward your desired destination. There’s lots of help online for developing a mission and/or vision statement. And remember—this isn’t set in stone. It should be revisited periodically and updated to reflect where the Lord is leading you. Alongside a mission statement, consider writing down the values that you (or your team) hope to embody along the way. For example, here are our mission statement and values at Risen Motherhood. These were regularly reviewed with our team members and taken into consideration when making decisions, big and small:
Mission:
Risen Motherhood exists to encourage, equip, and challenge moms to apply the gospel to their everyday lives.
Values:
Imago Dei - We believe all people are created by God and of equal value, dignity and worth. Therefore we will treat every interaction and relationship (community member, team member, donor, sponsor, peer ministry, or critic) with compassion, tenderness, and charity. We place a high value on nuance, timelessness, and relatability, breaking down barriers on non-essential gospel issues to win souls for Christ.
For the Kingdom - We believe this ministry has been entrusted to us as a gift from God and our job is to steward it for as long as he allows. This means we will be generous with our resources, humble with our successes, and open to change and improvement. We don’t cling to methods, philosophies, platforms, relationships, or getting credit; we only cling to Jesus. We’re willing to work behind the scenes, helping other brothers and sisters forward if they can fill a kingdom assignment better than we can.
Excellence - We believe our God is a God of truth, beauty, and order which we desire to model. We don’t take shortcuts or use ploys, tricks, or cons. To our best ability, we strive to do everything with the highest quality in theology, function, and design.
CFRC - We believe the gospel changes everything. Whether it’s producing a podcast or sending an email, the gospel informs and transforms our motivations, intentions, and output. It is our core—the most critical and essential part of our work.
Eyes on Paper - We believe we have been given a specific job to do: To reach moms with the hope of the gospel and show them how it can transform every part of their life. With this as our aim, we are intentional and measured in both big and little things. We pray, seek counsel, evaluate options, and consider risks before making a decision—valuing leadership team and board unity, team buy-in, and the strength of an idea over time. We are unassuming—never jostling for position—valuing slow, sustainable growth, not quick wins.
Content Philosophy
It’s exciting that you want to reach moms—but what truth and hope do you want to encourage them with? Will you personally create all of your content or will you partner with others? Will you source all original content or borrow/share from other sources with permission? What types of issues will you speak to and what ones won’t you speak to? Who is your target audience and what challenges are they facing? Knowing who you’re trying to reach along with your philosophy and stance on the types of information you’re sharing with moms will be important to guard and guide what you share. Here’s a shortened version of our content philosophy at Risen Motherhood and a link to our FAQ where we share a little bit about what guides our decisions on who we partner with. Our content philosophy is also closely linked to our mission, values, statement of faith, and our social media policy.
Social Media Philosophy
While not all ministries for moms have to be digital (and we hope they’re not!), most endeavors or organizations will have a presence on social media. Even though you don’t have to immediately establish every aspect of your social media presence, it might be helpful to give some thought to where you’re going and how you want to engage along the way. You never know when and how growth might happen, and it’s good to have thought about some of your boundaries on social media before you’re in a tough spot. The reality is that commenters aren’t always kind and encouraging, DMs might shock you, and you might feel pressure to do or share things that aren’t authentically to you or your mission. In addition, motherhood content overlaps with real life. How much of your own house and family are you comfortable sharing online? (This podcast series and questionnaire on social media might be helpful!) Consider writing a social media policy, even if it’s just a few focus words, Bible verses, or bullet points you want to personally keep in mind. As your follower count grows, you might want to adjust and firm up your values and boundaries for how you’ll handle comments and messages. As an example, here’s our social media engagement policy at Risen Motherhood. This helped us in many circumstances when we weren’t sure how we should handle a surprising or concerning interaction online. Thankfully, our policy helped point us toward a solution.
Oversight/Accountability
Proverbs 11:14 says, “Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.” This principle is especially true when starting a ministry outside of the local church. Because the name and reputation of Christ are at stake (along with your personal/family name and reputation, and sometimes your local church’s), it’s important to surround yourself with believers who can help provide a level of protection, however informal, through honest feedback, guidance, and accountability. After all, “every way of a man is right in his own eyes” (Proverbs 21:2). We naturally defend and validate our ideas, thinking our way is probably the best. In an age of social media, where anyone can call themself an expert and authoritative source of wisdom, consider exercising humility by surrounding yourself with oversight and accountability. There are a myriad of ways to do this—it doesn’t have to feel forced, scary, or awkward. We had this every step of the way at Risen Motherhood and were always so grateful for the care and wisdom of others.
Ideas to consider:
Establish a group of believers willing to receive periodic updates about your ministry. Ask them to follow your work closely and give them specific ways they can pray for you. This might be older women, pastors or elders, or just invested friends and family.
Be an involved, known member of a local church. As you put yourself personally under authority and live in community, you’ll naturally have protection and accountability.
Have a meeting with your local church women’s ministry leader (or depending on the size of your church and scale of your ministry, your pastor or an elder) and let them know what you’re doing. Ask for their insight and support/encouragement and try to understand how you might engage in partnership with your local church.
If you decide to have a nonprofit, this accountability would be built through a Board of Directors.
Share what you’re doing with your husband and closest friends, ask for their honest feedback, and give them an open door to say something if they ever see you veering off track—this might sound obvious, but it’s a step that people sometimes skip when deciding to go online and start sharing truth with others!
Ultimately, it’s the Word of God that guides us. Continue praying and ask the Lord to search your heart, provide guidance, and protect his truth at every turn.
