For many, the question of whether monetising your ministry is "godly" or not is controversial. While it can spark a lot of debate within faith communities. In our modern world, where online platforms and digital outreach are necessary, this question can create confusion. But realistically, monetising your ministry isn’t as ungodly as many make it out to be.
Especially when there are always costs associated with doing the work of ministry.
Yes. But for many, ministry can only be free of charge if they have a financial system with consistent income from donations, partners or sponsorships every month or year. But most ministries don’t start that way. Ministries in the beginning have start-up costs. These costs will be low, but as the ministry grows, your expenses will too. This also depends on how you start your ministry; for example, if you start a YouTube ministry, a podcast ministry using Spotify for Creators, and a blog on a platform like Medium or Substack, they can all begin for free. But as you start to establish a brand for your ministry online, using free platforms can only take you so far.
Many women today don’t realise that when it comes to growing an online ministry, you need to understand the costs of doing it full-time. For example, your salary, a ministry team, a website domain and hosting, an email address, and more. These are just some of the costs you'll have to pay when you do ministry full-time, and depending on what type of ministry you're called to start, you will notice that the cost associated with it will either be things you need to take it to the next level or expenses to expand it beyond the free platforms.
Deciding whether to make money from a ministry is a personal choice and should not be made lightly, nor should it be overlooked, given the possible consequences of doing so or not.
There is no right or wrong answer to this question. Especially if monetising your ministry can provide a source of income that enables you to cover the operational costs, pay your team, and fund future projects without relying solely on donations. Then yes. But the question we should all be asking ourselves is, can my ministry create impact and an income?
As Jesus says in Luke 14:28, take time to think about what it will cost to do God's work—ministry. This is a great time to do a ministry audit—this allows you to assess what your ministry’s needs are. Which you can bring to God in prayer, make a plan of action for, and create a financial system that will allow you to count the costs your ministry will incur doing the process.
If you consider monetisation as a helpful tool to achieve financial sustainability, rather than relying on it as your primary or sole source of income, making your ministry sustainable becomes not only possible but also practical. This mindset is important because it allows you to think of diversifying the way you fund your ministry while creating a financial system that can withstand the burden of doing ministry long-term.
At the end of the day, how you support and fund your ministry is a personal choice that should come from prayer and careful thought. If finding godly ways to earn money through your ministry is something you want to do, I would encourage you to do these five things:
Seek God's guidance through prayer and scripture reading.
Examine your own heart and motivations.
Focus on Need Over Market Demand (the financial requirements needed in the ministry)
Seek counsel from trusted spiritual mentors (this can be someone you trust to give you godly advice and direction, and is solely led by the Holy Spirit).
Ask yourself, Does this action glorify God?