7 Principles for Cultivating a Powerful Christian Blog

By now, if you’ve spent more than a minute blogging, you’ve figured out blogging is hard work. Creating content that attracts readers requires time and thought [Unless you’re running one of those content mills that creates a blog by taking other people’s content—more about that in a future post]. Cultivating a blog that is relevant and engaging takes effort. It doesn’t just happen naturally. In the words of my friend Paulo: “That’s POWERFUL!!!”

And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.

Colossians 3:17 (NLT)

To cultivate an engaging and relevant Christian blog, we find inspiration in Scripture. For example, the Apostle Paul’s words in Colossians 3:17 provide us with a holistic approach to our actions and creations, including the content we produce and share in blogs. Ancient words provide us guidance for living in a modern world.

Here are my 7 Principles for Cultivating a Powerful Christian Blog:

Speak Truth in Love

In his letter to the church in Ephesus, the Apostle Paul encourages us to “speak the truth in love”[Ephesians 4:15]. This is a principle that can guide our blog content. Our posts should always seek to express Biblical truths boldly, yet in a manner that is loving, kind, compassionate, and sensitive of our readers’ circumstances. After all, each of us is in need of Jesus.

Engage with Scripture

In his letter to his pupil, Timothy, the Apostle Paul shared that “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” [2 Timothy 3:16]. My encouragement to you, as a Christian blogger, would be to use your blog to explore and share the depths of Scripture, providing insights, applications, and teachings that can help your readers grow in their faith and understanding of God’s Holy Word. We all need God to guide us.

Encourage and Build Up

Our blogs should serve as sources of encouragement, offering hope and positivity through the lens of Christian faith, helping our readers navigate their challenges with faith amid living in these turbulent times.

So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NLT)

Be Authentic and Transparent

The Apostle Paul did not shy away from sharing his weaknesses. He recognized that his need for the power of Christ to help him make it through the day. By sharing our own struggles and how faith has guided us through difficulties makes our blog more relatable and impactful.

Foster Community

My friend Troy, who runs an online church, does this really well and consistently. Our blogs are online platforms that can foster a sense of community through providing engaging discussions, taking prayer requests, and sharing stories. By doing this, we are encouraging our readers to live out their faith in community. Remember: the Devil loves to get us in isolation so that sin can take root and grow.

Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (NLT)

Include Calls to Action

This is one principle that I need to do better in myself.

James 2:17 reminds us that “faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” We should encourage our readers not just to read and reflect, but to live out their faith.

This can be through volunteering at their favorite nonprofit organization, engaging in deeper personal Bible study, or helping them learn how to confidently share their faith with people they encounter throughout their daily lives. The Christian faith is one to be lived and shared. It’s not meant to be kept to ourselves.

Pray for Guidance

In his letter to the Philippians, the Apostle Paul encouraged “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” . Before you sit down to write a post, we should seek God’s guidance in prayer, asking Him to inspire our words so that the content we create is used for His glory.

These are my 7 Principles for Cultivating a Powerful Christian Blog. I hope you find them useful.

Cultivating a Christian blog that engages and impacts readers positively requires intentionality and reliance on God’s wisdom. By anchoring our blogs in Scripture and its timeless truths, we create a space that not only informs but transforms.

Blogging takes time. I easily spend a 2-3 hours a day working on my blog. WORKING. Nothing good grows if you don’t put in the effort. Over the course of the week, it’s not unusual for me to invest 20-30 hours into my blog.

Naturally, that’s linked to how many posts I’m writing and publishing that week. Right now, I’m in a groove where I’m posting fresh content daily. That’s not always sustainable. Seasons change; blogging rhythms do, too. But if you want people to invest their time in what you write then you need to put in the work.

FACTS.

How can you use your blog to help someone deepen their relationship with Jesus today?

Dear blogger: I encourage you to cultivate a prayerful life. I believe the deeper your prayer life is, the richer your blogposts will be.

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)

Praying for us. We are all works in progress.

You are loved.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™