Stewardship vs. Striving: A Different Approach to "Platform"

Finding freedom from the platform-building pressure that plagues Christian writers

Few words create more anxiety for Christian writers than "platform."

In today’s digital world, have a platform feels simultaneously necessary and uncomfortable—essential for reaching people but somehow contrary to our spiritual instincts.

You've probably heard these competing messages:

• "If you want to reach people, you need to build your platform."

• "Humble yourself before the Lord; don't seek the spotlight."

• "Publishers won't consider your book without a substantial following."

• "Seek first the kingdom, not earthly success."

No wonder we feel conflicted!

But what if the tension isn't between having a platform or not having one?

What if it's between how we approach the platform we inevitably have?

Everyone who shares words publicly has some form of platform—whether it reaches ten people or ten thousand.

The question isn't whether you should have a platform, but how you relate to it.

Two Fundamentally Different Approaches

There are two primary ways to approach your platform as a Christian writer:

Building: Creating a platform through strategic effort to expand your reach and influence.

Stewarding: Faithfully caring for the audience God has already entrusted to you, whether large or small.

On the surface, these approaches might look similar.

But they flow from fundamentally different postures of the heart.

The Building Mindset

When we focus on building a platform, there are a few things that we tend to do:

• View followers as metrics (rather than souls)

• Feel anxious about slow growth or plateaus

• Compare our numbers with others

• Create content primarily to attract attention

• Measure success by reach and engagement

• Experience crushing imposter syndrome

This approach creates a subtle but persistent pressure.

For me, I can say that I’ve seen it turn ministry into marketing, and service into self-promotion.

The Stewardship Mindset

On the other hand, when we focus on stewarding our platform, we:

• View followers as people entrusted to our care

• Feel grateful for each person who engages

• Compare our content only to our calling

• Create content primarily to serve needs

• Measure success by faithfulness and fruitfulness

• Experience appropriate humility

• Keep our identity rooted in Christ

This approach brings surprising freedom.

It turns marketing back into ministry, and self-promotion into service.

A Personal Shift

I've experienced this tension firsthand. Sitting down to write while trying to balance authentic spiritual expression with modern digital writing conventions felt suffocating.

At the end of the day, all the advice about perfectly crafting headlines and optimizing content felt constricting—in a way, suffocating the very spiritual truths I wanted to share.

I often wondered: Can a Christian write with vulnerable authenticity in the modern digital landscape?

Well, my breakthrough came not through discovering some perfect compromise, but through surrendering to the gospel:

"Christ in me, the hope of glory."

In that surrender, building a platform was no longer my goal. Instead, I found myself offering my talents to Christ and trusting Him to work through me.

This shift transformed my approach entirely.

If He decided writing wasn't my calling, or if He chose not to reach people through my words, that would be fine. The platform became something to which He brings the increase (or not!).

This revelation was incredibly freeing.

Biblical Foundations for Stewardship

Even better, I found that this revelation is deeply Biblical.

Jesus consistently taught that:

• What we have isn't ours but is entrusted to us (Matthew 25:14-30)

• Faithfulness with little leads to responsibility for more (Luke 16:10)

• Our focus should be on serving, not status (Mark 10:42-45)

• The size of our impact doesn't determine its value (Mark 12:41-44)

I believe that these principles can apply directly to how we approach our platforms.

The Growth Paradox

Paradoxically, it would seem that our platforms often grow faster when we stop trying to build them and start faithfully stewarding them.

When our focus shifts from growing numbers to serving people, readers sense the difference.

They feel valued rather than targeted.

They sense authenticity rather than strategy.

And they're more likely to share content that genuinely helped them.

When Numbers Decline

But perhaps the greatest test of our relationship with platform comes when numbers decline.

A building mindset panics.

A stewardship mindset pauses to discern.

Maybe the decline is an invitation to serve more deeply rather than more broadly.

Maybe it's a season for refinement.

Maybe it's an opportunity to remember that God's math often differs from algorithms.

Practical Stewardship Strategies

Stewarding a platform isn't just a nice mental concept—I’ve found that it changes how you operate day to day.

Here are a few practical steps that might help.

1. Begin with Gratitude

• Start by thanking God for each person who reads your words

• Celebrate one meaningful comment rather than total engagement

• Focus on individual stories of impact rather than aggregate metrics

2. Create From Calling, Not Comparison

• Instead of asking “what’s trending?” consider asking: "What am I uniquely positioned to share?"

• Develop content from your specific experience and insight

• Be willing to write about topics that matter, even if they don't perform well metrically

3. Serve Depth Before Breadth

• Prioritize deeply serving your current audience over constantly reaching for new followers

• Create content that addresses real needs, not just what attracts attention

4. View Metrics Through a Stewardship Lens

• Use analytics to understand how to serve better, not just grow bigger

• Ask "What content is actually helping people?" not just "What's getting clicks?"

• See trends as insight into needs, not just performance indicators

The Liberation of Limits

One of the most freeing aspects of the stewardship mindset is embracing limits.

Not everyone is called to reach millions.

Some are called to serve hundreds deeply.

Some are called to impact dozens profoundly.

Some are called to reach just a few lives—but it could be in ways that create generational change.

No matter what it is, accepting your calling's scope brings tremendous freedom, because it is given to you directly from God.

Faithful Growth vs. Frantic Building

To be clear: a stewardship mindset doesn't mean you stop caring about reaching people.

The faithful steward in Jesus' parable still created increase.

But of course, he did so from faithfulness, not frantic activity. Or, you could say, from service, not self-promotion.

So when the pressure to reach the top of a platform rears its head, remember this truth:

The platform is not the point.

The people are the point.

And ultimately, the Person—Jesus Christ—is the point.

Your platform, whether it reaches ten people or ten million, is simply a means to make much of Him.

An Invitation to Freedom

What would change if you released your grip on platform building?

If you saw yourself not as a platform builder but as a faithful steward?

If you measured success not by size but by faithfulness?

Spoiler alert: there's a wonderful freedom waiting on the other side.

Freedom not only to create what God has called you to create, to serve who God has called you to serve. But freedom to be who God has called you to be.

In my own journey, this shift has made writing much more relaxing and liberating. I no longer stress about crafting the "perfect" article or following rigid formulas. I see my audience (no matter how big or small) as people God has brought to my writing—an ability that He gave me in the first place.

From beginning to end, He is in it.

Even the metrics now reflect His work, not my efforts—and that releases me from the pressure to perform.

When challenges arise (as they inevitably do in this growth-obsessed digital world), prayer and surrender become the path forward, not frantic optimization.

The invitation is simple but deep: steward what God has given you and trust Him with the results.