By Briana Bass, Christian Romance Author, Devotional Writer & Certified Professional Coach

Christian media is having a heyday. From books to movies to music to television shows, the amount of Christian content available is staggering. In a good way!

The problem is that most Christian content focuses on evangelism. I know, I know, you’re grabbing your Bibles and pointing to red text and shouting at me about the Great Commission. Spreading the Gospel and encouraging non-believers to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior is a good thing, but the work doesn’t (or shouldn’t) end there.

There’s a need for Christian content at every stage of life and for every faith journey. While we can all learn from one another, our needs are not always the same. Someone who is born and raised in a Christian household deserves to be represented in Christian media the same as someone who came to Christ in their fifties. Yet most Christian content focuses on trends, sales, and outdated tradition instead of meeting the current needs of different demographics.

Young women in particular are underserved by Christian media. It’s time to fix it.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Long before I began my author journey, I was a young adult woman trying to figure out what following Jesus looked like. I searched and searched for resources that applied to my stage of life. I wasn’t married. I wasn’t a mother. I wasn’t new to the faith. One dead end after another yielded practically nothing to help me in grow in faith.

I saw my friends running into the same roadblocks, and through volunteering with youth ministry, I saw Gen Z girls and young women facing the same obstacles. As I have aged out of being a young adult myself, I now see women of all ages growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of Christian resources available for those who aren’t newlyweds or new mothers. Many women over the age of 40 have sent children to college, are not yet grandmothers, and are still working full-time. They’re not ready for devotionals about grandchildren or women’s conferences about retirement. Where is the content for their current stages of life?

And don’t get me started on the lack of content for the under 40 crowd. Yes, there are devotionals for teens and college students, but those don’t apply to twenty-five-year-olds starting their careers and worrying about paying their rent. See, when it comes to the young adult age group (18-35), we are rocking it with the resources and support for new Christians and young wives and mothers. But when it comes to women in any other stage of life or anywhere else on their faith journeys, we are failing them.

Stand Up and Speak Out

We forget that women are individuals with identities outside of their children and spouses (if they even have children and spouses). Every life, every relationship with Jesus, is different. Our needs are not the same. This is also true when it comes to Christian media. While excellent content and resources exist, they are often skewed towards select demographics while largely ignoring others. A quick search of an online retailer shows over 4000 results for devotionals for mothers, and only 88 for devotionals for retirees.

I guess it’s up to us to bridge the gap. Friend, that’s exactly what I’m doing, and I hope you will join me in this endeavor. Though I focus predominantly on the 18-35 unmarried, childfree career woman, my heart breaks for the over 40 women who feel ignored by Christian culture. Maybe that’s where you can come in! Perhaps you have a heart for this group and are willing to take a chance and create something wonderful for them. Or maybe you too feel called to provide resources for the young adult woman who is navigating adulthood. There’s room for everyone to contribute to all age groups and demographics.

What’s important is that we recognize that the lack of content exists and we do something about it. Let’s speak up, ladies! We deserve support on our faith walks, regardless of where we are on the journey. It’s time to stop pretending we’re okay with what already exists. The content that’s out there is good, but it’s not enough. We have the power to make it better for ourselves and our sisters. Will you join me?

Now is the Time to Act

As part of my daily prayers, I ask God who I can encourage that day. This helps me focus on what I can control and on what God wants me to do. I know there are women everywhere seeking encouragement, but I also know I do not have the power to encourage all of them every day. So, I let God point me towards who I’m supposed to encourage on a particular day.

Maybe it’s you as you read this blog. Maybe it’s a woman reading one of my books. Maybe it’s a group completing my virtual retreat. There are many ways that God is using my talents to create Christian content that encourages other women and meets their needs in ways that other Christian resources are not. I do not say this to brag, but to illustrate an example of how I am speaking up for forgotten Christian women. You can speak up, too, and I hope you will!