By Sarah Koontz
2025 marked a meaningful milestone for me personally and for Living by Design Ministries.
After years of study, writing, ministry leadership, and faithful support from so many people, I completed my studies at Dallas Theological Seminary. Graduation has a way of inviting reflection. It causes you to look back and remember all the late nights, hard decisions, answered prayers, and unexpected provisions that carried you from one season into the next.
As I looked back over the past nine years of ministry, I was overwhelmed by the kindness of God.
What began as a simple desire to help people engage more deeply with God’s Word has grown into a global community of readers, writers, prayer partners, donors, volunteers, and ministry friends.
Together, we have witnessed God’s provision time and time again.
Over the years, readers from around the world have participated in Bible studies, shared testimonies of spiritual growth, and encouraged one another in their faith. More than 200 guest contributors have generously shared their stories and biblical insights, helping create a rich collection of resources that continue to point people toward Christ.
Donors and prayer partners have faithfully sustained this work, making it possible for Living by Design Ministries to continue providing free biblical resources to anyone, anywhere, at any time.
Our 2025 Impact Report is not intended to be a comprehensive history of the ministry. Rather, it is a simple snapshot of God’s faithfulness through the years and a celebration of the people who have helped make this work possible.
A Nine-Year Snapshot of God’s Faithfulness
Since 2017, God has allowed Living by Design Ministries to reach far beyond what we could have imagined when this work began.
These cumulative ministry totals represent nine years of Bible studies, articles, contributors, donors, and ministry engagement made possible by God’s faithfulness and the support of His people.
Since 2017, Living by Design Ministries has celebrated:
- 102,239 free Bible studies completed
- 16 Bible studies created
- 426 articles published
- 12 team members serving the ministry
- $11,530 invested in Bible literacy projects
- 55,000 e-mail subscribers
- 200+ guest writers featured
- 898 donors
But behind every number is a person.
A woman opening her Bible during a difficult season.
A small group gathering around Scripture.
A reader discovering God’s grace in a fresh way.
A writer courageously sharing what God has taught her.
A donor helping make free Bible studies possible.
Every Bible study completed, every article published, every encouraging e-mail received, and every life touched by God’s Word is a testimony to His goodness.
Why We Give Bible Studies Away for Free
At Living by Design Ministries, we believe God’s Word is a gift.
The Bible reveals the character of God, points us to the hope of the gospel, and teaches us how to walk in wisdom, humility, and love. Scripture is not meant to remain closed on a shelf or locked behind a paywall. It is living and active, and we want to help people open their Bibles, understand what they are reading, and apply God’s truth to their everyday lives.
That is why we continue to create and share free Bible studies and biblical encouragement through our ministry website.
Our desire is simple:
- Know the truth. We create biblical resources that equip and inspire readers to study and faithfully apply God’s Word.
- Be transformed by the truth. We help build a bridge between professing faith and the life-changing power of Scripture.
- Share the truth in love. We encourage spiritual maturity so readers are equipped to live out and share their faith with others.
Everything we do flows from this mission.
2025 Ministry Impact
In 2025, Living by Design Ministries continued providing free Bible studies and biblical encouragement to readers around the world.
This year, we celebrated:
- 3,391 new e-mail subscribers
- 4,189 Bible studies completed
- 162,000 website visitors
- 212 countries reached
- 58,619 social media reach
These numbers remind us that the need for biblical encouragement remains great.
Readers continue to search for hope, clarity, comfort, and truth. Many are facing difficult seasons. Others are learning how to study the Bible for the first time. Some are looking for resources to use in small groups, churches, or personal discipleship.
We are grateful that God continues to use this ministry to meet people in those moments.
Celebrating Our Contributors
One of the greatest gifts God has given this ministry is a community of faithful writers.
In 2025, we featured 36 guest writers from 21 states and 3 countries. Twelve of these writers have been long-term contributors, serving with Living by Design Ministries for three or more years.
This year, 58% of our published content came from guest writers.
That matters.
Living by Design Ministries has always been more than one voice. It is a community of women using their gifts to encourage others in the truth of God’s Word. Our contributors bring depth, perspective, personal testimony, and biblical insight to the resources we share.
One of the highlights of 2025 was watching Jana Carlson step into the role of Content Coordinator. In this expanded position, Jana now oversees our guest contributor program, social media presence, and graphic design initiatives.
Her leadership has strengthened both our contributor community and the ministry resources we provide to readers around the world.
Creating Content That Connects
As we reviewed ministry engagement from 2025, several themes stood out.
Content centered on God’s grace remained one of our strongest areas of engagement. Readers continue to respond deeply to resources that help them better understand God’s character through Scripture.
Bible character studies also connected with readers in meaningful ways. Articles exploring the lives of biblical figures such as Hagar and Rebekah demonstrated a continued hunger for practical lessons from the people of Scripture.
Readers from more than 200 countries engaged with Living by Design content this year, with significant growth across India, Kenya, and South America.
We also saw strong engagement with content that offered biblical encouragement for difficult seasons. From overcoming obstacles to learning how to pray through hardship, readers consistently gravitated toward resources rooted in hope, practical application, and God’s Word.
This does not surprise us.
People are hungry for truth.
They are searching for hope.
And God’s Word continues to meet them right where they are.
2025 Stewardship & Financial Impact
We view our donors as partners in the work of Bible literacy.
Because of your generosity, Living by Design Ministries continued to maintain our online resources, support our contributor community, care for ministry operations, and provide free Bible studies and biblical encouragement to readers around the world.
In 2025:
- $28,142 was received in donations
- $31,522 was invested in ministry expenses
- $24,889 remained in year-end assets
- Ministry expenses were reduced by 19%
We are grateful for every gift, every prayer, and every act of support that makes this work possible.
Your generosity allows us to continue giving freely.
When you support Living by Design Ministries, you help keep Bible studies free, articles accessible, and biblical encouragement available to readers around the world.
Thank you for giving so we can continue to give.
Goals for 2026
As we look ahead, we are asking God to help us steward this ministry with wisdom, humility, and faithfulness.
Our goals for 2026 are to:
- Strengthen and expand our community of writers.
- Continue creating and sharing free biblical resources.
- Steward every opportunity to encourage Bible literacy.
We do not know exactly what the next chapter will hold, but we trust the One who writes the story.
The pages of this report tell the story of what God has done.
The chapters ahead belong to Him.
For nearly a decade, Living by Design Ministries has existed to help people know the truth, be transformed by the truth, and share the truth in love.
We are grateful for every reader, contributor, donor, volunteer, and prayer partner who has helped make this ministry possible.
Thank you for being part of the Living by Design story.
May we continue to know the truth, be transformed by the truth, and share the truth in love.
With gratitude,
Sarah Koontz
Founder of Living by Design Ministries
