Pick Substack if your faith newsletter is a weekly reflection with a clear voice. Pick Mailchimp if it is a church, ministry, school, or nonprofit update with lists, events, tags, and reports. Simple enough. The platform will shape the message, the rhythm, and even the community around it.
TLDR: Lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi means what we believe, pray, and live are tied together. For newsletters, the tool you choose shapes the habit you build. A parish with 250 subscribers sending four updates a month may be fine on a basic Mailchimp setup, while a writer with 1,000 readers and 100 paid subscribers at $5 per month may prefer Substack, even after Substack takes 10% of paid revenue. Use Mailchimp for organized ministry communication. Use Substack for a faith writer, pastor, or teacher building a reader community.
First, What Does “Lex Credendi, Lex Orandi, Lex Vivendi” Mean?
It sounds fancy. It is not that scary.
Lex credendi means “the law of believing.” Lex orandi means “the law of praying.” Lex vivendi means “the law of living.”
Put simply: what we pray shapes what we believe, and what we believe shapes how we live.
Now apply that to email.
The way you send your newsletter shapes the way your people receive it. A clean Saturday reflection feels like a quiet chapel. A packed event email feels like a church bulletin board. Both can be holy. Both can help. But they do different jobs.
That is why the Mailchimp vs Substack choice matters.
Substack Feels Like a Pulpit With a Reply Button
Substack is best when one clear voice leads the way.
Think:
- A pastor sending weekly reflections.
- A Catholic writer sharing Sunday meditations.
- A Bible teacher posting short devotionals.
- A campus minister writing to students.
- A faith podcast sending show notes and essays.
Substack wants readers to feel like followers. Not in a weird way. More like, “I want to hear from this person every week.”
It is very easy to start. You write. You publish. People subscribe. Done.
The editor is clean. The archive looks good. Paid subscriptions are built in. Comments and notes can create real conversation.
That is the magic. Substack turns a newsletter into a tiny publication.
It also has a public feel. Your posts can live on the web. People can share them. Readers may find you through the Substack app or recommendations from other writers.
That matters if your ministry grows through teaching, reflection, storytelling, or spiritual essays.
But Substack Has Limits
Substack is not built like a church office tool.
Need five different lists? It gets awkward. Need event reminders for parents, donors, volunteers, and choir members? Not ideal. Need deep design control? Not really.
Honestly, it feels like Substack is saying, “Please just write the thing.” That is great until you need more structure.
Also, Substack’s paid model is simple, but not free forever if you charge readers. Substack takes 10% of paid subscription income. Payment processing fees are extra.
So if your devotional letter earns $500 per month, Substack takes $50 before processor fees. That may be fine. It may even be a bargain. But know it early.
Mailchimp Feels Like the Parish Office Got a Spreadsheet
Mailchimp is best when your newsletter is not just “a letter.” It is a system.
Think:
- Sunday service reminders.
- Youth group updates.
- Donor appeals.
- Volunteer schedules.
- Holiday event emails.
- New visitor follow-ups.
Mailchimp lets you deal with groups. Tags. Segments. Signup forms. Templates. Reports. Automations. This is where it shines.
A church can tag people as members, visitors, parents, donors, or volunteers. Then each group can get the right message.
That matters. A retired donor does not need the same email as a parent of a sixth grader going to camp. Please spare them both.
Mailchimp also gives stronger reporting. You can see opens, clicks, unsubscribes, and campaign results. You can test subject lines. You can connect forms to your website.
For a ministry team, this is useful. Very useful.
But Mailchimp Can Be Fussy
Mailchimp has power. It also has buttons hiding inside other buttons.
It drives me crazy that a simple list cleanup can turn into seven clicks, two tabs, and a moment where you wonder if you joined the wrong committee.
The design tools are better than they used to be. Still, building a clean email can take time. Moving blocks around may feel slow. Finding the exact setting you need can be annoying.
Mailchimp also charges based on contacts and features. Pricing can rise as your list grows. A free plan may work for a small group, but a growing church can outgrow it fast.
So Mailchimp is not “hard.” It is just more like a church copier. Powerful. Useful. Occasionally possessed.
The Faith Question: What Habit Are You Forming?
This is where lex credendi, lex orandi, lex vivendi gets practical.
Your newsletter is not just content. It builds a rhythm.
If you send a weekly Substack reflection every Friday morning, readers may build a prayer habit around it. Coffee. Scripture. Reflection. Quiet. That becomes part of life.
If you send a Mailchimp email every Wednesday with service times, meals, classes, and needs, readers may build a habit of showing up. They serve. They give. They attend. They bring soup.
Both are good. But they train different muscles.
Substack forms attention.
Mailchimp organizes action.
That sentence may be the whole article.
Choose Substack If…
- You write essays, reflections, or devotionals.
- Your voice is the main draw.
- You want paid subscriptions.
- You want a public archive.
- You like simple publishing.
- You do not need complex audience groups.
Substack is great for “Father James Writes,” “The Daily Psalm,” or “Letters from the Abbey Garden.” It works when readers want a person, a voice, and a rhythm.
Choose Mailchimp If…
- You manage a church or faith nonprofit list.
- You need polished event emails.
- You need tags and audience segments.
- You send updates from a team.
- You run campaigns for giving or volunteering.
- You care about detailed email reports.
Mailchimp is better for “Weekly Parish News,” “Mission Partner Update,” or “Advent Service Schedule.” It works when the message has many parts and many audiences.
A Simple Scenario
Meet Grace Fellowship. It has 600 email subscribers. About 35% are parents. About 20% volunteer at least once a month. The church sends three emails each week.
For Grace Fellowship, Mailchimp makes sense. The youth pastor can email parents. The outreach leader can email volunteers. The pastor can send one all-church note.
Now meet Anna. She writes a weekly devotional called Morning Mercy. She has 1,800 free readers. She wants to offer a paid Sunday study for $6 per month. If 150 readers pay, that is $900 per month before fees and Substack’s cut.
For Anna, Substack makes sense. She needs trust, voice, archives, and simple payment. She does not need eight list segments and a color-coded panic attack.
Can You Use Both?
Yes. Many faith groups should.
Use Mailchimp for official church news. Use Substack for pastoral letters or essays.
For example:
- Mailchimp: “Christmas Eve services are at 4, 7, and 10.”
- Substack: “Why the manger still shocks us.”
Those are not the same email. They should not feel the same.
The Final Pick
If your newsletter says, “Here is what is happening,” choose Mailchimp.
If your newsletter says, “Here is something worth praying over,” choose Substack.
If your goal is action, pick the tool with lists, tags, and reports. If your goal is reflection, pick the tool that gets out of the way and lets you write.
The old phrase still helps: belief, prayer, life. Your email tool shapes all three more than you think. So choose the one that fits the habit you want your people to keep.
