They Tried to Silence Us. Then We Found Substack

This photo was taken a few weeks into our Substack journey.

We had no idea what God was about to do. We still don’t, not fully. But we know we’re supposed to be here.

And if you’re reading this, so are you.

“In today’s world, with so much negativity, I feel blessed to have found your site; I always look forward to its educational content and, just as much, to its inspiring, faith-filled messages. God is good all day, all day God is good! A message you all regularly deliver.”

— Sharon

You can feel it, can’t you?

Something has changed online.

The platforms that promised to connect us now decide who gets heard. Google can bury years of work overnight. Facebook and Instagram can show a post to only a fraction of the people who chose to follow you. Email companies can flag a message, throttle its delivery, or threaten your account because they do not approve of the subject.

Creators spent years building audiences they never truly owned.

We know because it happened to us.

Before Substack, Natural Living Family reached millions of website visitors each year. We had more than 200,000 email subscribers, strong social platforms, three bestselling books published by Penguin Random House with over 250,000 copies in print over 9 different languages, and a ministry that had personally served more than 2 million families since 2014 with our daily Bible health tips.

Then the walls began closing in.

Google traffic collapsed. Our social reach disappeared. Our email provider threatened our ability to communicate with our own subscribers over a natural health article. During COVID, Facebook removed Dr. Z’s personal account, taking ten years of family memories, ministry content, research, and business history with it.

We were not posting pornography, violence, or hate. We were sharing Scripture, natural health education, family life, and research that challenged people to think for themselves.

The most painful part was not losing traffic.

It was knowing there were people searching for the very message God had entrusted to us while platforms stood between us and them.

A business problem is one thing.

This felt like a spiritual battle.

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood...” — Ephesians 6:12

That is why we did not come to Substack because it was fashionable.

Call us sentimental, but were so happy about being on Substack, it was the topic for our first live video…

We came because we needed a place where we could speak plainly, publish deeply, and reach the people who had asked to hear from us.

When we publish here, the article goes directly to our subscribers. Readers can receive it by email or open it in the app. They can respond, share, recommend, and support the work directly.

We are no longer trying to squeeze a 3,000-word conviction into a ten-second reel and hoping an algorithm allows our own followers to see it.

That is more than convenience.

Right now, it feels like freedom.

BTW: this isn’t a Substack strategy article. This is a testimony. :)

We are not the only ones who noticed.

Substack now has more than 50 million active subscriptions, including more than 5 million paid subscriptions. Tens of millions of people read, watch, and listen on the platform every week, and Substack says more than half of new subscribers now come through its own network.

Its discovery system now spans 31 categories, including the newly added Home & Garden and Film & TV sections. In 2025, Substack raised $100 million at a reported valuation of $1.1 billion.

This is not a small newsletter website anymore.

It is becoming a major publishing ecosystem.

Journalists are leaving legacy institutions. Authors are building direct readerships. Musicians, commentators, pastors, homemakers, physicians, teachers, and ordinary people with something meaningful to say are publishing beside them.

The attraction is not difficult to understand.

On most social platforms, you are renting attention. The platform owns the relationship, controls distribution, and can change the rules whenever it chooses.

On Substack, creators retain ownership of their work and mailing list. They can publish writing, podcasts, audio, and video from one place. Paid subscriptions can be activated immediately, while free publications can still grow through recommendations, Notes, and Substack’s internal discovery network.

For the first time in years, people are slowing down long enough to read.

They are looking for substance, not another recycled caption. They want a person they can trust, a worldview they can understand, and a body of work they can return to.

That creates an extraordinary opportunity for Christians.

Right after the COVID-era censorship, CBN spent two days in our home filming its Immune Boosting Docu-Series for The 700 Club. This photo caught us mid-pose holding a lavender bouquet with Mama Z pregnant with Baby #6,

Even amidst the censorship and the attacks, God continued to give us opportunity to share this message. His message! The devil kept trying to shut us up, but God…

(BTW: You can watch the 700 Club Segement here. (Skip to 16:07)

Substack has categories for Faith & Spirituality, Health & Wellness, Parenting, Education, Food & Drink, Business, Culture, Home & Garden, and nearly every other area of life.

But the opportunity is larger than a category.

There are believers carrying messages about marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, health, discipleship, education, business, grief, addiction, home life, theology, creativity, leadership, and restoration.

Many have been waiting for a church invitation, a publisher, a large following, or someone important to tell them they are qualified.

Meanwhile, millions of people are already here, searching for voices they can trust.

You do not need to be famous, and you do not need a media company.

You do not need a perfect logo, a professional studio, or ten years of content prepared before you begin.

You need a message worth sharing, the courage to tell the truth, and the discipline to keep showing up.

Start with the burden God placed on your heart.

• What have you lived through that could help someone else?

• What truth do you understand because God walked you through it?

• What confusion can you clarify?

• What testimony have you kept quiet because you assumed nobody wanted to hear it?

Don't forget, the Bible says that “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.” (Rev 19:10)

Your story can become evidence to someone else that God still delivers, restores, teaches, heals, provides, and leads.

Substack gives you a place to begin building that body of work now.

We are excited about what is happening here, but we are not naive.

Substack is a platform, not a savior.

We have watched this cycle repeat throughout our lives. Something good is created. People gather. Truth moves freely. Then money, power, politics, pride, pornography, manipulation, censorship, and cultural pressure begin to corrupt it.

The enemy of our souls does not create. And don’t forget, he’s “the ‘god’ of this world” and will do everything in his power to counterfeit, twist, pollute, and hijack what God intended for good.

The internet gave ordinary people access to information, then became a machine for surveillance and control.

Social media promised connection, then trained a generation to perform for algorithms.

Search engines opened the world’s knowledge, then learned how to decide which knowledge people were allowed to find. And, yes, history is repeating itself with AI now.

The writing is on the wall…

We are in the Golden Age of AI, and the window of uncensored information is closing.

Like what happened to Google and all the other search engines, truth is going to be censored and controlled soon.

And for students of natural remedies & Bible Health, it will be increasingly more difficult to get accurate, unbiased information.

I see it every day and it’s getting worse: AI is being skewed to push medical system propaganda.

AI is putting up more false warnings against natural therapies unnecessarily.

BTW: we have been teaching about the therapeutic use of essential oils for 15+ years. Penguin Random House is our publisher, and they would not allow us to write nonsense and put their name behind false claims, and we had to go through multiple rounds or checking and research verification so we understand how this works.

And now I have AI arguing with me that what I’ve been writing all this time is not accurate?! 🤦‍♂️

Be warned. You can’t trust AI any more than you can trust any other search engine.

And, because so many influencers on social media regurgitate the same AI content, most of what's out there is unreliable.

It's sad, but clear as day.

And I can’t help but think that Substack will remain untouched forever. In fact, it would be quite naïve to believe that.

It already looks more like a social network than it did when we joined. More investors, celebrities, institutions, and money are arriving. That growth may create wonderful opportunities, but it will also create pressure.

Every open platform eventually faces demands to moderate, monetize, manipulate, and protect powerful interests.

So let us enjoy this while we can.

Let us use the freedom without idolizing the platform currently providing it.

Let us publish truth while the door is open.

Let us build relationships we can carry with us if the rules change. Let us keep copies of our work, export our lists, maintain our own websites, and remember that our calling never belonged to a technology company in the first place.

“Test all things; hold fast what is good.” — 1 Thessalonians 5:21

That applies to food, medicine, media, movements, and platforms.

We can appreciate Substack without worshiping it. We can use its tools without surrendering our discernment. We can be grateful for an open door while remembering that God, not Substack, opened it.

Just don’t forget: Substack is not the promised land, it is an open door. And believers should walk through it, publish the truth, and build their audience before the same forces that corrupted every other platform come knocking here, too.

Bible Health sits at the intersection of Faith & Spirituality and Health & Wellness, an intersection that remains surprisingly underserved.

The health space is filled with secular optimization, fear-driven warnings, expensive protocols, and another product for every problem.

The faith space often speaks deeply about doctrine without showing families how Biblical wisdom applies to their food, homes, habits, bodies, and daily decisions.

That is the gap God called us to fill.

For 23 years, we have helped Christian families stop outsourcing their health and begin testing everything against God’s Word, sound research, experience, and the fruit it produces.

We did not come here to chase celebrities or platform trends. We came because other doors closed and God provided another one.

• What felt like rejection became redirection.

• What felt like censorship became preparation.

• What felt like losing our audience forced us to build a more direct relationship with the people God actually called us to serve.

And now we can see that thousands of other believers may be standing at the same crossroads.

Start your Substack.

Choose a name. Write a simple description. Publish the story only you can tell. Invite ten people who genuinely need it. Then return next week and publish again.

Do not begin by asking how quickly you can monetize it. Begin by asking whom you are called to serve.

Do not imitate the biggest writer on the platform. Say what God gave you to say in the voice He gave you.

Do not wait until every sentence is perfect. Faithfulness grows through obedience, not endless preparation.

The platform is growing, readers are arriving, and the door is open.

Walk through it while you can.

And if Bible Health is the message you have been looking for, subscribe and join us

We will continue sharing Biblical health teaching, practical family tools, and the truth God has entrusted to us for as long as He gives us this platform and the breath to use it.

Substack is simply where we are preaching it today, and we’re grateful that you’re here. <3

As always, our hope and prayer is that you experience the abundant life.

~ Dr. Z & Mama Z

P.S. We write a weekly Bible Health newsletter for Christian families who want to renew their minds, steward their bodies, and build healthier homes God’s way. The stuff that tends to be too Christ-centered for social media to promote.

Do you know someone who would be encouraged by this? Join our Bible Health mission and spread the love. One share could change a family’s whole direction. :)

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Copyright Bible Health. All rights reserved.

The information is for educational purposes only and not medical advice. Statements about health products have not been evaluated by the FDA and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Results may vary. Consult a qualified healthcare provider before using any health product or making changes to your wellness routine.