The Wooden Spoon Ministry logo. Photo courtesy of Ben Adams of Wooden Spoon Ministry
Sometimes, all it takes to start a ministry is hope, creativity and a wooden spoon. At least, that was the case with Ben Adams of Wooden Spoon Ministry, a social media ministry which uses creative art forms to tell stories and discuss questions of faith — with a wooden spoon.
In October 2023, Adams, a freelance videographer and video editor, said he found himself free of any projects.
“I had a full month of free time making zero money,” Adams joked in an interview.
Instead of letting this uncertain time discourage him, Adams said he decided to use his free time for good. He put his videography skills to use by sharing videos on his faith in God.
“I thought, well, now I've got a great opportunity to go ahead and do it [sharing videos],” Adams said. “So, I was praying about what I could do, what inspiration to have and what I might be able to do creatively. And this idea came to me when I was sitting on the bus praying — to use a wooden spoon to attach to a microphone and ask people questions.”
Adams soon began sharing devotional video content, as well as interviews with believers and non-believers centered around questions of faith on Instagram, Tik Tok and Youtube. His content is not only visually appealing, with interesting graphics and animations, but spiritually filling.
Adams connects back to the Word in his content with gripping visuals but also with simplicity. In lots of videos, you’ll find him sitting on the floor with his Bible beside him, reciting Scripture and Bible stories. In others, he asks insightful and often difficult questions of faith to his community and strangers alike.
A few of these questions include “How does God reveal himself to you?”, “How do you think Jesus would react if he walked into the modern day church?” and “How do you know your interpretation of the Bible is the right one?”
“We live in a world that is breaking and dying. People are hurting, and I want others to experience what I have because I love them and I have compassion for them, because I know what that [hurting] feels like,” Adams said. “People need a message of hope, and that's why I want to share with them the message of Jesus.”
A clip from one of Adams’ reels that reads “When you’re walking with God.” Photo courtesy of Ben Adams of Wooden Spoon Ministry
Adams said he wishes to share the Word of God with people in remembrance of what his life was like before he embraced faith.
“Walking without God led me to mental pain and depression and suffering,” Adams said. “Meeting and encountering and living with God has brought the most incredible liberation of freedom and joy and peace to my life.”
Adams wants others to experience this liberation, not just through social media, but outside of it too. He said he worries more and more about lower church attendance in his home country, England.
A poll conducted by the Brierley Consultancy shows that church attendance in the UK dropped from 30% in 1930 to 10.3% in 2013, according to Faith Survey. They noted that if this trend continued, church attendance would drop to a staggering 8.4% of the population by 2025.
Social media can act as a way for Christians to reach this decreasing demographic, but Adams understands it to be a very risky outlet.
“We live in a world where you can have a remote job and work from your bedroom, you can order UberEats straight to your bedroom and you never have to leave your house,” Adams said.
This disconnected way of life can leave people in a depressed, unproductive doom scroll through social media. However, if videos like Wooden Spoon Ministry’s can reach people in these dark hours, then discipleship has a chance of breaking through the bad.
Models posing in Wooden Spoon Ministry shirts. Photo courtesy of Ben Adams of Wooden Spoon Ministry
Wooden Spoon Ministry now has 39.4k followers on Instagram, connecting far beyond what Adams said he could have imagined. His ministry now not only reaches people in the UK, but around the world.
Adams said he could not quite believe this connection until he went on a trip to Switzerland. There, at a jujitsu gym of all places, a girl recognized Adams from Instagram, which led to a conversation of faith.
“It’s [Wooden Spoon Ministry] opened up many opportunities for people who wouldn't have heard the Gospel to hear it,” Adams said. “I’m really grateful that God has blessed this ministry, and it is reaching lots of people.”
But, why the wooden spoon? The answer might be simpler than you think.
Inspired by a friend who interviewed with an actual microphone handle for a fellow UK ministry, Adams said he knew he wanted to follow the same interview format as well. Though he had a mic, he lacked a proper handle.
“And then, I just thought, ‘Why don’t I just use a wooden spoon?’ And the idea wouldn’t really leave. It just stuck with me,” Adams said.
Wooden Spoon Ministry’s beginnings highlight how just anyone with enough faith and fervor can minister to those who need it most, even without the proper supplies. Whether it is through a wooden spoon, another utensil or something else altogether, even the smallest of ministries can make an impact. It just takes a start.
To stay connected with Wooden Spoon Ministry, you can follow on Instagram, Tik Tok or Youtube, all under the handle @woodenspoonministry.
Lexie is the Editor-In-Chief of Koinesúnē Magazine. She has a B.A. in Media, Culture and the Arts/Creative Writing with a minor in Business Management. Her work has been published in Iridescent Women as well as the American Library of Poetry. In her writing, she aims to share truthful and life-building stories.
