<\/p>\n
ATLANTA (AP) – Millennial and Generation Z Christian influencers are increasingly filling a void in American religion, growing audiences across digital platforms by steering young people to biblical answers to tough questions that aren’t always answered in Sunday sermons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can be that in-between – Monday to Saturday help – to give you practical things to make you feel like you\u2019re not walking this walk alone,\u201d said Megan Ashley, 35, sitting cross-legged in sweats on the couch where she records her \u201cIn Totality\u201d podcast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
From myriad backgrounds, these influencers talk candidly to their listeners about everything from anxieties and doubts to dating and culture, delving into the Bible\u2019s complexities. Those of faith say Christian influencers are galvanizing young people looking for meaning in a culture that lacks it at a time when years of declining church attendance has slowed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat they\u2019re making accessible is a truth that transforms people,\u201d said Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper and podcaster. \u201cThere\u2019s something that\u2019s happening existentially – supernaturally – that I can\u2019t explain.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ashley and Moore are among a half-dozen popular influencers who described their work for this story. With and without formal theological training, they describe themselves as churchgoers who don\u2019t want their messages boxed in by denominational labels.<\/p>\n
Some grew up in church; others didn\u2019t, but they commonly describe experiencing a spiritual transformation that came out of hardship or a sense of emptiness they pin on secular lifestyles.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re like, listen, we\u2019re two mess-ups too. It\u2019s OK,\u201d said Arielle Reitsma, 36, co-host of podcast \u201cGirls Gone Bible,\u201d which gets more than a million listens or streams each month.<\/p>\n
These algorithm-savvy podcasters fit comfortably in a long tradition of Christian celebrities, said Zachary Sheldon, a Baylor University lecturer on media, religion and culture who cited televangelist Billy Graham as an example. Working independently, they can harness audiences more easily than established congregations and media organizations can.<\/p>\n
\u201cExposing people to the faith and challenging them to ask questions and search for something more\u201d are really good things to do, Sheldon said. But he pointed to \u201cpotential dangers in granting them too much authority on the basis of their celebrity and their acumen with social media.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
These influencers encourage church attendance and describe reaching a variety of people, including those who have been particularly disconnected from religion, which polls show is a growing number of young Americans. Only 41% of people ages 18-35 surveyed in 2023-24 said they believe in God with certainty, down from 65% in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople are spiritually hungry, emotionally hungry, and I think for the first time ever \u2026 people are encountering Jesus even through online platforms, and they\u2019re realizing, this is true life and fulfillment,\u201d said Angela Halili, 29, Reitsma’s co-host.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The pair now draws live crowds since starting the podcast more than two years ago. At an event in Atlanta, they warned hundreds of fans against idolizing work or relationships, Bibles in hand, and recounted their days as Hollywood actors battling addiction, heartbreak and mental health disorders. Halili said God brought them \u201cradical healing,\u201d and they want listeners to know that God can perform \u201cmiracles\u201d in their lives, too.<\/p>\n
Afterward, they hugged and prayed for people in the audience, where Anna Williams, 17, said she considers both Reitsma and Halili to be \u201ca big sister\u201d in her life.<\/p>\n
Even as they espouse biblical principles as guidance toward true joy, influencers say that being Christian can be hard.<\/p>\n
God \u201cdoes make everything better, but that doesn\u2019t always come in the way that we think it\u2019s gonna come,\u201d said \u201cIn Totality\u201d host Ashley.<\/p>\n
Bible themes, heavier challenges, day-to-day plights as well as topics like parenting and Black culture are covered on \u201cWith the Perrys,\u201d a podcast led by husband and wife authors and spoken-word artists who also run a streetwear brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the all – how do we do all of this stuff in this weird flesh and weird world?\u201d said Jackie Hill Perry, 36.<\/p>\n
She is an admired speaker who is working towards her seminary degree and wrote a book about leaving behind same-sex relationships. She and husband Preston Perry, 39, started podcasting in 2019. Followers already resonated with Perry’s theological debates and story of growing up around poverty and violence before finding faith and becoming a Christian evangelist.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGod calls us to ruffle feathers sometimes, to speak to culture,\u201d Perry said.<\/p>\n
In a recent episode, the Perrys urged listeners to be honest with God about struggling to trust him. Through focused prayer, obedience and Bible reading, God brings lasting peace, answers and growth during hard circumstances, they say, but this requires more than quick fixes like scrolling and sex.\u00a0<\/p>\n
At just 22, Bryce Crawford teaches Bible chapters on his self-named podcast and posts videos of himself talking to people about Christianity at Pride parades, the Burning Man counter-culture festival and a satanic temple.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rather than shout \u201crepent,\u201d Crawford\u2019s street evangelism aims to change minds through kindness. His followers say they’re attracted by his empathetic yet bold demeanor while delivering talking points against lifestyles such as same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy issue with \u2018repent or burn in hell\u2019 is that people get frustrated because they don\u2019t know why you\u2019re telling them that,\u201d said Crawford, who describes being severely anxious and bitter toward God until God healed him at a Waffle House. \u201cOur tactics have been one-on-one conversations, calmly listening, asking questions because we care about them, and in that explaining our worldview.\u201d<\/p>\n
These influencers acknowledge that online Christianity has its challenges.<\/p>\n
A hyperfocus on online drama and Christianity’s more esoteric beliefs can miss the basics, such as love and Christ’s sacrifice, Hill Perry said. She worries that \u201csimply talking about gentleness or respect or kindness or patience is gonna be boring\u201d to people.<\/p>\n
And the deep political and cultural rifts among Christians emerge online too.<\/p>\n
For example, Halili and Reitsma got pushback for taking the opportunity to pray at a pre-inauguration rally for President Donald Trump. The Perrys have been criticized by conservatives for talking about police brutality and racial injustice, and liberals for expressing opposition to same-sex marriage and abortion.<\/p>\n
Some followers say these influencers provide a welcome alternative to the buttoned-up pastors they grew up with who spoke of God as a faraway deity that would reject them for breaking too many rules.<\/p>\n
\u201cI really needed someone who was a younger Black female portraying something that wasn\u2019t super traditional,\u201d said Olivia Singleton, 24. She’s involved with her church and likes her pastor, but feels like these influencers are like \u201cone of the girls \u2026 walking out the faith with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. \u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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