ATLANTA — Millennial and Gen Z Christian influencers are increasingly filling a gap in American religion, growing audiences on digital platforms by guiding young people toward biblical answers to difficult questions that aren't always answered in Sunday sermons.
“I can be that in-between—Monday through Saturday—helping you, to give you practical things that will help you feel like you're not walking this walk alone,” said Megan Ashley, 35, sitting cross-legged and sweating on the couch where she records her “In Totality” podcast.
These influencers from all walks of life speak candidly to their listeners about everything from worries and doubts to dating and culture, while delving into the complexities of the Bible. Believers say Christian influencers are encouraging young people to seek meaning in a culture that lacks it, while church attendance has been declining for years. slowed down.
“What they make available is truth that transforms people,” said Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper and podcaster. “There is something existentially—supernatural—that I cannot explain.”
Ashley and Moore are among a half-dozen popular influencers who profiled their work for this article. With or without formal theological training, they describe themselves as churchgoers who do not want their messages to be limited by denominational labels.
Some grew up in the church; others have not, but they typically describe experiences of spiritual transformation brought on by difficulties or feelings of emptiness that they attribute to a secular lifestyle.
“We're like, look, we're two losers too. That's okay,” said Ariel Reitsma, 36, co-host of the “Girls Gone Bible” podcast, which is streamed or streamed more than a million times each month.
These algorithm-savvy podcasters fit comfortably into a long tradition of Christian celebrities, said Zachary Sheldon, a professor of media, religion and culture at Baylor University, who cited televangelist Billy Graham as an example. By working independently, they can more easily reach an audience than established communities and media can.
“Introducing people to faith and encouraging them to ask questions and seek something more” are really good things to do, Sheldon said. But he pointed out the “potential danger of giving them too much authority based on their fame and social media prowess.”
These influencers encourage church attendance and describe reaching a wide variety of people, including those who are particularly disconnected from religion, and polls show a growing number of young Americans among them. Only 41% of people ages 18-35 surveyed in 2023-24 said they believed in God with certainty, down from 65% in 2007, according to the Pew Research Center.
“People are spiritually hungry, emotionally hungry, and I think for the first time… people are meeting Jesus even through online platforms and realizing that this is true life and fulfillment,” said Angela Halili, 29, Reitsma's co-host.
The pair have now been building a live audience since launching the podcast over two years ago. At the Atlanta event, they held a Bible and warned hundreds of fans against idealizing work or relationships and spoke about their days as Hollywood actors struggling with addiction, heartbreak and mental illness. Khalili said God has brought them “radical healing” and they want listeners to know that God can work “miracles” in their lives too.
Afterward, they hugged and prayed for people in the audience, where 17-year-old Anna Williams said she considered Reitsma and Khalili “big sisters” in her life.
Even though they support biblical principles as a guide to true joy, influencers say being a Christian can be difficult.
God “really does make everything better, but it doesn't always work out the way we think it will,” said “In Totality” host Ashley.
Her current obsession, which she enthusiastically teaches, is a biblical passage about life as sacrifice. God asks people to give up certain desires and behaviors so they can grow closer to Him, Ashley says. She said her intensity increased after a healing encounter with the “severity” of God when she was a newly divorced single mother suffering from suicidal ideation and depression.
Biblical passages, everyday struggles and bigger issues are covered on the podcast “With the Perrys,” hosted by husband-and-wife authors and spoken word artists who also run a streetwear brand.
“This is all—how do we do all these things in this strange flesh and strange world?” said Jackie Hill Perry, 36.
She is a wonderful speaker, is working toward a seminary degree, and has written a book about leaving same-sex relationships behind. She and her husband Preston Perry, 39, started podcasting in 2019. Followers have already resonated with Perry's theological debates and her story of growing up in poverty and violence before finding faith and becoming a Christian evangelist.
“God calls us to ruffle our feathers sometimes, to talk to the culture,” Perry said.
In a recent episode, Perry encouraged listeners to be honest with God and not trust Him. Through intentional prayer, obedience and Bible reading, God brings lasting peace, answers and growth in difficult circumstances, they say, but it requires more than quick fixes like scrolling and sex.
At 22, Bryce Crawford teaches Bible chapters on his eponymous podcast and posts videos of himself talking to people about Christianity at pride parades, the counterculture festival Burning Man and the Satanic Temple.
Instead of shouting “repent,” Crawford's street evangelism is about changing minds through kindness. His followers say they are drawn to his sensitive but courageous demeanor, while he speaks out against lifestyle choices such as gay marriage.
“My problem with the phrase 'repent or go to hell' is that people get upset because they don't understand why you're telling them that,” said Crawford, who describes how he became very anxious and bitter toward God until God healed him at Waffle House. “Our tactics were one-on-one conversations, listening calmly, asking questions because we were interested in them, while explaining our worldview.”
These influencers acknowledge that online Christianity has its problems.
An excessive focus on online drama and more esoteric Christian beliefs can lose sight of fundamentals such as the love and sacrifice of Christ, Hill Perry said. She worries that “simply talking about gentleness, respect, kindness or patience will bore” people.
And deep political and cultural faults among Christians also appear online.
For example, Halili and Reitsma received pushback for taking the opportunity to pray at a rally before President Donald Trump's inauguration. Conservatives criticized Perry for talking about police brutality and racial injustice, while liberals criticized him for expressing opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
Some followers say these influencers provide a welcome alternative to the insular pastors they grew up with, who spoke of God as a distant deity who would reject them for breaking too many rules.
“I really wanted someone who was a young black woman portraying something that wasn't very traditional,” said 24-year-old Olivia Singleton. She is involved with her church and loves her pastor, but feels that these influencers are like “one of the girls… walking in faith with you.”
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Cramon is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
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