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ATLANTA (AP) — Millennial and Generation Z Christian influencers are increasingly filling a void in American religion, growing audiences on digital platforms by engaging young people with Biblical answers to tough questions that aren’t always answered in Sunday sermons.
“I can help in between — Monday through Saturday — to give you practical things to do to make you feel like you’re not walking this path alone,” said Megan Ashley, 35, sitting drenched in sweat on the couch where she was recording her “In Totality” podcast.
From myriad backgrounds, these influential people speak candidly to their listeners about everything from anxieties and doubts to dating and culture, delving deep into the complexities of the Bible. Believers say Christian influencers are inspiring young people who are searching for meaning in a culture that lacks it at a time when church attendance has been declining for years. has slowed down,
Christian rapper and podcaster Lecrae Moore said, “What they’re making accessible is a truth that changes people.” “There’s something that’s happening existentially – supernaturally – that I can’t explain.”
Ashley and Moore are among a half-dozen popular influencers who featured their work for this story. Both with and without formal religious training, they describe themselves as churchgoers who do not want their messages to be pigeonholed into sectarian labels.
Some grew up in the church; Others did not, but they typically described experiencing a spiritual transformation that came from the difficulty or sense of emptiness they felt dependent on the secular lifestyle.
“We’re like, listen, we’re two messed up people too. That’s OK,” said Arielle Reitsma, 36, co-host of the podcast “Girls Gone Bible,” which is listened to or streamed more than a million times each month.
Connecting online and in person
These algorithm-savvy podcasters fit comfortably into 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 tap audiences more easily than established circles and media organizations.
“Introducing people to faith and challenging them to ask questions and discover something else” are “really good things,” Sheldon said. But he pointed to “potential dangers in giving them too much authority based on their celebrity and their social media prowess.”
These influential people encourage church attendance and describe reaching out to a wide variety of people, including those who are particularly disengaged from religion, as surveys show in increasing numbers of young Americans. According to the Pew Research Center, only 41% of 18-35-year-olds surveyed in 2023-24 said they definitely believe in God, down from 65% in 2007.
“People are spiritually hungry, emotionally hungry, and I think this is the first time…people are encountering Jesus even through online platforms, and they’re realizing, this is true life and fulfillment,” said Angela Halili, 29, Reitsma’s co-host.
The pair now draw live crowds since starting the podcast more than two years ago. At an event in Atlanta, he addressed hundreds of fans with a Bible in hand, warning against idealizing work or relationships and recalling the days when the Hollywood actor struggled with addiction, heartbreak and mental health disorders. Halili said that God gave him “radical healing” and he wants listeners to know that God can perform “miracles” in their lives too.
Afterward, she hugged the audience and prayed for them, where 17-year-old Anna Williams said she considered both Reitsma and Halili “big sisters” in her life.
They say the Christian life isn’t easy, but it’s worth it
Even though they support Biblical principles as guidance toward true happiness, influential people say that being a Christian can be hard.
“God makes everything better, but it doesn’t always come out the way we think it’s going to come out,” said “In Totality” host Ashley.
Her current passion, which she teaches with enthusiasm, is a Bible passage about living sacrificially. Ashley says that God asks people to give up certain desires and behaviors so that they can get closer to Him. She said her intensity increased after God’s “seriousness” of her treatment as a recently divorced single mother suffering from suicidal thoughts and depression.
Bible passages, day-to-day plights and overwhelming challenges are covered on “With the Perrys,” a podcast led by the husband-and-wife writer and spoken-word artist who also runs a streetwear brand.
“It’s all about – how do we do it all in this weird body and weird world?” said Jackie Hill Perry, 36.
She is an acclaimed speaker who is working toward her seminary degree and has written a book about leaving lesbian relationships behind. She and her husband Preston Perry, 39, started podcasting in 2019. Followers were already influenced by Perry’s theological debates and story of growing up around poverty and violence before finding faith and becoming a evangelist.
“God calls us sometimes to speak to the culture,” Perry said.
In a recent episode, Perez urged listeners to be honest with God as they struggle to trust Him. Through focused prayer, obedience, and Bible reading, God brings lasting peace, answers, and growth during difficult situations, he says, but it requires more than quick fixes like scrolling and sex.
At just 22 years old, Bryce Crawford teaches Bible chapters on his self-named podcast and posts videos of himself talking to people about Christianity at a Pride parade, the Burning Man counter-culture festival, and a Satanic temple.
Instead of shouting “repent”, Crawford’s street preaching aims to change minds through kindness. His followers say they are attracted to his empathetic yet courageous demeanor when speaking out against lifestyles such as gay marriage.
“My problem with ‘Repent or burn in hell’ is that people get frustrated because they don’t know why you’re telling them that,” said Crawford, who describes being seriously anxious and bitter toward God until God fixed him up at a Waffle House. “Our strategy involves one-on-one conversations, listening calmly, asking questions because we care about them, and explaining our worldview.”
Challenges of Online Christianity
These influential people admit that online Christianity has its challenges.
Hill Perry said that an excessive focus on online drama and the more esoteric beliefs of Christianity can lead to the omission of fundamental things such as love and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He worries that it will be boring for people to “just talk about humility or respect or kindness or patience”.
and deeply political and cultural Crack are also emerging online among Christians.
For example, Halili and Reitsma faced pushback for taking the opportunity to pray at a pre-inauguration rally for President Donald Trump. Perry has been criticized by conservatives for speaking out about police brutality and racial injustice, and by liberals for expressing opposition to gay marriage and abortion.
Some followers say these influencers provide a welcome alternative to the buttoned-up pastors they grew up with, who spoke of God as a distant deity who would disown them for breaking too many rules.
“I really needed someone who was a young black woman who was portraying something that wasn’t super traditional,” said Olivia Singleton, 24.
Kraman is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. report for usa is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
The Associated Press’s religion coverage receives support from the AP Collaboration With The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. AP is solely responsible for this content.