These influencers are teaching Christianity online — and young people are listening

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.

“I can be that in-between — Monday to Saturday help — to give you practical things to make you feel like you’re not walking this walk alone,” said Megan Ashley, 35, sitting cross-legged in sweats on the couch where she records her “In Totality” podcast.

From myriad backgrounds, these influencers talk candidly to their listeners about everything from anxieties and doubts to dating and culture, delving into the Bible’s 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.

“What they’re making accessible is a truth that transforms people,” said Lecrae Moore, a Christian rapper and podcaster. “There’s something that’s happening existentially — supernaturally — that I can’t explain.”

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’t want their messages boxed in by denominational labels.

Some grew up in church; others didn’t, but they commonly describe experiencing a spiritual transformation that came out of hardship or a sense of emptiness they pin on secular lifestyles.

“We’re like, listen, we’re two mess-ups too. It’s OK,” said Arielle Reitsma, 36, co-host of podcast “Girls Gone Bible,” which gets more than a million listens or streams each month.

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.

“Exposing people to the faith and challenging them to ask questions and search for something more” are really good things to do, Sheldon said. But he pointed to “potential dangers in granting them too much authority on the basis of their celebrity and their acumen with social media.”

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.

“People are spiritually hungry, emotionally hungry, and I think for the first time ever … 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 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 “radical healing,” and they want listeners to know that God can perform “miracles” in their lives, too.

Afterward, they hugged and prayed for people in the audience, where Anna Williams, 17, said she considers both Reitsma and Halili to be “a big sister” in her life.

Even as they espouse biblical principles as guidance toward true joy, influencers say that being Christian can be hard.

God “does make everything better, but that doesn’t always come in the way that we think it’s gonna come,” said “In Totality” host Ashley.

Her current obsession, which she teaches with fervor, is a biblical passage about living as a sacrifice. God asks people to give up certain wants and behaviors so they can grow closer to him, Ashley says. She said her intensity grew after a healing encounter with God’s “severity” as a freshly divorced single mom plagued by suicidal thoughts and depression.

Bible themes, heavier challenges, day-to-day plights as well as topics like parenting and Black culture are covered on “With the Perrys,” a podcast led by husband and wife authors and spoken-word artists who also run a streetwear brand.

“It is the all — how do we do all of this stuff in this weird flesh and weird world?” said Jackie Hill Perry, 36.

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.

“God calls us to ruffle feathers sometimes, to speak to culture,” Perry said.

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.

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.

Rather than shout “repent,” Crawford’s 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.

“My issue 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 severely anxious and bitter toward God until God healed him at a Waffle House. “Our tactics have been one-on-one conversations, calmly listening, asking questions because we care about them, and in that explaining our worldview.”

These influencers acknowledge that online Christianity has its challenges.

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 “simply talking about gentleness or respect or kindness or patience is gonna be boring” to people.

And the deep political and cultural rifts among Christians emerge online too.

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.

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.

“I really needed someone who was a younger Black female portraying something that wasn’t super traditional,” said Olivia Singleton, 24. She's involved with her church and likes her pastor, but feels like these influencers are like “one of the girls … walking out the faith with you.”

Kramon 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.

Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP’s collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.

Christian podcaster, Megan Ashley, center, attends service at 2819 Church on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Followers of the Christian podcast, "Girls Gone Bible," cry during the live show held at the Atlanta Symphony Hall, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Christian podcaster and poet, Preston Perry, second from left, and his wife, Jackie Hill Perry, a Christian rapper and podcaster, third from left, attend service at 2819 Church on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Angela Halili, 29, cohost of the Christian podcast, "Girls Gone Bible," stands backstage before their live show as fans and followers sing worship music in the Atlanta Symphony Hall, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

A Youtube award sits behind Christian podcaster, Megan Ashley, at her home where she films her show, "In Totality," Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Acworth, Ga. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Megan Ashley, founder of the Christian podcast, "In Totality," sits with a Bible at her home where she films online content, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, in Acworth, Ga. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Girls Gone Bible podcasters, Angela Halili, left, and Arielle Reitsma, attend 2819 Church on Sunday, Nov. 16, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Christian podcaster, Megan Ashley, sits on the couch where she films her show, "In Totality," Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at her home in Acworth, Ga. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

Angela Halili, 29, right, cohost of the Christian podcast, "Girls Gone Bible," prays over a follower during their live show held at the Atlanta Symphony Hall, Friday, Nov. 14, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Jessie Wardarski)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Thursday that Pam Bondi is out as his attorney general, ending the contentious tenure of a loyalist who upended the Justice Department’s culture of independence from the White House, oversaw large-scale firings of career employees and moved aggressively to investigate the Republican president’s perceived enemies.

The departure of the country's chief law enforcement officer followed months of scrutiny from angry conservatives over the Justice Department's handling of files related to the Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking investigation and failed efforts to please Trump through unsuccessful efforts to build criminal cases against prominent foes, investigations that in some cases have been rejected by judges or grand juries.

Trump named Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche as the acting attorney general, though three people familiar with the matter have said he has privately discussed Lee Zeldin, the head of the Environmental Protection Agency, as a permanent pick.

“Pam Bondi is a Great American Patriot and a loyal friend, who faithfully served as my Attorney General over the past year,” Trump said in a statement. He added: “We love Pam, and she will be transitioning to a much needed and important new job in the private sector, to be announced at a date in the near future.”

Bondi, a former Florida attorney general, came into office last year pledging that she would not play politics with the Justice Department, but she quickly started investigations of Trump foes, sparking an outcry that the law enforcement agency was being wielded as a tool of revenge to advance the president’s political and personal agenda.

She ushered in a period of intense turmoil at the department that included the firings of career prosecutors deemed insufficiently loyal to Trump and the resignations of hundreds of other employees. Her departure continues a trend of Justice Department upheaval that has defined Trump’s presidency as multiple attorneys general across his two terms have either been pushed out or resigned after proving unwilling or unable to meet his demands for the position.

Bondi rejected accusations that she politicized the Justice Department and said her mission was to restore the institution’s credibility after overreach by President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration with two federal criminal cases against Trump. Bondi’s defenders have said she worked to refocus the department to better tackle illegal immigration and violent crime and brought much-needed change to an agency they believe unfairly targeted conservatives.

Bondi’s public embrace of the president, however, marked a sharp departure from her predecessors, who generally took pains to maintain an arm’s-length distance from the White House to protect the impartiality of investigations and prosecutions. Bondi postured herself as Trump’s chief supporter and protector, praising and defending him in congressional hearings and placing a banner with his face on the exterior of Justice Department headquarters.

She called for an end to the “weaponization” of law enforcement she said occurred under the Biden administration, even though Biden’s attorney general, Merrick Garland, and Jack Smith, the special counsel who produced two cases against Trump, have said they followed the facts, the evidence and the law in their decision-making. Bondi’s critics, meanwhile, said she was the one who had politicized the agency to do the president’s bidding.

“You’ve turned the People’s Department of Justice into Trump’s instrument of revenge,” Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary committee, said at a February hearing.

Bondi delivered a combative performance but few substantive answers at that hearing as she angrily insulted her Democratic questioners with name-calling, praised Trump over the performance of the stock market — “The Dow is up over 50,000 right now” —- and openly aligned herself as in sync with a president whom she painted as a victim of past impeachments and investigations.

Even Republicans began to challenge her, with the Republican-led House Oversight Committee last month issuing a subpoena to her to appear for a closed-door interview about the Epstein files.

Under Bondi’s leadership, the department opened investigations into a string of Trump foes, including Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former FBI Director James Comey and former CIA Director John Brennan. The high-profile prosecutions of Comey and James were short-lived as they were quickly thrown out by a judge who ruled that the prosecutor who brought the cases was illegally appointed.

Trump repeatedly publicly praised and defended Bondi but also showed flashes of impatience with his attorney general’s efforts to meet his demands to prosecute his rivals. In one extraordinary social media post last year, Trump called on Bondi to move quickly to prosecute his foes, including James and Comey, telling her: “We can’t delay any longer, it’s killing our reputation and credibility.”

Bondi oversaw the exodus of thousands of career employees — both through firings and voluntary departures — including lawyers who prosecuted violent attacks on police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021; environmental, civil rights and ethics enforcers; counterterrorism prosecutors; and others.

She struggled to overcome early stumbles over the Epstein files that angered conservatives eager for government bombshells about the case, which has long fascinated conspiracy theorists. She herself had fed the conspiracy theory machine with a suggestion in a 2025 Fox News Channel interview that Epstein’s “client list” was sitting on her desk for review. The department later acknowledged that no such document exists.

Bondi was ridiculed over a move to hand out binders of Epstein files to conservative influencers at the White House only for it to be later revealed that the documents included no new revelations. And despite promises that more files were going to become public, the Justice Department in July said no more would be released, prompting Congress to pass a bill to force the agency to do so.

The Epstein files fumbles led to a stunning public criticism from White House chief of staff Susie Wiles, a close friend of Bondi’s, who told Vanity Fair that the attorney general “completely whiffed.” The Justice Department’s release of millions of pages of Epstein files did little to tamp down criticism, prompting a House committee with the support of five Republicans to subpoena Bondi to answer questions under oath.

Bondi, who defended Trump during his first impeachment trial, was his second choice to lead the Justice Department, picked for the role after former Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida withdrew his name from consideration amid scrutiny over sex trafficking allegations.

FILE - President Donald Trump, stands with then-defense attorney Todd Blanche, May 14, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, Pool, file)

President Donald Trump speaks with Attorney General Pam Bondi during a roundtable discussion on public safety at a Tennessee Air National Guard Base, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

Attorney General Pam Bondi arrives before President Donald Trump speaks about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)

President Donald Trump participates in a roundtable discussion on public safety at a Tennessee Air National Guard Base, Monday, March 23, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn., with Attorney General Pam Bondi, right. (AP Photo/Bruce Newman)

Attorney General Pam Bondi listens during a Cabinet meeting at the White House, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

President Donald Trump walks from the Blue Room to speak about the Iran war from the Cross Hall of the White House on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon, Pool)