Gabe Poirot, a Christian evangelist in his 20s, spends much of the year traveling. He preaches on college campuses, speaks to youth groups and churches, and talks with people outside abortion clinics.

At the same time, his online audience is enormous. More than 2 million people subscribe to his YouTube channel, while another million follow him on TikTok.

“I love going into the streets and winning the lost,” Poirot said. He added “I love reaching the people that maybe never even would ordinarily hear the gospel.”

That is what attracts him to social media. Instead of waiting for unbelievers to walk through a church door, Poirot can put the gospel message directly in front of people who might otherwise never hear it.

“We’re able to reach a lot of atheists, agnostics, Muslims,” he said.

Poirot isn’t alone in his enthusiasm. A growing number of Christian speakers, apologists, podcasters, and evangelists are building enormous audiences online.

Some evangelists, like Johnny Chang, are combining digital outreach with old-fashioned evangelism, traveling from place to place to preach and speak with people face-to-face.

Chang entered juvenile detention at 12 and eventually spent more than eight years in California prisons after becoming involved with gangs, crime and violence. Then his life changed.

After he gave his life to Christ, his pastor encouraged him to return to prison—this time as a minister. Chang was horrified by the suggestion.

“I spent all my time trying to get away from prison, and you’re sending me back,” he recalled telling his pastor.

His pastor encouraged him simply to tell the inmates what God had done in his own life.

He eventually obeyed the call and returned to prison to share his testimony. When he finished, inmates lined up to shake his hand and tell him their own stories.

Chang’s testimony was eventually put online and his social media page grew into an audience of approximately 4 million people. Now, he ministers online and in prison.

Both Chang and Poirot believe loneliness, anxiety, and a lack of genuine relationships are creating an opening among younger Americans.

“There’s a lot of emptiness nowadays and a lot of [spiritual emptiness], not just physical loneliness,” Chang said. “There’s no intermingling with people on an intimate, profound level. It’s all very surface.”

Poirot sees the same problem. “People aren’t hanging out anymore, they don’t have community or friends,” he said.

As a result, many turn to social media to find community. Chang and Poirot are there and ready to share the hope of the gospel to all who will hear.

The internet, however, is not a substitute for biblical Christianity.

Poirot himself warns that social media can turn faith into what he calls a “dopamine fix hunt,” where viewers jump from one inspirational clip to another without ever developing deeper roots.

He calls it “drive through” or “fast food Christianity” when someone gets enough religion to feel better about themself without allowing the gospel to change their life.

There is another danger as well. Christian influencers can sell merchandise, collect advertising revenue, and build personal brands just like secular personalities. It creates a temptation to, in the words of filmmaker Nathan Apffel, “sell the gospel.”

But even with the potential pitfalls, the rise of young Christian influencers highlights something important: people are listening.

You don't need a million followers or a social media platform to make a difference. Opportunities to share the gospel are all around us at work, in the grocery store, and next door.

The person standing next to you in line may be struggling with loneliness, searching for purpose, or wondering what happens after death. You may never know what questions are weighing on someone's heart until you offer them the answers found in God's Word.

A simple conversation or a gospel tract offered at the right moment could be exactly what someone needs to hear. Wherever you go, be ready to share the gospel. You never know who might be looking for the hope you have in Christ.