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Christian media is playing a major role in bringing young people back into the faith, religious experts say
Young people are using a combination of 21st century technology and old school storytelling to learn about the Bible and spread the good word.
Young Americans, who often spend up to 10 hours a day behind computer and smartphone screens, are finding solace in Christian prayer apps and comic books, which have garnered millions of views and reads, to help them learn about the Gospel.
Fox News Digital spoke with Hallow CEO and co-founder Alex Jones, Franciscan University of Steubenville President Father Dave Pivonka, Pray.com founder and CEO Steve Gatena and Kingstone Comics CEO Art Ayris on why young people are turning to God and how digital media can be used as a tool to help spark interest in faith.
Gatena said he remembers a time when a “single act of sharing faith through technology” changed the trajectory of his life.
In 2016, he lost his business partner in a plane crash, and in a search for meaning, he was sent a Christian podcast that inspired him to share the Gospel with others. Now, he sees how digital media can be a powerful tool in bringing people to God.
“Younger audiences under 30 are engaging with biblical stories like never before,” Gatena said. “When Scripture is presented in formats that meet them where they already are, whether cinematic retellings, short-form video or audio devotionals, curiosity turns into genuine engagement… The Gospel has always traveled through the language of its time, from papyrus to the printing press to podcasts. We’re simply the next chapter.”
Pivonka, who ministers to thousands of teenagers and young adults through the university’s Steubenville Conferences, said the search for meaning leads young people to find God.
“They find in the church a relationship with God, and I would say also with the Scriptures, a sense of meaning, purpose, boundaries, something worth it that they can invest themselves in,” he said. “The world is so loud, it’s so mechanical, it’s so digital. When they can go and be quiet, be still, encounter God — that’s really satisfying.”
Storytelling plays a major role in reaching young people because the Bible is the “greatest story” ever told, Jones said. Hallow uses social media to invite young people to encounter God by inviting them to stop scrolling to hear a verse of Scripture.
“The only thing that gives you real peace is God, and He does that in Scripture,” Jones said. “What we see is just trying to break through that noise of letting God give you that peace and then share with you in that peace, how much He loves you. It’s this pretty transformational thing, especially for young people, both men and women.”
Jones told Fox News Digital that storytelling is “incredibly important” and the company tries to bring Scripture to life in a new way for viewers.
Comic books are also proving to be a powerful tool in introducing the Gospel to younger audiences in a way they can understand. Ayris told Fox News Digital that in his work with kids and teenagers, he struggled to find engaging material until finding comics.
“The comic medium is near universal and communication is most effective when delivered in medium familiar to that culture… Over 41% of teens have never read the Bible, so we created a Bible that could be read and understood in a matter of months,” he said.
The Kingstone Bible has been a “perennial seller” for the company. Calling to mind a quote from Walt Disney, Ayris explained it best: “Of all of our inventions for mass communication, pictures still speak the most universally understood language.”
Pivonka said that while media can be used as a tool to help young people make that “initial connection,” ultimately, people are searching for authentic connections in the church.
“The digital world can only satisfy so much,” he said. “So, they’re starting to pray, they’re starting to read the Scriptures, they’re starting to go to church. I think the initial connection can be through social media, and, in fact, I think that’s a wonderful way to use it.”
Gatena said the purpose of Pray.com is not to get people to “scroll more,” but instead to encourage them to “pray more.”
“Technology isn’t the enemy of faith — distraction is. We’re building tools that bring people back to what matters most: time with God,” he said.
Catholic leaders across the United States are reporting an increase in the number of adult converts, according to a previous report. For example, the Archdiocese of Newark in New Jersey reported that 1,701 people were preparing to join the Church, which is up 30% since 2025.
Pivonka, who served in NET Ministries, explained how encounters with God have the power to touch people in difficult moments.
“Some of the kids that I talked with were just in profoundly difficult family situations and structures that the love of God really — it was their anchor,” Pivonka said. “It was their lifesaver that there was some sense of hope, and I think that’s really, for a lot of kids, that’s what they’re really hoping, looking for.”
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Kevin Hart caddies for Bryson DeChambeau in Augusta National debut, delivering hilarious Par 3 Contest moments
Kevin Hart said he’s been bitten by the golf bug. The award-winning actor and comedian make his debut at the historic Augusta National Golf Club on Wednesday for the annual Par 3 contest.
Held annually on the eve of the Masters, the contest draws competitors’ families — and occasionally celebrities like Hart — for a rare chance to caddie or even take a swing on the prestigious course. This year Hart served as two-time U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau’s caddie.
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While the pairing of a native Texan and golf pro’s with a Hollywood star may have seemed unlikley, the duo appeared to quickly form a connection at Augusta, with DeChambeau offering Hart some tips on the course.
When asked by ESPN about his goal for the day, Hart made it clear that he wanted “to be the best caddie that’s every caddied.”
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“I am not Kevin Hart the global superstar today. Please get that out of your mental. Not the movie star, the standup comedian that everybody knows around the world. Throw it in the bag. Today, I am Bryson’s caddie.”
DeChambeau then revealed he first met Hart while the comedian was diving deeper into golf — a connection that eventually landed them as teammates at one of the sport’s most iconic courses.
“We filmed a video a couple of months ago called ‘Caddie Talk,’ just Kevin and me, as he was getting into golf. I said, ‘Let’s do something fun together,’ so I showed him around the course. He turned into a pretty good caddie — and now he’s got the job here at the Par 3 Contest.”
But Hart ended up doing more than what is typical of a caddie on Wednesday. When he arrived at the No. 9 hole, the comedian grabbed one of DeChambeau’s irons, stepped up to the ball and boasted he would need just one shot.
“I was built for this,” Hart declared.
However, he wound up swinging and the ball falling into the water. The broadcaster gave Hart a slight reprieve pointing to the actor’s lack of golf experience and the difficulty of making a good swing while wearing caddie attire. “That’s alright, he just started golf seven months ago, golf’s a tough game,” the announcer noted. “I will give him the benefit of the doubt, it is kind of tough to swing in the caddie suit (and) with no glove.”
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GOP lawmaker introduces bill to strip asylum from fraudsters who vacation in countries they ‘fled’
EXCLUSIVE: A top Republican moved Thursday to block asylum claims from foreigners who return to their home countries, introducing legislation after family members of deceased Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Gen. Qassem Soleimani were found to be living in Los Angeles.
Soleimani’s niece, Hamideh Soleimani Afshar, and her daughter were arrested by ICE last weekend, as Secretary of State Marco Rubio highlighted Afshar’s “outspoken support [for] the Iranian regime” and DHS reporting that her 2019 asylum claim was fraudulent, due in part to several trips back to the country she purported to flee.
Rep. Tom Tiffany, R-Wis., who is also running for the GOP nomination for governor of the Badger State, echoed DHS’ characterization of Afshar’s asylum claim as fraudulent in introducing the SAFER Act, or the “Stopping Asylum Fraudsters Enforcement and Removal Act.”
Tiffany said the bill ensures the federal asylum system is reserved only for foreigners with legitimate claims of persecution.
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The secretary of Homeland Security and the attorney general would be prohibited from granting asylum to anyone who returns to their home country, while also being empowered to terminate asylum status and denaturalize asylees who voluntarily return while living in the U.S.
“If someone claims they are fleeing danger and seeking asylum in the U.S., they should not be turning around and vacationing in the very country they said they had to escape,” Tiffany told Fox News Digital.
“Those who are truly fleeing danger don’t book round-trip tickets back to it.”
Afshar was granted asylum in 2019 during the first Trump administration and was later given a Green Card by the Biden administration, despite returning to Iran at least four times in the interim.
Under the bill, an asylee could legally return to their home country without risk of federal consequences only if the State Department certifies that a legitimate transfer of power has occurred and the original threat prompting that person’s asylum claim has been resolved.
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In the case that a migrant or asylee has no nationality, their claim will be analyzed based on their most recent “habitual residence.”
“The SAFER Act stops asylum fraudsters from exploiting the system and ensures they are removed from the United States,” Tiffany said.
Earlier this month, the State Department terminated the legal status of Fatemeh Ardeshir-Larijani, the daughter of a former senior Iranian official, and her husband.
Both are no longer in the U.S. and are barred from reentry.
Fox News Digital’s Sophia Compton contributed to this report.
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Former top MLB pick Mickey Moniak makes bold sacrifice claim as Rockies seek to snap yearslong playoff drought
The Colorado Rockies finished with the MLB’s worst record in 2025. The team fell to 2-5 early in the 2026 season after a 10-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday.
The franchise has never won an NL West title or a World Series. The Rockies haven’t reached the postseason since 2018, when they clinched a wild-card berth. Complicating any hopes of a turnaround, the Rockies compete in a division with the back-to-back World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers.
Despite the odds stacked against them, one of the Rockies’ emerging stars said he is eager to turn things around in Colorado and end the team’s playoff drought.
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Mickey Moniak, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 MLB Draft, said he would go as far as amputating a body part if it guaranteed the Rockies advanced to the postseason.
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The Colorado outfielder was sidelined for six of the Rockies’ first seven games this season with a sprained right ring finger. But if the team were in position for a playoff push, his availability likely would have been different. “Oh, I would have cut it off,” Moniak told reporters.
Moniak debuted with the Philadelphia Phillies in 2020 before being traded to the Los Angeles Angels in 2022. After appearing in 124 games in 2024, he signed with the Rockies the following year. He had a standout 2025 campaign, hitting a career-best 24 home runs and recording 68 RBIs. Moniak also stole nine bases.
The Rockies completed a three-game sweep of the Houston Astros on Wednesday, moving to 6-6 early in the 2026 season.
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