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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.”
President Donald Trump was greeted by a packed crowd at UFC 327 in Miami Saturday night during the president’s first appearance at a sporting event since the start of the Iran war. Fans in attendance erupted into raucous applause as Trump walked into the venue.
Trump made his way out with UFC CEO and president Dana White and went around to the announcers and had an exchange with Joe Rogan, who was sitting at the announcers’ table.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio was standing nearby the seats right before Trump walked out, then leaned in to Trump and started whispering very closely to the president, cupping his hands over his mouth and they each exchanged a few words. Trump then turned around, pumping his fist to those sitting behind him, smiling and waving, then pointed a few times to the crowd.
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Trump has been a frequent fixture at UFC and other combat sports events during his presidency, during his 2024 campaign and even dating back to his first term.
In 2025, Trump attended UFC 316 and Miami fight night. In 2024, he attended UFC 302 in June and UFC 309 in November.
In 2019, he attended UFC 244.
Before Saturday, the last major sporting event Trump attended was the College Football Playoff national championship game between Indiana and Miami at Hard Rock Stadium Jan. 19.
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Trump was notably absent from this year’s Super Bowl and the Winter Olympics in Italy and didn’t attend any other events after the Iran war broke out.
But after Tuesday’s ceasefire agreement, Trump has returned to sport. Trump addressed the ongoing situation with Iran at the White House before departing for Joint Base Andrews to travel to Miami for the UFC event.
“We’re in very deep negotiations with Iran. We win regardless. We’ve defeated them militarily,” Trump told reporters. “Whether we make a deal or not makes no difference to me. And the reason is because we’ve won, whether you listen to the fake news or not.”
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Heather Graham says classmates dismissed her as ‘nerdy’ before Hollywood breakthrough proved them wrong
Before Hollywood came calling, Heather Graham said, she was dismissed as a “nerdy” teenager.
The actress recalled being underestimated in high school before landing the popular cheerleader role in “License to Drive,” a turning point she described as a “huge moment” that launched her independence and her career.
“I was nerdy. … You know, I was smart, and I was just, like, nobody thought I was that pretty,” Graham recalled during an episode of “Dinner’s on Me with Jesse Tyler Ferguson.”
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“So, I got this job as, like, the popular, pretty cheerleader, and I had very bad style and bad hair and makeup. Like, I did not know how to, like, do that. And then people were like, ‘Oh?’
“[The movie] came out right as I was graduating,” Graham added. “And I think people were like, ‘Well, maybe we should have paid attention to her.'”
Graham revealed landing the iconic role as Mercedes Lane in “License to Drive” was a “huge moment” for her at 17.
“It was huge for me. Like, that was a huge moment,” she explained. “I got to make money. I was independent. I had a bank account, you know, and I could live on my own.”
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Graham began her career with small roles in commercials and TV before landing teen films such as “Drugstore Cowboy” and “Swingers.”
She got her breakthrough with “Boogie Nights,” “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Bowfinger.”
Graham landed a role in the blockbuster film “The Hangover” in 2009. She has since continued acting in films and TV while also expanding into writing and directing projects.
Her latest film, “They Will Kill You,” hit theaters March 27.
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The 56-year-old actress shared some of her beauty secrets in a recent interview with Us Weekly.
Graham claimed she’s “never had an actual operation where they’re cutting my face open.” But she said she has tried a series of other methods, including “microneedling, Botox … and a bunch of lasery things.”
“Some of those laser treatments are torture,” she said. “Like, an hour and a half of your face getting blasted.”
The movie star’s goal is to stay away from invasive plastic surgery because she doesn’t “want to look freaky,” and her “goal is to look natural.”
“I feel like some people get facelifts and they just kind of end up looking like … I mean, there are people that get it, and it’s good. But I just don’t want to be one of those people that got it and look freaky,” she said. “But I don’t know if [when] I got older, I wouldn’t completely rule out. Who knows, in the future.”
Graham also tries to maintain a balanced diet and get 10 to 11 hours of sleep. She said she uses yoga as a way to stay in shape and manage stress, calling it “so cathartic.”
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Seven-foot statue unveiled honoring Magawa, award-winning rat who found more than 100 landmines in Cambodia
A landmine-sniffing rat who won a gold medal for “life-saving devotion to duty” in Cambodia has been honored with a massive stone statue.
Magawa, a rat who gained fame in the country for sniffing out more than 100 mines (more than 1.5 million square feet) in his five-year career — more than any other rat in the country — retired in 2021 and died at age 8 in 2022.
The African giant pouched rat was trained by the Belgian charity APOPO to use his keen sense of smell to sniff out landmines and other explosives.
In Cambodia, more than 1 million people live and work in areas dotted with landmines, according to BBC News.
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In 2020, Magawa received the PDSA Dickin medal for gallantry, which recognizes heroism in animals.
He was the first rat in the organization’s history going back to 1943 to win the award.
Magawa was able to walk over areas with land mines safely because of his light weight and would alert his handlers to a mine by scratching the surface, according to Smithsonian magazine. He would then receive a treat.
“During his career, Magawa found over 100 landmines and other explosives, making him APOPO’s most successful HeroRAT to date,” the organization said in 2022, while announcing his death. “His contribution allows communities in Cambodia to live, work and play without fear of losing life or limb.”
Cambodia has the highest rate of landmine amputees per capita of any country.
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APOPO added, “Every discovery he made reduced the risk of injury or death for the people of Cambodia.”
The statue was unveiled in Siem Reap, Cambodia, April 3, just in time for International Day for Mine Awareness April 4.
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