Social media can often be found as a source of negativity and controversy, but for Michaela Gindler (11) she uses it to faithfully inspire others.

After growing up in the church, attending PSR, and having her Confirmation, Gindler wanted to get more involved with her faith. During the fall of 8th grade, she started to pray and read her bible on a more regular basis. Gindler began to grow deeper into her faith and decided it was important to share it on social media so others could have the same experience. 

“My faith is my rock,” said Gindler. “I’m home when I deepen my faith, and I wanted to share that feeling with others.”

Not only did she express what she learned and experienced through social media, she also created a way for anyone to send in prayer requests anonymously via Snapchat. 

“I started posting YOLOs in the fall of 2019 because I know that prayer is a super helpful part of my life, and I wanted to be able to share that with others,” she said.

During the summer when the Black Lives Matter protests were very frequent, Gindler created a document for people to sign up to pray for fifteen minutes in dedication to victims of police brutality and racial injustice. Almost 40 people signed up to pray.

“The overall goal was to devote one day to bring those issues to God,” she said.

She specifically felt the need to share her faith with others during the beginning of quarantine. “I found a lot of comfort and safety in God and His Word and with everything that was going on. I figured the best thing I could do was try to reach other people with it.”

Although she has received some negative feedback online, the support she has gotten from many people has encouraged her to keep moving forward.

“Sometimes people will just reach out with encouragement and it really makes my day because it can be hard putting things out there that you really care about, so having reassurance is really nice.”

Through posting to social media, she has been able to inspire others and grow deeper into her own faith in the process.

“Spreading my faith has definitely strengthened it,” she said. “It forces me to be authentic and it holds me accountable.”

Even though Gindler doesn’t know exactly what her future holds, she still plans to continue to grow in her faith and be an example to others. 

“I have no idea what God’s plan for my future is yet but I pray that others know God’s love by what I do and say, even if I end up doing nothing related to my faith.”