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In today’s newsletter:

• Christian Influencers You Should Know
• Airline Adjustments, Market Watch, and The Olympics
• One Minor Change to Increase Your Closing Rate

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I have some good news for you – there are some good people on the internet.

I know, I know… Scrolling on social media can be a depressing experience, even in self-proclaimed Christian circles. There is a lot of needless division, immaturity, greed, and attention-seeking, and when you stamp the name of Jesus on that, it can leave you with a sick feeling in your stomach. Social media is such an incredible opportunity to speak to the masses, but sometimes the loudest people wearing the badge of “Christian” don’t behave much like Christ.

Thankfully, however, some people are using their influence well, acting like Christians should act, and bringing real value to the world.

Today, we want to highlight some great accounts on various social media platforms of open Christians, doing their thing in an open-hearted and yet uncompromising way.

We’ll start off with a member of the largest YouTube account in the world, Chandler Hallow.

Chandler Hallow

15.5M on TikTok: @ChandlerHallow
5M on IG: @ChandlerHallow
1.1M on X: @ChandlerHallow

If you’ve ever seen the enormously popular YouTube channel, Mr. Beast, then you know it’s a big deal. This channel essentially invented “entertainment philanthropy” as a genre, in which Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) gives away houses, hundreds of thousands of dollars, and cars to people who really need them.

Or, sometimes just his friends. Usually in exchange for winning a whacky gameshow-like challenge.
One regular cast member on this channel is a 25-year-old man named Chandler Hallow, and in recent years, he has been creating more of his own content.

On YouTube, he makes golfing videos, and he has other social media channels for “GolfwithChandler” as well, but what he is becoming known for is a very un-Mr.-Beastlike thing.

He does daily Bible studies.

“Today’s reading is from 1 Peter 5:8,” he begins a recent video. He reads the scripture and then encourages his followers to practice sobriety and to draw close to the Holy Spirit. It’s a simple video, under 2 minutes in length, like most of his shorts, but it’s reaching a large audience on TikTok (where he has 15 million followers) in an age group that many consider difficult to reach for the gospel: Gen Z, with whom Chandler is very popular.

Pivoting to online Bible studies was not the natural move for a wildly famous YouTube celebrity, but this is how Chandler has chosen to use his influence in the moment of his prominence, and you have to hand it to him for that.
Check out Chandler’s daily mini-Bible studies, or take a look at some of his golf content to support.

Ruslan KD

600k on YouTube: @RuslanKD
31.5k on X: @RuslanKD
78k on TikTok: @RuslanKD

If you’re ever wondering what it would be like to see a reasonable Christian worldview interacting with and commenting on current events and culture, San Diego YouTube star Ruslan may be the man for you. A musician, businessman, and open Christian, Ruslan’s mission is to engage with the world in a respectful, thoughtful way through a biblical perspective.

His videos on YouTube regularly garner hundreds of thousands of views, and sometimes even in the double-digit millions, but he maintains a humble, self-effacing tone and invites critique and criticism of his takes. If you’re looking for a Christian influencer to be influenced by – humility is a big green flag.

So if you want to hear reactions to real-time news in the church world, Christian reflections on the political news of the day, or the occasional digression to dig into big questions, consider giving Ruslan a follow, and if you’re trying to find based Christian rap, check out his music as well.

Nadine Brandes

28k on IG: @NadineBrandes
3.1k on FB: NadineBrandesAuthor

Many consumers out there have a hunger for wholesomeness, but in a way that’s honest at the same time. We want to see the values of God, family, and virtue put on display, but not in a “shiny happy people” sort of way. Sometimes the story takes a hard turn. Sometimes living the good life can be hard. But even still, there is always hope and usually even a reason to end up with a smile.

To that end, I present to you Christian speculative fiction author Nadine Brandes.

Brandes has written a handful of popular YA books, including Romanov, Wishtress, and her newest novel, The Nightmare Virus. On social media, however, it isn’t just a constant advertisement for her books – she discusses what life as a writer really looks like, the ups and downs of family life with young kids, spiritual encouragement, and a generally positive, warm embrace of life as it truly is.

A lot of people talk about wanting to support Christian art, Christian stories, and Christian culture-making. Nadine is one of the people doing it, so if you like to read (or are curious about what the life of a mother of three who writes novels full-time looks like), check out Nadine’s social profiles.

Lila Rose

357k on IG: @LilaRoseOfficial
345k on X: @LilaGraceRose
Apple Podcasts: The Lila Rose Podcast

If you were to come up with a “40 under 40” list of our culture’s most culturally significant and impactful Christians, Lila Rose would be on it.

Founder of Live Action, a pro-life advocacy organization, and a proud Christian, Lila exudes grace, confidence, and an unwavering understanding of her faith as she communicates. She has been featured on mainstream media outlets, has testified before Congress, and she also has a podcast and social media channels where her interests broaden beyond questions of law and policy. Lila Rose interviews interesting, accomplished women such as Suzanne Venker, Tammy Peterson, and others on her show, and delves deeply into topics of motherhood, the Christian faith, and our moment in history right now.

She also does reaction videos and highlights some wonderful (and not-so-wonderful) clips from around the net, so her page can be useful as content feed as well.

All of this to say, Lila Rose is a solid follow, and if you want to support her work, check out LiveAction.org.

Need more follow suggestions? Check out the list below, and let us know what you think. Note, what follows is a list of interesting, useful, and thought-provoking Christians on various social media channels. Sent 2 Win does not necessarily align with all of the views any given content creator below may express.

Savannah: @thisissavvy – Film Critic
1.1M on TikTok
100k on IG

Jonah Wiley: @the.bible.teacher – Christian Memes and Deep Thoughts
730k on TikTok
450k on IG

Stephen: @coffeebreak_yt – Busting Scams, Fake Gurus, and Financial Frauds
3.65M on YouTube
580k on X

Tim Mackie: @TheBibleProject – Bible Study, Commentary, and Bible Education
4.4M on YouTube
1M on IG

Nathan Apfel and Chris Ayoub: @religionbusiness – Documentarians and Religious Watchdogs
115k on IG
Banned on TikTok (?!)
Previously featured in Sent2Win

Nick Freitas: @nickjfreitas – Culture and Politics, Humorous Shorts
1.2M on IG
340k on TikTok

Andrew Klavan: @andrewklavan – Politics and Culture
704k on YouTube
306k on X

Forrest Frank: @hiforrest – Music
6M monthly listeners on Spotify
2.7M on IG

Graham: @100graham – Music/Producing
3.2M monthly listeners on Spotify
566k on IG

Connor Price: @connorprice – Music/Rap
8.6M monthly listeners on Spotify
5.6M on TikTok

Sarah Jakes Roberts: @sarahjakesroberts – Lifestyle/Fashion/Encouragement
3M on IG
1.3M on TikTok

Dave Ramsey: @daveramsey – Personal Finance
7.4M on Facebook
5.3M on IG

Marty Solomon: @bemadiscipleshippodcast – Bible Study
Millions of downloads on Apple Podcasts
12.5k on YouTube

Erin Phillips: @erinphillipsauthor – Christian Fantasy Author/Book Talk
51k on IG

Joshua Culley: @jovial_cynic – Theology and Encouragement (A small account but a solid follow)
2.5k on X

Tim Tebow: @timtebow – Philanthropist and Former Professional Athlete
3.1M on IG
900k on TikTok

Jonathan Isaac: @jonisaac_01 – Professional Athlete
470k on IG
140k on X

Lecrae: @lecrae – Rapper
2.3M on IG
1.5M on X

Patrick Lencioni: @patricklencioni – Author/Business Leader
190k on LinkedIn
65k on X

Ken Blanchard: @kenblanchard – Author/Business Leader
240k on X
136k on LinkedIn

Michael Hyatt: @michaelhyatt – Author/Business Leader
353k on Facebook
256k on X

Christine Caine: @christinecaine – Evangelist
1.3M on IG
967k on Facebook

Craig Groeschel: @craiggroeschel – Pastor
1.1M on IG
830k on TikTok

Korie Robertson: @bosshogswife – Lifestyle
2.1M on IG
1.2M on X

Hannah Roy: @hannahroyfit – Fitness and Health
153k on IG
35k on TikTok

Gina Bontempo: @gmflorio – Fitness and Health
154k on IG
143k on X

Sarah Litvinchuk: @sara_lit – Fashion and Lifestyle
1.1M on IG

Abbie: @m.is.for.mama – Motherhood, Homeschooling
206k on IG
18k on Facebook

Tara Sun Snyder: @misstarasun – Home/Lifestyle
132k on IG
13.3k on YouTube

Haley McBride: @haleymariemcbride – Home/Family
16k on IG
8k on TikTok

The Lord’s Giant: @thelordsgiant – Theology/Christian Living
210k on IG
95k on TikTok

Chris Tomlin: @christomlin – Worship Leader/Songwriter
3.8M on Facebook
1.3M on IG

Jon Foreman: @jonforeman – Singer/Songwriter
172k on IG
156k on Facebook

Harrison Butker: @buttkicker7 – Professional Athlete
435k on IG
196k on X

Seth Dillon: @sethdillon – Satire/Humor
750k on X
179k on IG

Elizabeth Gibson: @elizabeth_gibson – Comedy
200k on IG
175k on TikTok

Josh Benson: @joshbensontherapper – Comedy
583k on TikTok
56k on IG

Lacy Abercrombie: @abercrombielacy – Comedy
346k on TikTok
70k on IG

Christina: @itsclearlychristina – Mental Health and Wellness
33k on IG

Allie Beth Stuckey: @conservmillen – Faith, Culture, and Politics
581k on IG
512k on YouTube

Did we miss anybody? Send us a tip with your favorite Christian influencer who is humbly doing good work out there, and we may highlight your favorite follow in a future newsletter!

INDUSTRY INSIGHTS

Airline Adjustments, Market Watch, and The Olympics

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Airline Adjustments

It’s been a pretty interesting month for frequent fliers, and for those who invest in major U.S. airlines. First, thousands of flights were delayed and canceled last week, as an error in a critical software update grounded flights across the nation. (It also crippled, hospitals, banks, and businesses). Many travelers were stranded in airports for days. This comes during a time of an oversupply of demand for air travel, which has not translated into increased profits for most carriers, due to rising costs of labor, fuel, and continued supply chain issues. Southwest Air, for its part, has seen a 46% drop in its profit and is now scrambling to adjust its business model to bring in additional revenue, such as ending the open seating policy, selling extra legroom, and adding overnight flights. American Airlines has had its share of troubles as well and has been forced to cut its earnings forecast for the rest of this year. Its shares are up slightly, however, now that it has sought to negotiate contracts that had alienated travel agencies and corporate customers. Things may continue to be turbulent in the industry for a while, as delays from airplane giant Boeing continue to disrupt expected timelines for aircraft delivery and add more pressure on Airbus to produce additional units.

Market Watch

U.S. GDP growth increased sharply in Q2, to 2.8%, when adjusting for inflation and seasonality. Tech stocks and crypto slid last week, though Bitcoin rallied significantly after Trump spoke at a Bitcoin rally and promised to make the US the “crypto capital of the world.” The average 30 year fixed mortgage rate sat at around 6.9% as of Monday, according to BankRate. The dollar strengthened this past week, with the dollar index now sitting at 104.63, as of Monday. Gas prices have been much more stable this summer than expected. After a dip, sugar prices are rising again, but corn is still down and heading lower. Inflation is sitting at an annualized 3%.

The Olympics

The 2024 Summer Olympics officially kicked off last week in Paris, in a massive spectacle that has been called the most ambitious opening ceremony ever as well as “shocking and insulting” and “a bad start.” France’s budget for the games this year is $10 billion, which is, amazingly, far lower than the budget of recent Summer Games. (Tokyo 2020 cost $13 billion; Rio 2016 cost $13.6 billion; London 2012 cost $15 billion.) Some estimates of Paris 2024 suggest it could yield between 7 and 12 billion dollars, which represents a huge loss, but some argue that there are positive, lasting economic effects of hosting the games which are difficult to measure. Seeing as how the typical Summer Games goes over budget by 150%, France will likely lose a large sum on the festivities, as the country’s GDP is around $2.8 trillion. In any case, the Olympics capture a lot of eyeballs, and advertising opportunities abound for the event which was estimated to draw 1 billion viewers for the opening ceremony alone. Nevertheless, due to the strange, highly controversial and blasphemous opening ceremony, at least one major sponsor has pulled their advertising, in what has been a disastrous PR incident to start off this year’s games.

Sunday School

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Q. In which book of the Bible does the “Valley of Dry Bones” appear?

A. Ezekiel, chapter 37. God gives a vision to Ezekiel during Israel’s exile to show him that Israel will return to their homeland and become a nation once more.

“So you’re saying there’s a chance…?”

TIPS & TRICKS

One Minor Change to Increase Your Closing Rate

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You may or may not be “in sales,” but if you are a business owner or even a high-powered employee, chances are, the success of your company does in fact rely, to some extent, on people saying yes to your pitch. For those of us who are natural salespeople, this is great news. To those of us who aren’t… Well, thankfully there is a lot of good material out there that we can learn from. In this short article today, we want to highlight an extremely helpful little tactic that you can start employing right away, and be sure to let us know if it improves your close rate!

So what is this magical technique?

Let the customer say no. A lot.

Try to Get a “No.”

“Hold on,” you might be thinking. “Isn’t the idea of sales to get a ‘yes’?”

Sure. Sometimes. But here’s the problem with trying to get someone to say yes to “Want to buy this car?” or “Will you sign up for a membership?” or “Can I be your next VP of Marketing?” – If they say “No,” you’re kind of cooked. This is usually the final ask of the conversation, the only “yes” that really matters, and if you blow it, you’re done.

Sure, persistence can pay off, but it can also be annoying and off-putting, if a “No” has already been said with finality, like in the examples above. Conventional wisdom says that you want to get your target saying “Yes” a lot so that it’s easy to say the final “Yes” – the one that actually matters. So a lot of scripts go like this:

“Is this Mr. Thompson?”

Yes.

“Do you have a quick moment for something important?”

Yes.

“Do you use a shower at home?”

Yes.

“Is it important to you that your shower stays in good condition?”

Yes.

“Would you like to buy top-of-the-line shower paneling to prevent leaks and extend the life of your shower?”

No. *Click*

The salesman intentionally makes it difficult to say “no,” right up until the very end. Then, that first and only no shuts down the conversation totally, and makes it a failure. The script feels almost coercive, and the communication is certainly wooden. The customer is almost boxed into saying “Yes” over and over, without any real invitation to participate.

Listen to what master negotiator Chris Voss suggests:

“‘Yes’ is often a meaningless answer that hides deeper objections (and ‘Maybe’ is even worse). Pushing hard for ‘Yes’ doesn’t get a negotiator any closer to a win; it just angers the other side.”

What should you do then?

Voss suggests that you empower your target customer to start saying the word “no” early in the conversation. “No” is a reassuring word, because it makes people feel like they are in control, that they have some power, and that they are actually communicating. Even just flipping the script, according to an informal experiment Voss cites in his book Never Split the Difference, can greatly improve your success rate.

“I’m trying to reach Mr. Thompson – I haven’t got the wrong number, have I?”

No, this is him. You’ve got it right.

“Great, thanks. Hi, Mr. Thompson. I just have a couple of questions that will take less than twenty seconds – do you mind?”

Well, no, I suppose not.

“Perfect. Alright, do you think that it’s acceptable for a leaky shower to run unaddressed in a home?”

Of course not.

“Do you do the sort of home maintenance on your property where you are regularly checking the inner workings of your shower, checking for micro-cracks in the porcelain, and identifying leaks?”

Well, not really, no.

“Sir, I sell these great shower surround panels that erase the need for that sort of maintenance. Is there any reason I can’t come by sometime in the next week to show you some samples of what we offer and give you a price to extend the life of your shower and eliminate costly plumbing bills?”

I… Well, I couldn’t do it until Friday.

“Can I come on Friday? Say in the morning?”

Alright, why not? Yes, that’ll be fine.

Now, there are more subtle ways of doing this, but at the end of the day, we have to stop being afraid of the word “No,” Voss teaches. “No” usually gives us more information, if we are asking the right questions. If objections arise, when “No” has already been introduced early on in the conversation, we have the opportunity to address these objections before we commit to making the hard ask at the end – whether the goal is to set an appointment, sell a piece of merchandise, or get signatures on a contract.

In our shower example, the second script is not a forced journey down a one-way road – there are opportunities for a customer to tell you that he is not in your target market, that he requires additional education, or that he has to schedule at a specific time. All of this information is useful, and it feels less irritating to the consumer, which is always a good thing.

Even just asking, “Is there anything that would potentially prevent you from doing a deal with me here today?” can be a good move, because it keeps the conversation open even if they say that there is, because you can then address the objection or provide a solution. And if they say

“No”… Then you’ve got yourself a sale.

Don’t be afraid of the word “No.” In fact, seek it out if you can. In the end, it’s only the final “Yes” that matters.

Quick Hits

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• Elevation Church is accused of “high tech sheep-stealing” – using location-based ads to specifically target members of smaller churches.
• In a bizarre series of events, Brent Leatherwood, the head of the Southern Baptist Convention’s ethics and public policy arm, was fired and then reinstated in the span of 24 hours.
• Christianity Today reports that Christian rescue missions are strained for resources as homelessness reaches record highs.
• Arson attacks in France caused massive travel disruption ahead of the Olympic opener last week.

Our “Christian Influencers” graphic was generated using AI prompts. Guess the prompt for your chance to win Sent To Win gear. Just reply to this email with your best guess.

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