TIPS & TRICKS

Meet Chandler Hallow – Mr. Beast’s Soft-Spoken, Boldly Christian Friend

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Influence in media has shifted drastically over the past several years. A top-rated show on Fox or CNN is happy to garner 2-3 million viewers during primetime, while a typical Mr. Beast video on YouTube gets 150 – 250 million views.

New media is media, and there is a lot of money being made, influence being gained, and fame being chased. But one celebrity in new media is swimming in the opposite direction, and is seems to be because of a spiritual awakening. That someone is Chandler Hallow.

“When I went away to college,” Chandler says, in a recent video where he shares his testimony, “I started to stray away from God. You know – doing things I had never done before, like getting into drugs, smoking, drinking, partying…” This went on for some time until he was living on his own after school, still into drugs, feeling very lonely and lost, and yet praying every night to thank God and ask Him to do something in his life. Then one day, smoking in his kitchen and feeling like there was a “cloud of depression” in his house, he says God spoke to him.

“It was one million percent God’s voice,” he says. “He goes, ‘What are you doing?’ and I froze… At that moment, I like snapped out of some trance I was in, and it’s like God just peeled the scales off my eyes.”

Chandler immediately went through his things, and threw away two garbage bags of “stuff,” that he now knew was an impediment to living for God.

“From that moment on, I started to actually develop a relationship with Jesus, and it changed my life.”

Though he is known for being a fan favorite on Mr. Beast’s 300-million-subscriber YouTube channel, has seemingly been distancing himself from the spotlight of late, leading many online to wonder if he was planning on leaving the channel entirely. Instead of enthusiastically participating in the gameshow-like challenges on the videos that made him a household name among the younger generations, he has elected to start reading scriptures on TikTok, doing short, daily devotionals as he encourages his viewers to treat others with kindness, to resist temptation, and to pray.

“The joy of the Lord is my strength,” he says, smiling as he quotes the scripture in one of his daily devotionals. “When I read I get joy, because of all that God’s done for me, and it brings me strength. It’s like almost everything else that I was dealing with is gone.” He concludes by encouraging his viewers to read the Bible and quote scripture over their lives.

Chandler came from humble beginnings, as he was originally employed by Jimmy Donaldson, AKA Mr. Beast, not as onscreen talent but as a janitor to clean up after their wild video shoots. One day, Mr. Beast needed another person for a video, and he enlisted Chandler to hop in. People liked him so much, that Mr. Beast kept bringing him back until he was a regular. But he isn’t chained to the fame, it seems, and he’s not afraid of giving up the influence for Christ’s sake.

Ironically, this step back may have made him more popular, but we will see what God does in his public life as Chandler takes a new course and seeks to follow God instead of all the other things we think will bring us fulfillment.

This world just might need a few more Chandlers in it, to show us what we can let go of, how God can turn a life around, and what’s really worth pursuing.

 

Quick Hits

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• BCA Research says a U.S. recession is coming.
• Christianity Today offers suggestions on how Christians can support their local public school.
• City of Dreams, an Angel Studios movie showing how children are trafficked across the US border, hits theaters on Friday, August 30th.
• Who’s the newest competitor in the streaming space? Chick-fil-A. (Really.)
• Faith-based tech solutions company “Gloo” raised $110 million in capital.
• Inspiring or insulting? Christians split on Intel CEO’s decision to post a Bible verse alongside a layoffs announcement.

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