They Didn’t Come for TikTok...
They Came for Trust
When Rev. Emily Knoth first started posting on TikTok, she was not trying to become a church-growth strategy.
At first, she was simply recommending books. Mostly children’s books. Theologically thoughtful children’s books. Then people asked for more recommendations. Eventually she ran out of books and, as she joked on a recent episode of The Collective Voice, she “just started talking.”
Then something unexpected happened.
People started showing up at church.
That is the part of the story that can be easily misunderstood. The simple version is: young pastor gets on TikTok and young adults start attending church. But the deeper story is not really about TikTok at all. It is about trust.
As Knoth described it, a young adult in her congregation encouraged her to start posting because “there’s so many people that just don’t know churches like this exist.” Churches with queer pastors. Churches committed to justice. Churches where questions are welcomed. Churches that might actually feel safe.
That insight matters because for many young adults, the first question is not whether a church has the right programs or aesthetics. The first question is much simpler: Can I trust you?
Before they walk into a sanctuary, many young adults are trying to discern whether a church will love them, fix them, judge them, ignore them, or use them. They are trying to determine whether the welcome on the website will hold up in the room.
Digital ministry, at its best, can create a first threshold of trust.
Knoth is also clear about what does not work. She does not think every church simply needs a TikTok account. In fact, she pushes back on that assumption. Institutional social media alone rarely creates meaningful engagement. What people responded to was not a polished church brand. They responded to a person speaking honestly in public.
That honesty is part of what makes her ministry compelling. Knoth openly tells newcomers that First Presbyterian Church in Wichita is still figuring itself out. The historic congregation is in transition. There are real challenges. She jokes that the church is in its “single girl era.”
In a church culture often shaped by anxiety and institutional self-preservation, that kind of honesty feels surprisingly refreshing. Young adults are deeply accustomed to being marketed to. They can often sense desperation quickly. What they may not expect is a pastor willing to say, “You are welcome here, but we are not pretending to have everything figured out.”
Ironically, that honesty creates trust.
But perhaps the most important part of Knoth’s ministry is what happens after people arrive. Digital discovery is not the same thing as belonging. Someone may come because they saw a pastor online, but healthy ministry cannot stop there. The work is helping people become part of an actual community.
Knoth described intentionally connecting newcomers to others in the congregation, not simply plugging them into volunteer roles. She introduces people to one another. She helps friendships form. She even realized she sometimes needed to step back so young adults could build relationships with each other rather than orbiting around the pastor.
That instinct reveals something important: young adults are not only looking for churches with the “right values.” They are looking for places where they can actually belong. Knoth jokingly called name tags “the one hill” she will die on. But underneath the humor was a serious theological conviction. If people are going to love one another, they need to know one another’s names.
A name tag may seem small, but it becomes a practice of recognition. A reminder that church should be a place where people are remembered. That same instinct shapes the way she thinks about worship. Drawing on theologian Claudio Carvalhaes, she described worship as a practice that helps people remember “what we could be at our best.”
For Knoth, that means explaining why worship practices matter. Passing the peace, for example, is not just a casual greeting moment. It follows confession and forgiveness. The congregation receives peace from God and then turns toward one another in reconciliation.
If church is going to become a community shaped by grace, then it has to practice grace in the room. Young adults are not simply looking for casual spaces or trendy platforms. Many are searching for practices, relationships, and communities capable of forming a meaningful life.
TikTok did not save First Presbyterian Church in Wichita.
Trust opened a door.
Then worship, friendship, honesty, and embodied community gave people a reason to stay.