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  • The Guardian

    'I have more followers than the C of E’: meet the religious stars of Instagram

    From the priest who runs Spinning classes to the vegan preacher, how are they spreading the gospel on social media? Interviews by Deborah Linton
    Jun 20, 2020 7 minutes
    ‘I’ve started doing Instagram live services, with a congregation of 5,000’: Rev Chris Lee Photograph: Stephen Burke/The Guardian

    ‘A friend says his Insta is full of boobs and bums – I’m a breath of fresh air’: Rev Chris Lee, 37, Church of England priest, London

    In 2015, my friends invited me to do a slot called Rev Chris Reacts on their YouTube channels. I appeared in my dog-collar, reviewing food, culture and music; one video of me watching Ariana Grande’s God Is A Woman has now racked up over 8m views.

    It hit me that I had an opportunity to inject some light and love into the internet. I joined Instagram five years ago, and my following has doubled over the past year. I have 168,000 followers – more than the Church of England and the archbishop of Canterbury combined.

    I’m the vicar at St Saviour’s Church, in Wendell Park, London. When I meet people, I try not to tell them what I do straight away, because it immediately shifts the mood. Sometimes they open up, sometimes they defend themselves, sometimes they suddenly just don’t like me.

    On Instagram I share all the things I love – sport, my family, God – but I don’t do “cut-and-paste church”: you won’t find long sermons from me.

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