Churches in the US were put to shame after a TikToker conducted a social experiment to see whether the religious institutions would practice what they preach.
Nikalie Monroe, who lives in Kentucky, proved that some of the biggest churches in the country would refuse to help a “starving baby.”
“If anyone ever needs help, don’t contact megachurches. They spend all their money on cars, mansions, jet planes, and designer suits,” one commented after Nikalie’s videos went viral.
Highlights
- Nikalie Monroe conducted a social experiment involving some of the biggest churches in the US.
- She proved that most churches would refuse to help a mother feed a “starving baby.”
- Netizens were appalled after hearing the churches' responses in Nikalie’s videos.
- Following the outrage, some pastors called the content creator an “evil” witch and “woke liberal.”
Nikalie Monroe proved that some of the biggest churches in the country would refuse to help a “starving baby”
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
Nikalie Monroe’s TikTok bio introduces her as an Army veteran and lesbian, who has been “testing your church to see if they would feed a hungry baby.”
The content creator has shared more than 40 videos on her page, exposing the inconsiderate responses some churches have had to her request to feed her fictional 2-month-old baby.
Image credits: DNK.PHOTO/unsplash (not the actual photo)
As part of her experiment, Nikalie calls up churches and pretends to be a mother struggling to feed her fictional infant. She then politely asks them if they could provide her with baby formula.
“I’m calling your church to see if they would help feed a starving baby,” she is heard saying in a video.
The TikToker pretends to be a mother struggling to feed a 2-month-old baby and records the church's responses
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
In some of the videos, Nikalie adds the fake sound of a baby crying in the background to make her story sound believable.
But what was unbelievable for some netizens was the lack of compassion shown by some churches to her request.
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
The majority of the churches offered zero help and straight up said “no” to her request.
The religious institutions gave a variety of excuses, saying they didn’t have baby formula, that they were a church for older people, or that she didn’t attend the church or know a single church member.
Some asked her to contact the local government or make a trip to the store.
The Army Veteran revealed that some of the churches straight up said “no” to her request
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
In the 43-part series, Nikalie heard rejections from 33 religious institutions.
Only 10 institutions offered help.
She noted that some of the first ones to offer help were Islamic centres and mosques.
The TikToker, after receiving suggestions for churches from her viewers, called up one of the largest churches in the US, the Lakewood Church, headed by Pastor Joel Scott Osteen.
During the call, Nikalie was told the Lakewood Church had a “benevolence ministry,” but her application would first have to be processed and approved, which could take days or even weeks.
Nikalie was appalled by the response from megachurch Lakewood Church, headed by a pastor with a net worth of around $100 million
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
Image credits: Jenny Zhang/Google Maps
While Nikalie was left flabbergasted by the call, some netizens pointed out that the church’s pastor Joel Osteen had a net worth of around $100 million, according to reports.
“I’m not even a church, and if somebody called me needing to feed a baby, I wouldn’t just hang up the phone, I would find them a resource and get them formula for their baby,” Nikalie said in one video.
“What kind of approval process is there to feed starving babies???” a flabbergasted viewer commented
Amid the sea of negative responses, some churches had endearing reactions and immediately expressed their willingness to help.
The Heritage Hope Church of God was one of them, which received donations from the public for their heartwarming response to Nikalie’s request.
“Heritage Hope Church of God has since received over $75,000 to their food pantry. The congregation says he’s been crying all week,” read a tweet posted by @lydiakauppi.
Some churches have received donations and positive reviews online after their heartwarming reaction to the content creator's request
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
As Nikalie’s videos garnered millions of views, several pastors expressed frustration over the experiment and called the TikToker “evil,” “a witch” and a “woke liberal.”
“The person who goes around calling churches and putting the voice of a baby crying in the background. And I say, really the person is low,” Pastor Bishop Raymond W. Johnson said in a Sunday sermon after his church, Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge, said they couldn’t accommodate Nikalie’s request.
“How you gone [sic] do your little dirty deed? And you know, it's just the spirit of a witch. It's a witch,” he added.
Another pastor called the TikToker a “woke liberal” as he spent more than 20 minutes talking about the social experiment to his congregation.
He called Nikalie a woman who is “folly, seductive, and knowing nothing.”
Some pastors slammed Nikalie's social experiment and called her a “witch”
Image credits: psousa5/stock.adobe.com (not the actual photo)
Nikalie insisted in one of her videos that she didn’t start the experiment to “test churches” or to be “mean.”
“When I started this experiment, literally the day before I started, I was just sitting here and I was like talking on the phone, I’m like, tomorrow I’m gonna start calling up churches, just to see if they would help somebody that’s like, really in need,” she told her followers in one video.
“It wasn’t out of ill intent, or to test churches to be mean… ,” she added.
Image credits: nikalie.monroe
The viral star said she didn’t want the experiment to continue with “negativity” and have “no change.”
“I would much rather these churches and us go like ‘Okay, we’re all human, we all make mistakes, we can all improve,’…. And take that moment, and go, okay, what changes can we make to fix this?” she added.
The viral star insisted she wasn't trying to be mean to churches but simply wanted meaningful change
The video-maker’s experiment sparked a flurry of comments online, with one saying, “The few that said yes include black churches, a Buddhist temple, and an Islamic center.”
“What the f*** is going on with ‘Christians’ in the United States? Do they have no concept of Christian values? This girl is brilliant, follow her on TikTok,” one said.
Another wrote, “You opened eyes to people who are members I’m sure. This is the best test,” said another.
“Best series on the internet right now,” one commented online
