If you’ve ever wondered whether a podcast about faith could actually disciple the next generation — Katie Bulmer is living proof it can.
Katie joined Ashley and Andy on The Church Digital podcast to talk about her show Truth for Your Twenties, her wild road to becoming a national college speaker, and why she believes the Church needs to stop shouting in sound bites and start having real conversations. The episode is packed. Here’s what you need to know.
Why Podcasting Is a Discipleship Tool, Not Just a Media Channel
Katie didn’t stumble into podcasting for the clout. She chose it because it forces depth.
Instagram gives you 30 seconds. TikTok gives you less. But a 40-minute podcast episode? That’s a mentorship conversation. That’s someone sitting with a 22-year-old woman during her commute, asking hard questions about faith, identity, and what she actually believes.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: most young people aren’t bored with Jesus. They’re bored with shallow content about Jesus. They want substance. Podcasting hands you the format to deliver it.
Practical step: If you lead a ministry to college students or young adults, consider recording your best discipleship conversations — not just your polished teachings — and releasing them as audio. Raw and real beats produced and sterile every time.
Your Weird Resume Is Actually Your Ministry
Katie spoke at sororities. She became a yoga instructor. She didn’t follow a straight line into ministry — and that’s exactly what makes her effective.
She talks to women who would never set foot in a church but will absolutely show up to a wellness event or a Greek life lunch. Her “unusual” background isn’t a detour from her calling. It is her calling.
This matters for digital ministry strategy. The most effective creators serving the next generation are often the ones who stopped apologizing for their backgrounds and started leveraging them. Your experience in CrossFit, your love of gaming, your decade in corporate America — those are bridges, not baggage.
Practical step: Make a list of three spaces you occupy outside of “official” church contexts. Now ask: how could faith show up authentically in each one? That’s your content map.
Overt vs. Covert Discipleship — and Why You Need Both
One of the sharpest insights from Katie’s conversation is the distinction between overt and covert discipleship.
Overt discipleship is direct: Bible studies, accountability partnerships, mentorship calls. Covert discipleship looks different — it’s the Instagram caption that asks a question, the podcast episode about anxiety that ends with a quiet invitation toward Jesus, the TikTok that makes someone feel seen before it points them toward the Savior.
Neither is better. Both are necessary. The covert approach opens doors. The overt approach walks through them.
Katie’s podcast does both. She meets young women where they are — wrestling with purpose, relationships, and faith deconstruction — before inviting them deeper. That’s not bait-and-switch. That’s how Jesus operated too. “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” (Matthew 13:9)
Practical step: Audit your last 10 pieces of content. How many were overt (direct gospel invitation)? How many were covert (meeting people at their need)? If all of them are one or the other, you’ve got a gap.
Authenticity Isn’t a Buzzword — It’s a Strategy
Katie is unapologetically herself across every platform she’s on. And she tailors how she shows up without changing who she is.
What she says on a podcast to a seminary graduate looks different from what she says to a freshman rushing a sorority. Same convictions. Different language. Different entry point.
That’s not compromise. That’s communication. And it’s exactly what Paul described when he talked about becoming all things to all people (1 Corinthians 9 — look it up).
For youth leaders and content creators trying to reach Gen Z and Gen Alpha: stop performing a version of Christianity that feels safe for your board members. Start having the conversations that young people are actually having — about doubt, deconstruction, mental health, sexuality, and what it means to follow Jesus when everything feels uncertain.
They can smell inauthenticity from a mile away. And they will scroll right past it.
Practical step: Pick one topic your audience is actually struggling with — not the one you’re most comfortable teaching. Create one piece of content that addresses it honestly, from your own experience, without a tidy bow at the end.
The Next Wave Is Already Here
The next generation isn’t waiting for the Church to figure out digital ministry. They’re already online, already searching, already forming their theology from whatever content shows up in their feed.
The question isn’t whether someone will disciple them digitally. The question is who.
Katie Bulmer decided the answer would be her. What’s yours?
Watch the full conversation with Katie above, then head over to our Facebook Group where we’re talking through exactly how to build digital discipleship strategies that actually work. And if you want personalized coaching on reaching the next generation online, take our quick survey — we’ll connect you with resources and a coach who gets it.
