The University of Mississippi’s Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship invited Cliffe Knechtle, a famous TikTok preacher from New Canaan, Conn., to hold discussions and answer questions surrounding Christianity from April 22-25.
Knechtle and his son Stuart set up in front of the Ole Miss Student Union plaza on April 22 and the Circle April 23-25, culminating in a larger indoor forum Thursday night in the David H. Nutt Auditorium.
With over 550,000 YouTube subscribers and 220,000 TikTok followers, Knechtle has garnered a large social media presence while visiting college campuses to answer difficult questions regarding Christianity. Although he is Christian, Knechtle has garnered popularity for welcoming open discussions with people of different faiths.
Knechtle’s work has garnered pushback on some college campuses in the past. In one instance, Knechtle got in a back-and-forth discussion with someone arguing that Christians are only Christians because that is how they were raised.
In another instance, Knechtle had an exchange with a former Christian who left the faith.
After seeing Knechtle attend Mississippi State University a month ago, UM’s Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship reached out to the pastor to set up a week-long event on campus, allowing students to talk to him and ask questions.
Mack Clements is the director of the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship at UM, and his ministry played a role in getting Knechtle to visit campus.
“(Cliffe) pastors at a church in Connecticut, and one of his church members attends here,” Clements said. “They were looking for a campus ministry to host, and we had a mutual friend, so we invited them to come here.”
Lauren Upchurch, a full-time campus minister, is part of the Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship and helped host the Nutt Auditorium event to foster civil religious engagement.
“The general audience, I would say, is primarily followers of Jesus, but the goal is to interact with everyone on campus,” Upchurch said. “So it’s nice to have people that aren’t followers of Jesus come to dialogue and ask questions.”
Many people attended the Thursday Q&A event, including non-students who follow Knechtle’s teachings and those of different faiths.
Junior integrated marketing communications major Wes Johnson said he attended the event to build his connection with God.
“The big thing I want to gain is wisdom,” Jackson said. “What I hope to happen is for more people to ask questions and realize the peace and joy that comes with following Jesus Christ and putting their faith in him.”
Junior business major Noah Barnes shared similar sentiments.
“I want knowledge, and I want to learn more,” Barnes said. “Knowledge is power, and I want anything that can help me be stronger in my faith and be able to help others in any way they might need help as well.”
During the event, Knechtle highlighted the importance of having an open forum to ask questions.
“We all have unanswered questions,” Knechtle said. “And if we’re not allowed to ask questions, that’s very sad. So I would encourage you to find a church on this campus where you’re encouraged to think.”
Several students expressed their gratitude toward Knechtle and stayed after the closing session to have more conversations with him. Senior civil engineering major Ben Jackson said that he appreciated Knechtle’s presence on campus.
“Cliffe’s such a breath of fresh air,” Jackson said. “You see a lot of campus preachers come in, and it’s very accusatory, whereas Cliffe puts himself on a level playing field with you. And when he talks to you, he talks to you as a person, and I think that that’s really good.”
Sophomore accounting major Zachary Taneri said he has followed Knechtle’s content online and enjoyed the event.
“I just love Christian preachers who get into the deep, nitty-gritty stuff because that’s the questions people struggle with,” Taneri said. “They’re the questions people really want the hard answers to, and I love how he just gives them to you in such a straight, honest way by using great examples.”
Taneri said he found Knechtle authentic.
“(Some) people will act a certain way in church, and then as soon as they step outside of the church, they act totally different because they’re trying to fit in and not show that they’re a Christian to the rest of the outside world,” Taneri said. “(Cliffe) addressing that as the very first question hit home real hard and made me believe that there’s more hope for Christianity and the future generations.”
During the event, Knechtle also spoke about embracing people who have faith in different religions.
“Christ doesn’t give me an option,” Knechtle said. “I have to love and respect all people. Now that does not mean that I agree with all people. You and I can love and respect each other, but it does not mean we have to agree on everything. Tolerance is respecting each other and loving each other, even when we disagree.”
In an interview with The Daily Mississippian, Knechtle expressed gratitude towards students at UM.
“The students at Ole Miss are some of the kindest, polite, respectful students I’ve ever met,” Knechtle said. “I think that there’s a genuine concern for each other. That is very, very impressive.”
