On Tuesday and Wednesday, UNC students crowded around Cliffe Knechtle and his son, Stuart Knechtle, on the Quad as they answered students’ questions about faith and religion.
The father-son duo are Christian preachers who have gained their popularity on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram for traveling to college campuses across the nation to engage with students. The work is part of their “Give Me an Answer” ministry, which seeks to offer responses to young people with faith-based doubts.
"Driven by a deep commitment to spreading the message of Jesus, we actively engage skeptics, empower truth-seekers, and offer meaningful responses to questions, doubts, and challenges concerning faith, reason, and the meaning of life," the ministry said in its online mission statement.
On their website, the Knechtles said they have visited a variety of universities, from University of Hawaii to the University of Maine, often standing outside of prominent campus locations.
Some of the students who gathered to hear the duo speak said they recognized Cliffe from social media, especially TikTok, and wanted to see his work in person.
“He got a lot of popularity online because he handles a lot of the more tense situations — and people with harder questions or a very aggressive attitude toward Christianity — with a lot of poise and kindness and understanding,” Ebenezer Amare, a UNC first-year, said.
Students asked questions such as “If God is so loving, why does he send people to hell?” and other queries relating to the power of free will and God’s love.
Cliffe’s "respectful" approach to preaching is something UNC graduate student Annagabriela Redding said she appreciates.
She said she saw a few videos online where he may get a little mad, but never to the point of rudeness or aggression. This has been an issue Redding has sometimes seen with other preachers at UNC, she said.
