TESTING THE CHURCH

You may have seen the “church test” social experiment that trended on TikTok and other social media platforms at the end of last year. If you haven’t, here’s why it sparked so much debate, and why it matters far beyond the internet.

In November 2025, a creator, @nakalie.monroe on TikTok, started calling churches in the USA asking for help. She posed as a single mother who ran out of baby formula and desperately needed help to feed her infant. During the calls, the sound of a crying infant played in the background. Her goal was to see whether churches would show compassion and provide assistance.

The results were shocking to many online. Out of more than 40 calls to churches that she documented, the majority either declined, referred her elsewhere, or required bureaucratic processes that could take days or weeks. Very few places offered direct help, notably black churches and mosques (she eventually extended the experiment to other religions).

https://video.wixstatic.com/video/637404_f619e62b9fc94ce7b961dcc77d8a1817/480p/mp4/file.mp4

What started as a TikTok experiment quickly sparked national conversation about compassion, community support, and the role of the church in society. Charity is a huge part of many religions and Christianity is no exception, however was we saw demonstrated with this social experiment is that some churches have become more of a social club.

Unfortunately, this is not the first time that places of worship have been bastardised.

"¹⁵ On reaching Jerusalem, Jesus entered the temple courts and began driving out those who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves, ¹⁶ and would not allow anyone to carry merchandise through the temple courts. ¹⁷ And as he taught them, he said, “Is it not written: ‘My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations’? But you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’" Mark 11: 15-17 (NIV)

While many were calling her out for “shaming the church” (didn’t they shame themselves? 🤔), I remembered the above scripture and felt that calling out the wrongdoing is indeed the Christian thing to do.

So why highlight this case? Because at some point in your faith journey, you will encounter people with more titles, more years in the church, or more perceived “spiritual maturity” than you: pastors, prophets, priests, leaders. But position is not immunity, longevity is not infallibility, and spiritual authority does not override scripture.

If something contradicts the word of God, you should never feel intimidated into silence. Calling out behaviour that strays from biblical truth is not rebellion, it is your responsibility as a Christian; it shouldn’t be handled in a disrespectful or combative way, instead it should be rooted in integrity, love and truth, leading to deeper learning and understanding on both sides. The goal is not protecting reputations or egos; the goal is righteousness, and sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is speak up.