The Good News of Mr. Beast

If your kids or grandkids are on the internet, they probably know the name Mr. Beast. If you want to understand the “gospel” that they are absorbing online, you should too. 

Mr. Beast owns YouTube. With over 400 million subscribers, each video receiving millions of clicks, and a diversified offering of products ranging from chocolate bars to merchandise, Mr. Beast is one of the most recognizable faces on the internet. 

His videos range in style and content but largely fall in two main categories. First, the spectacle. He creates videos in which he invites random people to partake in an absurd challenge for a boatload of cash. 

Survive in a nuclear bunker for 100 days, win $500,000. 

Last one to take their hand off a jet plane gets to keep it.

$10,000 for every day you can survive in prison. 

Wild challenges for a crazy amount of money. 

Second, Mr. Beast (Jimmy Donaldson) creates philanthropic videos. He paid for eye surgery for 1000 people allowing them to see for the very first time. In another video he rescues children living in a garbage dump. 

I am not exactly sure what the average age of The Network reader is, but I would guess our denominational blog does not target the same audience as Mr. Beast. Why should you care about Mr. Beast? 

Simply put, your kids and your grandkids are interested in Mr. Beast. That means that we should be interested in Mr. Beast. Donaldson tells a story that captures the imagination of the next generation. When 408 million people are captivated by the story that he is telling, we must ask why? 

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about Mr. Beast. Probably too much. But I guess it comes with the whole youth pastor gig. 

Here’s what I’ve observed: Mr. Beast tells a story that mirrors how our teens see the Gospel. They have a vision of salvation in which an enigmatic benefactor offers them an equally absurd deal— eternal life, if only they can “earn” it.

If only I can do enough. 

If only I can be enough.

If only I can navigate this crazy challenge of life successfully, I will win the game and get the prize.

Mr. Beast does tell a story of salvation. A prodigiously rich figure singles out his fans and chooses them out of the millions of subscribers for a chance to become rich and famous. He offers salvation for a single aspect of the monotony of the individual’s life.

The story that Mr. Beast tells is one of temporary salvation and this is part of his appeal. He manages to capture a God-given intuition that each one of us has— there is something more and we are powerless to attain for ourselves the more that there must be. We need someone to come and deliver us.

But the version of salvation that Mr. Beast offers is different from the Gospel. It is temporary. It’s conditional. It’s always earned. 

The Gospel tells the story of salvation. It is a comprehensive one. It is not just about God whisking us away to some far away realm to float on clouds. He is coming back, to reign and to rule. 

Our teens, our kids, our youth, they need to know this story. They need to know in a way that makes sense to them, but in a way that goes deeper, beyond surface level. 

Mr. Beast taps into real desires that we all have: our desire for rescue, recognition, and reward. But the Gospel is different. It doesn’t ask us to survive in a nuclear bunker for one hundred days to earn our salvation. It doesn’t leave us wondering if we’ve done enough to win the spiritual prize. 

Instead, the Gospel declares that the completed work of Christ upon the cross is sufficient. The King is coming back to make all things new. 

That is the story that an anxious, lost generation needs to hear. Not one of flashy prizes and chance contests, but one of certainty, that was sealed by the blood of Christ. 

We must continue to tell this story, week after week, month after month. 

Our teenagers can handle diving deeper than the surface level. My philosophy is that if they can handle algebra, and calculus, and AP biology, they can handle theology as well. 

They can handle wrestling with the Trinity and the resurrection.

Reach the youth. Catechize them in the faith. Raise up a generation of faithful, biblically literate children of God. 

The story they're being told online is strong. But the Gospel is stronger.