“Large crowds from Galilee, the Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and the region across the Jordan followed Him.”   Matthew 4:25

When I became a teacher (back in the 90s), I was told that I was preparing students for jobs that didn’t yet exist. As a school and system leader, I continued to pass that thought along. 

Now, here we are in the mid 2020s and it remains true. Not that I didn’t believe it all along – I just couldn’t imagine what those jobs would be. I told my son that all those hours on video games would amount to nothing. Who knew gaming could be a lucrative career? And what about Cloud Computing? We barely computed when I was growing up and now it’s in a Cloud! Other jobs too like virtual assistant, social media manager, app designer, Internet marketer, data miner, and digital marketing specialist did not exist 10 – 15 years ago. So many new professions – who knew?

Of all the new careers/jobs developed since I began teaching, there is one that surprises me the most. Influencer. I wasn’t even familiar with that term until a couple of years ago.

I remember the day I first heard this term clearly because my husband told me someone we know is an influencer and I had to ask what that meant. He told me there are people on social media who promote products, services, and ideas for different brands and have massive followings. Astounded, my response was, “They get paid for that?” Again, who knew?

Did you know …

                  The highest paid social media influencer gets $3.2 million per post.

                  Macro-influencers (100,000–500,000 followers) = $5,000–$10,000 per post.

                  There is a 9-year-old influencer with 501,000 Instagram followers. 

                  There is someone on Instagram with 537 million followers.

The average age of influencers is 27.

                  Influencer marketing is a category in company marketing budgets.

                  Many companies spend 40% of their marketing budget on Influencer Marketing.

All of this boggles my mind. Yet, I get it. 

On social media and in life, we tend to follow people that share our values and gain our trust. By working through these influencers – those with large followings – brands are capitalizing on the trust given to those people.

I read somewhere that Wedgewood is considered the original influencer (in the 18^th century) as the potter gained popularity with relation to the royal family and the influence of Queen Charlotte. Another source cited “Mommy Bloggers” as the origin of Influencers as a profession. 

I disagree with both. 

Jesus Christ is the original Influencer. 

In Matthew 8:1 we read, “When Jesus came down from the mountainside, large crowds followed Him.” Further Matthew 19:2 states, “…and large crowds followed [Jesus] and He healed them.” He did all of this without the help of the Internet!

Yes, Jesus Christ is the original Influencer. He relates to the common person, gets results, instills hope, gains trust, and builds relationships. The ultimate influencer.

We all have influencers, and we can all be influencers. Influencers for Christ. 

As of 2021, there were approximately 2.4 billion followers of Christ (31.2% of the global population). I would say there is still some work left to do. 

Each time we open a social media app, we see those following us and those we are following. It is so easy to click the follow button and add another and another and …

Let’s remember who started it all and choose boldly to follow Him first and foremost all day, every day. But don’t stop there. Strive to be the person that others see Christ through – be an influencer for Him. You may not receive thousands or millions of dollars per post, but your reward will be greater no doubt!