Would Your Local Church Feed a Starving Baby? One Woman is Finding Out

TikTok user Nikalie Monroe is conducting what she describes as a social experiment to find out if churches around the country are living up to their biblical values.

In a series racking up millions of views, she’s calling houses of worship big and small asking if they would help feed her starving baby. With fake baby crying noises playing in the background, Monroe – who is pretending to be a new mother – explains that she ran out of baby formula, and asks churches if they can help feed her starving newborn. 

Monroe records the calls and posts them on TikTok, and keeps a spreadsheet of which houses of worship offered a helping hand to a desperate mother and her hungry child.

The results? Not many.

Testing Your Church

The series, “Testing Your Church,” began earlier this month, but has already racked up millions of views. And if it’s a test, most of the churches flunk.

So far, only about 20% of the houses of worship Monroe contacted have offered to assist her in getting formula for her baby. Some refer to her other churches or food pantries in the area, some ask her if she’s a member of the church before offering help, some simply say they’re unable to help at all.

And when she tells them she’s conducting a social experiment, some even hang up on her. 

While the majority of churches Monroe’s contacted have been small, rural churches, she has contacted a few megachurches. One of her most popular videos was when she contacted Lakewood Church in Houston, Texas – the home church of Joel Osteen (net worth: $100 million). They told her that feeding her baby could take several days to weeks, and that’s only after she passes some sort of approval process.

Dream City Church in Phoenix, home of the late political activist and speaker Charlie Kirk? They transferred her to a number that never picked up.

Not every house of worship has turned her down, however. Among those who have offered to help are some of the Catholic churches she contacted, a handful of small rural churches, a pro-life clinic, a Buddhist temple, and an Islamic Center.

Is This a Wake Up Call?

In the comments, many of Monroe’s followers describe the series as a wake-up call. They say that she’s exposing the hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy of American Christianity one phone call at a time.

Some of the churches are megachurches with hundreds of millions in assets. Others are local churches which are part of a network worth hundreds of billions, including one Mormon church. Surely they could spare a few bucks to help a hungry baby?

As one disillusioned commenter put it, “you might be better off calling Church’s Chicken.”

The Godly Gotcha?

Not everyone is a fan of the series, however. Some commenters have decried the series as nothing more than a “gotcha” intended to paint Christianity negatively.

They say Monroe unfairly considers a church as failing her test if they try to refer to other local resources like a food bank or sister church, when those are the resources the church itself uses for their community outreach.

And some of the houses of worship who turned Monroe down have been critical of her methods. In a Facebook post, Pastor Daron Brown of Waverly Church of the Nazarene in Waverly, Tennessee, alleged they were “targeted” victims of a charlatan, claiming that they hung up on Monroe because they could tell she was lying. The post has since been deleted.

"Spirit of a "Witch"

Other critics have gone further. One church that made the list of those that refused to help was Living Faith Christian Center in Baton Rouge.

Its pastor, Bishop Raymond W. Johnson, responded publicly in a sermon by calling Monroe "the devil" and a "witch." 

"The person who goes around calling churches and putting the voice of a baby crying in the background. And I say, really the person is low. So, you know, like I teach these men over here, folk wanna apologize. I don't apologize to the devil."

Johnson continued: "And I say, we in the middle of feeding people, how you gone do your little dirty deed? And you know, it's just the spirit of a witch. It's a witch. And my Bible say he do not allow that thing to live. So, you have to watch when you fooling with God."

Hope Shines Through

Nevertheless, some have found hope in Monroe’s series. In one call with Heritage Hope Church of God in Somerset, Kentucky, Pastor Johnny Dunbar offered immediate and unconditional assistance, and even asked Monroe if there was a specific flavor of formula she needed.

“He didn’t even ask if you are a member of his church. He heard a baby needed food and was ready to go to Walmart himself,” said one commenter. “THIS is the real America.”

What is your response? If this is a test, most of these churches aren’t getting a passing grade – but is cold calling a church asking for baby formula a true appraisal of a church’s values?