The son of worship leader Lou Fellingham has amassed a huge following on social media – and it’s all in the name of evangelism. He opens up about insecurity, getting his mum into gigs and why it’s OK to fail
It may not be a typical interview opener, but it definitely breaks the ice.
“All of the boys in my youth group fancied your mum,” I tell Jesse Fellingham.
He roars with laughter. “That’s cool,” he smiles, in response to my reference to his mum’s status as a 90s Christian icon. “She’s pretty epic.”
You might think the most recognisable Fellinghams are his parents, Nathan and Lou, or perhaps grandfather, David. All three were part of popular Christian band Phatfish and wrote classic worship songs such as ‘O God of love’, ‘There is a day’ and ‘Holy holy (Lift up his name)’. But these days, it’s Jesse who has the biggest following in the family.
The younger Fellingham used to be “so against” the idea of Christian celebrities, but is painfully aware that he has now “slightly become one”. He’s stopped almost everywhere he goes – even when at lunch with friends – due to his involvement in The Way UK, whose YouTube channel and social media accounts are followed by almost one million people. Fellingham, who joined the team three years ago, can often be found fronting vox pop-style interviews in which he asks people on the street questions about God. Their aim is to create accessible faith-based content that stirs spiritual questions in people’s hearts and minds, he says.
Social media may be the platform upon which his star is currently riding high, but the 20-year-old is not blind to its dangers. “It’s a really hard space to be in,” he tells me, before confessing that he doesn’t really use social media personally: “I just can’t hack it. I leave it feeling a bit lower, I compare myself…” Fellingham also speaks candidly about the insecurities he felt as a youngster – and that still rear their head from time to time. And despite being barely out of his teens, he’s already experienced his first bout of burnout.
I definitely felt the pressure, being the worship leader’s son. I felt like people were watching
But despite all this, Fellingham is living with a deep sense of calling. He is convinced God wants him in the online mission field, at least for now: “There’s a whole people group consuming content all the time and we need to be a light in that place,” he says. “When I hear stories of pain and sadness, it reminds me why I need to be doing what I’m doing and talking about God more often.”
What was it like growing up with well-known Christian parents?
It was phenomenal. I was surrounded by moves of God from such a young age. Mum and Dad brought me to an event called Catalyst when I was eight years old, and I remember hearing the voice of God for the first time. But I definitely felt the pressure, being the worship leader’s son. I kind of felt like people were watching.
So you thought you’d retreat from the spotlight?
Yeah, exactly. I decided to go famous on TikTok! No, it’s funny now I’m on the flipside. Mum used to take me along to Christian events and now I’m sneaking her in!
When did you decide to follow Jesus for yourself?
I gave my life to Jesus at a very young age. I was eleven when I got baptised. But when I went to secondary school, I had two years where I started going to parties, kissing girls, drinking a bit. Nothing drastic, but I was looking for affirmation in all the wrong places. What people thought of me defined how I felt. I started using Instagram when I was 13 and it’s such an unhelpful place to be when you’re young.
It can get pretty dark pretty quickly when you are a teenager, because you don’t really know what to do or who to turn to. I had a whole journey of doing some harmful things towards myself, of depression and anxiety, where I’d be crippled in bed for hours and not be able to do anything. I felt like I wasn’t really enough.
When I was 14, I was dragged along to another Christian festival by my parents. A guy was preaching, and he got out this dressing gown and said: “Sometimes, in the Christian walk, we struggle with things. For example, your friends might hate you, or you’re lying all the time or you feel rejected by your parents.” And he chucked black paint all over this dressing gown. Then, he brought out a brand-new one and said: “But this is who Jesus says you are. You’re washed. You’re clean. No matter what you feel, God loves you and accepts you.” I broke down crying, encountering the Holy Spirit.
The next day, I woke up and thought: What a load of rubbish. A couple of days later, they had a healing [service]. I saw people stepping out of wheelchairs, deaf ears opening. It was phenomenal. I thought: That’s cool, but that’s not for me.
I walked on my tiptoes growing up, which meant my Achilles tendon was tight. I struggled to exercise and had to do stretches every day. My friends said: “Jesse, let’s pray for your leg.” Suddenly, I felt warmth rush through me and I said: “What was that?” They were like: “Jesse, you might have been healed. How can you test it?” I couldn’t really run before, but I ran around this festival. It was the furthest I’d run in my life!
That was a really defining moment. I went to my youth leader and said: “I’ve been in church all my life, but how do I live for God?” He started meeting with me and taught me how to read the Bible properly. It wasn’t easy – school was still hard after that – but that was my ‘moment’.
When has your faith been most tested?
Earlier this year was one of the harder times. There was just lots of insecurity, lots of sin that suddenly started ruling in my life, and I just felt really discouraged and didn’t know what to do. I felt like a hypocrite, like everything I was reading, taking in or any moment [I had] with God, I’d be sharing online, because [creating content] was my job.
I had my first [experience with] burnout. I was working really hard and I felt so tired that thoughts came into my mind, like: Man, is this even real? All of that comes from a lack of resting well and being in communion with God. There’s so much insecurity that still comes. It doesn’t have any power over me, but I push the door shut on it and it still somehow opens! Things come up all the time. It feels like every couple of months, there’s a new thing!
It would be very easy to look at your success and ask what you have to feel insecure about…
There’s nothing I should be insecure about! I’m a child of God. I have an identity in God. I’m designed and built exactly how he wants me to be. But it comes up for no reason.
Was becoming a social media influencer a plan or a happy accident?
It was a happy accident. I was 13. I didn’t know what I was doing!
I studied music at college, and I always thought that would be the thing but, right now, I feel like I am meant to be doing social media.
God is far more interested in who I’m becoming than what I’m doing
What’s it like approaching strangers on the street and asking them questions about faith? Are people generally receptive?
They’re pretty receptive. There’s definitely stints where you get a lot of rejections, which suck. We were on the street the other day and, for two hours straight, we didn’t get a single interview.
Have you developed a thick skin? Because that would be terrifying to me…
The more you do it, the more you get used to it. When we haven’t done it in a while, it’s always a bit harder to work yourself up to it.
It’s also this weird tension, because it’s a job but also a ministry. There are days when I don’t feel passionate about evangelising on the streets, but I’m paid to do that and so I have to.
But there’s also beautiful times when I’m getting to talk to people about the Lord. And even when it feels like: Right, we just need to tick the box. We just need eight videos today, guys, I know that God is sowing seeds.
We haven’t seen an in-the-moment salvation from our street conversations, but it doesn’t mean it isn’t working. God has a plan for each person that we get to talk to. So even if it’s not instant fruit in the moment, it’s about trusting that it’s impacting someone somewhere. And I know it will. I know it does.
What we see on social media are really short snippets. Do you ever have longer conversations where you get to share the gospel?
Yeah, almost every time we film. We tend to end the interview with: “If you had one question you could ask God, what would it be?” That works really well. It’s a really good model practically, if you want to evangelise.
I sometimes go up to people with my notes app on my phone and say: “Hey, I’m doing a study. Would you be up for being on it?” It’s not filmed. I’ll just say: “Have you ever considered Christianity? What is your experience of church? Who is Jesus to you?” Those three questions take two minutes, and you understand exactly where they are, what their experience is and how you can approach a conversation. From that, I go: “Have you got any questions?”
What can Christians learn from your conversations on the street?
I wish they knew that failure was OK in evangelism – to the point where they tried it more. We show glamorous moments in our content, but there’s unglamorous moments where I fail a lot, we get rejected, what I say isn’t correct or I don’t know how to respond or answer a question.
I wish people knew they didn’t have to be perfect. They just need to be obedient.
Do people reach out to you to tell you how The Way UK has impacted them?
All the time. Last week, I was having lunch and a lady came up and told me about a young girl whose mum passed away. Because of that, the daughter walked away from church, but in the past year, she started watching our videos. She said it was the only thing that really broke into her feed, and since then, she’s started coming back to church.
This week, I got a text from someone. They said: “Hey Jesse, I don’t know if you remember me. You interviewed me a year ago. At the time, I was curious about spirituality and stuff, but I didn’t have any sort of faith. But since then, I’ve followed your content, I’ve begun listening and watching things, and I’ve become a born-again Christian.”
How do you deal with the negative side of being well known?
There’s lots of times when I’m stopped on the street. Probably every day, someone will come up to me and say that they’re really encouraged by what I do. It’s amazing, because God is moving, but personally it can be challenging sometimes.
The enemy will always try and twist things, lying about how it’s about me, but my journey – with pride especially – [has been to learn] not to be afraid of when I fail. Fear of failure really did affect me deeply. Because I have this profile, and I see everything I do, when I hadn’t read my Bible one day, it used to rob me of my sleep. I felt such a pressure, like I was being hypocritical because I was telling people to read their Bibles and I wasn’t!
God doesn’t promise we’re not going to fail, but he promises he’ll be there when we do. When I recognise that being stopped for selfies has affected my ego, or I’m suddenly feeling entitled, I go: OK, that’s not great, but I’m not going to let that destroy me. I’m just going to bring it to God.
Also, I’m 20. It’s a lifelong journey. Maybe at 60 it won’t be fuelling my ego as much. Hopefully at 30! But it’s all part of the process.
I was so against the idea of Christian celebrities – and then I slightly became one!
Do your friends tell you if your ego needs reining in?
Yeah, most of my mates don’t use social media. I have amazing older mentors that pour into me. And I’m grounded in a church that doesn’t care what anyone does. They just care about Jesus; about your heart and character and the person you’re becoming. As I step into the speaker or influencer spaces, I know it’s not about me. It’s about God using me. And God is far more interested in who I’m becoming than what I’m doing.
So let’s talk about the concept of ‘Christian celebrities’…
Oh gosh, it’s a weird thing, isn’t it?
As someone who’s grown up with parents in a Christian band, what do you think about that concept?
[The idea of] Christian celebrities is such a wrestle. I was so against them, and then I slightly became one! And now I wrestle with the tension of stuff like green rooms…I used to hate the fact that there’s this exclusive place backstage, and now I struggle to walk around Christian festivals without getting stopped – and sometimes that’s just really tiring!
I don’t think there is a problem with public figures who are firm in their faith leading people to seek Jesus. But the goal should never be self-gain. Jesus was an influencer; he was a celebrity – but his expression of greatness was in serving. And he always ran to the Father in the quiet place. We weren’t designed to only be in public with the Lord. The Bible says to run to “your room, close the door and pray…in secret” [Matthew 6:6-7].
Jesus was an influencer; he was a celebrity
There is a problem with [Christian] celebrities because people glorify them – but people were never meant to be worshipped. As the body of Christ, we’re not to look at the legs or arms and think they’re more important than the ears or nose [1 Corinthians 12]. Ultimately, [Christian celebrities] are just serving in the role given to them. You read that in Romans 12:6-8: “We have different gifts…if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement.”
Maybe your purpose is to encourage your neighbours and see salvation there. That doesn’t mean you’re of lesser importance. It’s almost checking your own heart: Am I glorifying this celebrity? Am I judging this celebrity? Am I bitter about where God has me? Because God uses everyone.
Has watching your parents given you any insight into how to handle the public and the private well?
Mum and Dad are the most faithful people you’ll ever meet. I’m sure, from a worldly perspective, they could have gone way further career-wise if they spent their whole lives touring America, but they chose to serve us as a family and the local church. They still lead worship every Sunday.
They’ve shown me that their priority is to follow what God is calling them to. For me, right now that’s in a period of lots of influence but, in five years’ time, it might look very different. I might be a youth pastor in a small church with three youth, leading them and slowly discipling them…it might be wherever. You never know.
Would you miss the platform and the influence?
Not at all. It’s God-given, and when God takes away, it’s because he knows what’s best.
If it goes away tomorrow, I know who I am. I’m a child of God. I’m not what I do. God uses what I do, but that’s not who I am. My identity is in him. It’s solely to follow his calling and purposes.
A big thing for me has been learning to disassociate from what the world says is successful. My success is continuing to show up for the Lord and being obedient to him, even when it’s not glamorous.
I get it wrong all the time, but it’s alright. It’s OK to fail.
Jesse Fellingham was speaking at Creation Fest, a free gospel-centred festival in Cornwall. For more information see creationfest.org.uk
To hear the full interview listen to Premier Christian Radio at 8pm on Saturday 5 October, or download ‘The Profile’ podcast from premier.plus
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