Cindy Smock, better known as her online persona, Sister Cindy, caused a crowd of hundreds to form as GC students gathered to hear the TikTok star preach on front campus Jan. 18.
Sister Cindy, a 65-year old evangelical Christian campus preacher, has accumulated over 400 thousand TikTok followers and nearly 10 million likes on the platform. She is known for sharing her “H*NOMO Revolution” with her audience and college campuses across the United States.
The nationwide revolution encourages audiences to repent to Jesus and live a pure life.
“I like to say TikTok did not make Sister Cindy,” Sister Cindy said. “The Sister Cindy story started a long time ago at the University of Florida.”
When Sister Cindy was a college student, she met Jed Smock, better known as Brother Jed, who pointed her out of the crowd.
“Repent of your sins, you wicked woman,” Brother Jed said.
The following year, in 1978, when Brother Jed returned to the campus, Sister Cindy repented of her sins and became involved with campus ministry. Brother Jed would later go on to become Sister Cindy’s husband after she had been a Christian for two years, a time frame he requested upon their engagement.
The pair would then spend the next several decades traveling across the country together and spreading the word of God on college campuses.
Sister Cindy first went viral on TikTok in March 2021.
After Brother Jed’s passing in 2022, Sister Cindy carried on their mission and expanded further into the use of social media.
Sister Cindy is known for her often fire and brimstone approach to preaching. Like her late husband, she tends to call students out publicly and put them on display.
“A lot of people don’t like my approach because I do the good old fashioned s***-shaming,” Sister Cindy said. “I call out sin and call them to repentance and faith in Jesus. Some people see that as unloving.”
This, in turn, has led to Sister Cindy’s virality. In an ever-changing world with ever-changing ideas, many view her message as outdated and in the category of entertainment rather than serious ministry.
“I don’t feel bad about making people laugh because God gave us laughter and joy,” Sister Cindy said. “But everybody wants to know God. Everybody is seeking truth, and I deliver the word of the Lord throughout my drama and offer them hope and peace.”
At the end of 2023, Sister Cindy announced on Instagram to her 29 thousand followers that she would be visiting several college campuses across the southeast.
Upon her arrival at GC, students lined up for photographs with the preacher and signed “H*NOMO” pins. Christian and non-Christian students alike gathered to hear the TikTok celebrity.
As Sister Cindy began her sermon and the crowd grew, GC Public Safety asked her to put away her microphone and speaker as part of GC’s policy not allowing amplifying devices, to which Sister Cindy agreed to.
“I think [Sister Cindy] has her own cause that is self-aware and semi-ironic,” said Ella Carroll, a sophomore accounting major. “She’s her own brand of Christianity. Where she’s a little bit more alternative, and she doesn’t believe most of the stuff she says, but she says it to grab attention. I think she’s kind of serious.”
Some students worry that Sister Cindy is setting a bad example for Christians.
“A big part of the Gospel is not to shame or judge other people,” said Ella Petrick, a sophomore sociology major. “A lot of it does feel like shame, and it hurts her message.”
Sister Cindy will continue her “H*NOMO Revolution” tour until the end of March 2024.
