Cindy Smock, known as “Sister Cindy,” is a preacher who left her career in journalism at 20 to preach worldwide. She is well known on TikTok, where she posts videos of her visiting college campuses to talk about the dangers of substances and sexual acts in college. However, Sister Cindy’s comments are much more than funny, as shown when she recently made her rounds in Florida.
The University of Central Florida welcomed Smock onto its campus, where she spent Jan. 28—30 spreading her “Ho No Mo Revolution.”
“My main message ‘Ho No Mo’ revolution; repent of your sins and follow the Lord Jesus Christ,” Smock said.
Students rushed to the reflection pound to glimpse the TikTok star. They stopped to laugh as she condemned the crowd for sinning. Whether that sin was drinking, clubbing, or dressing sexually, each sin earned the sinner a one-way ticket to hell, according to Smock.
Evangelism, or spreading the Christian gospel by public preaching or personal witness on college campuses, is nothing new. But why have schools become a hub for evangelists?
There is a perceived culture that young adults glorifies sex, drugs, drinking, and partying. Adults seem to perceive college kids as reckless and sinful because of this supposed culture. So, evangelists may think they are saving college kids from this sinful life by sharing Christian opinions through signs, megaphones, and speeches outside classroom buildings, common areas, and dining halls. Most of these locations are unavoidable, highly populated areas, especially on a campus like UCF.
But not every college student needs this perpetual saving. Evangelism is not dangerous until it is taken to the extreme. Displaying photos of fetuses to dissuade women from abortion “in the name of God” and loudly judging passers-by does not have the effect the evangelists are hoping for. Sister Cindy’s outlandish claims do not prevent people from sinning as she anticipated.
Smock is famous for quotes like “Sl*t shaming show,” “I used to be a Lo Lo Ho, but Jesus turned me into a Ho No Mo,” “Hell is hot, don’t be a thot,” and “Give her one margarita, she opens her legs.” While these lines may first sound funny, they are full of prejudgment, especially regarding women. Smock is casting blame on the entirety of the female student population and furthering this unfounded idea of a sinful culture amongst youth.
Using historically derogatory words like “hoe” and “slut” against women should not be laughed at. Especially when Smock is using them as an insult, as a name for these sinful women. As a reason, women need to change. So why do we laugh? Why do people take photos with, record videos of, and line up for a woman who is using these terms in such a negative way?
Insulting people is not going to convince them they are wrong. There is a way to approach evangelism correctly, but condemning people to hell and shaming them for something they do not believe is wrong is not the correct way to go about it. A personal approach tends to be more successful and much harder to dismiss immediately, as TikTok did with Smock.
In recent months, every stop Smock has amassed crowds of people. Her TikTok currently has 9.6 million likes with about 413.2K followers. Not to mention, those numbers don’t even account for the videos posted about Smock from different profiles. The crowds’ likes, and followers only encourage Smock and other evangelists. Even though most of these students don’t agree with what she is saying, they are still giving her the attention she needs to keep going with this so-called revolution. Extreme evangelism ends when the attention stops.