More than 100 students gathered near the Williams Center on Friday to see Sister Cindy, an Evangelical street preacher who travels to college campuses across the country.

For almost five decades, Cindy Smock, better known as Sister Cindy, has been bringing her messages to students across the country, before going viral online for her unconventional ways of preaching topics that college students can relate to. We spoke with Smock about her rise on apps like TikTok and Instagram.

“In March of 2021, I went TikTok viral without ever posting a video on TikTok,” Smock said. “I had only looked at the app once but I believe it was a move of God.” We also spoke with her about why she came to Georgia Southern, as this was her first time ever preaching on this campus.

“When I was seven, I lived in Statesboro briefly, and that was a very memorable, somewhat traumatic time of my life, and I’ve always wanted to come back,” Smock said. “The other reason is that over the past four to five years, I have gotten a lot of invites from students to come here.” 

Throughout the afternoon, there was singing, preaching and free merchandise handed out to students in the crowd. Sister Cindy spoke about issues pertaining to college students, such as relationship issues, abstinence, drinking and more. She also shared details of her personal life and how she got to where she is today.

Student Opinion:

Gabrielle Alba, a freshman, shared her opinions on Sister Cindy’s messaging. “Some aspects of what she is saying I agree with, she just interprets a lot of social issues differently than I normally would,” Alba said.

Lea Waddell, a freshman, said that social media played a part in her coming to the event. “I’ve seen her online on TikTok, and I just wanted to see her in-person, even though I don’t agree with everything she has to say,” Waddell said.