Annual Lutheran YouTube Rankings Updated

Ad Crucem News relaunches its annual index of Lutheran YouTube channels and adds a Lutheran Media Matrix

A reader raised concerns (see comments) that older channels were being excessively penalized, so we have taken that feedback into account and redeployed the data using a revised methodology. We are updating the write-up and will post it shortly on this page.

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Updated Methodology

The scoring model has been updated in two meaningful ways, and both changes were applied retroactively to 2025 data so year-over-year comparisons remain valid.

1. Engagement: The previous formula divided views by subscribers and years active, which restated the work age was already doing in the momentum calculation. The fix: engagement is now simply:
   log₁₀(Views / Subscribers).
   Cleaner, and fairer to channels that have been building for a long time.

2. Gravitas: The old formula capped out after three years of channel history, meaning a channel with three years of track record was treated identically to one with fifteen. The new formula adds a logarithmic tail:
   min(Y/3, 1) + 0.2 · log₁₀(max(Y−3, 0) + 1)
   So, legacy channels continue to accrue a modest, if diminishing benefit for their sustained presence and without a ceiling.

Both changes are documented in full on the methodology page.

A note on comparability: 29 of the 43 channels have comparable 2025 data under the revised formula. The other 14, mostly new entrants or channels with estimated figures, show “—” for their 2025 index and delta. That limits what we can observe about year-over-year movement for roughly a third of the dataset. However, the purpose of the database is not a snapshot

Fighting for the Faith: Still #1, But Sliding

Fighting for the Faith holds the top position at 223.4, but the year-over-year story is more complicated than the rank suggests. A drop of −36.1, from 259.6 to 223.4, is the steepest fall in the entire top ten. It remains the dominant channel by raw scale (109,000 subscribers, 23.5 million lifetime views), and nothing else is close to it at #1. But momentum is clearly softening relative to a year ago.

The Big Move: On The Line’s +100.3

Nothing else in the dataset compares to On The Line this year. Its index jumped from 92.3 to 192.6, a +100.3 gain that is, by a wide margin, the largest delta in the entire dataset. The driver is momentum: nearly 20,000 new subscribers in the past year, which is the highest raw growth figure of any channel tracked here. A year ago (using the new methodology), On The Line sat below the median. Now it’s third overall, and closing in on the channels above it.

Lutheran Satire Slips

Lutheran Satire falls from 220.7 to 199.3, a −21.5 swing. It holds #2 and remains well above the median, but paired with Fighting for the Faith’s decline, the top of the table is compressing. Genuine competition is emerging at the top of the table.

The Stable Middle

The narrative below the top three is largely positive. Jordan Cooper is flat at 176.2, essentially unchanged, which is a strong result for a channel already operating well above the median. Jonathan Fisk (+4.4), Bryan Wolfmueller (+3.2), Higher Things (+7.7), Lutheran Warbler (+8.1), Chad Bird (+2.1), and CPH (+7.5) all post gains. The top ten, other than the two at the very top, are moving upward across the board.

Further down, notable climbers include Unite Leadership Collective (+18.2, now at #20), Kelsi Klembara (+19.6, now at #28), and Tyrell Bramwell (+8.2). The broad picture below the top two shows a healthy, growing ecosystem.

New Entries

Fourteen channels join the index for the first time in 2026, including Lutheran Kantor Project (#36), Men Who Understood the Times (#43), Banned Books (#33), and Issues Etc. (#32). New entrants can’t be compared year-over-year, but their 2026 scores establish a baseline for next year’s update.

The Cloud, flagged in earlier coverage for its anomalously high raw engagement ratio, comes in at #40 with an index of 56.7. The rescoring confirms that “The gravitas adjustment” did its intended work. Although The Cloud’s engagement signal is real, a channel launched in March 2025 with 150 subscribers hasn’t yet earned a high composite ranking.

The Media Matrix

The Media Matrix maps 31 Lutheran-adjacent news and commentary outlets across print, digital, radio, podcast, blog, and journal formats, serving as a companion to the channel rankings for understanding the broader Lutheran media landscape.

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Note: Chad Bird has been removed from the rankings because he has further disqualified himself from consideration as a trustworthy Lutheran YouTuber/content creator.