Whenever a new trend, dance challenge, or song goes viral on TikTok, trust that one 'Father TikTok' is there to come out with his own "twist".
Fiel Pareja (@fatherfielpareja), a 30-year-old priest from Pampanga, is leading the 500-year old Catholic institution in spreading the word of God through Gen Z's favorite platform.
"I'm trying to look at a creative and new way on how to evangelize. Ang thinking is--how can we reach out to the youth na hindi ganito 'ah si father yan..boring yan..hindi kami makakarelate'?", he said.
"I'm always trying to find a way wherein Gen Z and millennials can relate na mage-gets nila yung message na gusto iparating," he added.
READ: Father TikTok Makes Word of God Viral for Gen Z
The idea came to him early in the lockdown in May, when a family member urged him to try it out. He was intimidated at first, he said, as the platform seemed like it was only reserved for young people, dance challenges and all.
But when his first post went viral, he saw its potential.
"Eventually naisip ko na why not use this platform as a way of inspiring, motivating, tutal online naman lahat eh.. yung misa online, yung mga meeting naka-Zoom lahat. Ang sabi ko, this is a good avenue to spread the word of God," he said.
TikTok for him was a "risk" but then saw that he had his congregation's full support. He is planning to launch a podcast soon, to widen his reach.
"Sa social media alam namin nating maraming fake news, maraming bagay na toxic na yung social media... Nag-aaway dahil sa ibat-ibang opinion. We are there also to balance everything," he said.
Get to know him more in this #SummitOriginals video:
