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By DANIEL LOCKE | Staff Writer

HELENA – In a time when negative content is more easily accessible than ever, two Helena teenagers are doing what they can to combat the issue: filling social media with the message of Jesus.

Nate Ferguson and Aidan McQuillan, both seniors at Helena High School, wanted to break up the bad things their peers see on social media with messages that are positive and meaningful. These conversations led to the creation of “The Footsteps of Faith” podcast.

“There’s so much bad on the internet,” Ferguson said. “It’s so easy for kids our age to go on Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, wherever else and see so much bad content. We felt that we needed to bring godly content to the internet.”

Additionally, McQuillan saw creating the podcast as an opportunity to start conversations about Christianity with the people around him.

“It’s a decent front to talk to people more close to home, people I haven’t had the chance to speak about my faith with,” McQuillan said. “Telling people about this channel, and they tune in. I’ve had people close to me who told me they were personally encouraged.”

The duo has also had listeners tell them the podcast helped them get through something they were going through. Moments like that are what make the hard work Ferguson and McQuillan put into the show worth it.

“Getting to hear the testimonies of people that we got to be a bright spot in their day, during some of the darkest times,” Ferguson said. “There are so many stories like that. I think the podcast started to touch one person, and God’s blessing it in many ways.”

Like many people, McQuillan grew up in church, but didn’t grasp the full meaning of a relationship with Jesus until later. For him, it took a trial in his life to lead him closer to Christ.

“My faith in Jesus means absolutely everything to me,” McQuillan said. “I grew up in church, I was a decent kid, but my faith wasn’t my own. That didn’t do anything for me when my older brother passed away. It was hard to live life. I felt very depressed and very out of touch with everything. Then I found Jesus, and he’s given me purpose in my life. His word teaches me how to live and how to keep hold of that faith, even when it gets hard.”

Ferguson’s motivation to keep growing his relationship with Christ partially comes from the people in his life. That peace helps him navigate his loaded schedule, particularly during football season when there is a lot of pressure on him to perform well as Helena’s starting quarterback.

“Jesus is at the center of everything I’m trying to do right now,” Ferguson said. “Jesus brought me so much peace in such a busy world. I was a lukewarm Christian. I went with the world, I made mistakes that a lot of teenagers make. I was very blessed people around me, people like my parents, who showed me what it truly meant to be a Christian.”

McQuillan believes he and Ferguson were led to start the podcast as a result of their desire to spread the gospel, particularly to people their own age.

“If we are to truly live as Christians, we ought to feel truly convicted to share the gospel with other people,” McQuillan said. “We ourselves were not worthy to receive the gospel, but we’ve been given the gospel anyway. I think everyone should get a chance to hear it. I feel this desire to share the gospel, and this is a great front to do so.”

In the four months they have been at it, they have seen progress in their goal to provide motivational, Christian content in the midst of the negativity housed by social media.

“The Footsteps of Faith” can be found on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.