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• A social media app for everybody
• "You're not addicted. You're starving for gratitude."
• Designed for you to log off
• Real people, verified humans
• Built for churches and ministries
• What would Jesus post?
• The theological frame
• See the full CCM Magazine feature

CCM Magazine recently sat down with ActsSocial founder and CEO Shawn Whitson for a conversation that cut straight to the heart of why so many people feel worn out by social media. The interview, published in July 2026 and led by CCM co-editor Logan Sekulow, opened with a question that has become the heartbeat of our platform: what would Jesus post?

For years the conversation around social media has sounded the same. It is too toxic, too addictive, too anxious, too divided. Most people agree there is a problem. Very few believe there is a real solution. ActsSocial was built to be one.

A social media app for everybody

One of the first things Shawn wanted to clear up in the interview is a common misunderstanding. ActsSocial is not a walled garden or an exit ramp from the internet.

"A lot of people call us a Christian social media app. We're really a social media app for everybody. It's just our rules, our algorithms, our backbone are all Bible and Christ-centered." (Shawn Whitson)

That distinction matters. ActsSocial is not asking anyone to escape the internet. It is asking a bigger question: can the internet itself become healthier? The platform is faith-first and welcoming to everyone, whether or not you would call yourself a Christian.

"You're not addicted. You're starving for gratitude."

A single line on the ActsSocial homepage sets the tone for everything else: you are not addicted, you are starving for gratitude. Shawn believes today's platforms are not just consuming our attention. They are quietly shaping our hearts.

His team spent three and a half years, employed 18 developers, and invested roughly $3.5 million studying the biggest social platforms before building something different. As Shawn put it, they studied what TikTok, Facebook, and the rest were doing, ran it against the Bible, and flipped the algorithm on its head.

The result is simple to describe. On most platforms, outrage travels farthest. On ActsSocial, encouragement does. Tear someone down and your post gets buried. Lift someone up and it rises. Instead of rewarding controversy, the platform rewards gratitude.

Designed for you to log off

Here is the part that made the CCM interviewer laugh. Most social networks want more of your time. ActsSocial intentionally wants less of it. The homepage says it plainly: this is a platform designed for you to log off.

"We know that you shouldn't be addicted to your social media. So we have not put anything in there that's going to rage bait you or make you continue to scroll. You should kind of feel done." (Shawn Whitson)

It is not the obvious business model, and Shawn is honest that investors ask about it. His answer stays the same: the real reason is to help human society. A social platform that actually wants you to put your phone down is, in today's world, almost revolutionary.

Real people, verified humans

ActsSocial insists on verified human accounts. No anonymous trolls, no bot farms, no armies of fake profiles. Every account is tied to a real person.

"If we're going to have an honest platform, we've got to have people with heartbeats in their chest." (Shawn Whitson)

In an age where AI-generated content, fake engagement, and anonymous accounts dominate so much of the internet, that commitment to authenticity is a feature, not a footnote. ActsSocial is betting that people are hungry for something real.

Built for churches and ministries

ActsSocial is not only thinking about individual users. Many churches still rely on Facebook Groups simply because there has not been another viable option. ActsSocial changes that. Churches can create communities, send prayer requests, communicate through group notifications, and engage members without pushing them through the noise and negativity of mainstream platforms.

For ministries already creating content online, ActsSocial offers another place to build authentic community without sacrificing biblical values or a quality experience.

What would Jesus post?

Late in the conversation, Shawn shared the story behind the slogan on his hat: WWJP. Someone once asked him whether Jesus would even be on social media. His answer reframed the whole question.

"I came back and I said, would Jesus repost the content you put on social media? What would Jesus post? Consider it all public, even in front of Him, every time you hit Enter." (Shawn Whitson)

Whether you are posting on ActsSocial or anywhere else, that is a question worth carrying with you.

The theological frame

ActsSocial takes its name from the early church described in Acts 2. That community was marked by devotion, generosity, and gladness. Scripture puts it this way in Acts 2:46 to 47: "And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people" (ESV).

Gratitude is not a marketing gimmick here. It is a discipline the New Testament returns to again and again. In 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Paul writes, "give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you" (ESV). A feed that rewards thankfulness rather than rage is, at its root, an attempt to build a small corner of the internet that looks a little more like Acts 2.

See the full CCM Magazine feature

Read the complete interview at CCM Magazine: Social Media CEO Asks: What Would Jesus Post?

Ready to experience a feed that rewards gratitude? Join ActsSocial and see what it feels like to act on your social again.