Carlos Erazo ’14, Pastor and Social Media Influencer, to give 2025 Commencement Address
As a freshman at Calvin University, Carlos Erazo ‘14 was invited to speak for 15 minutes during chapel.
“I was nominated. I didn’t volunteer,” recalls Erazo. “I was terrified.”
From El Salvador, Erazo had never preached or spoken in front of that many people, and certainly not in English. “But I felt in my fear, God reassuring me ‘it’s not going to be you, it's going to be me, to be a blessing to the people who are going to listen to you,” said Erazo.
Receiving encouragement
After he spoke, unsure of how it went, Erazo received some feedback. “Pastor Mary said, ‘you did amazing,’ and that word meant way more to me than she probably thought,” said Erazo. “At Calvin, I had great teachers who encouraged me, challenged me, did little things that showed me that they believed in me.”
Over the next decade, Erazo would become a content creator on multiple social media platforms attracting millions of followers with some of his content receiving millions of likes.
On May 10, 2025, Erazo is returning to where it all started, his alma mater, to give the Commencement address to the Class of 2025.
“For me, it’s a huge honor,” said Erazo. “I want to address the idea of remaining faithful and trusting God with the rest.”
Erazo is currently the Pastor of Digital Ministries at Lakepointe Church in Dallas, Texas, a ministry serving tens of thousands of Spanish and English-speaking people in-person and online across multiple campuses. In his position, he supervises a team that oversees church online, produces a weekly podcast, coaches, shepherds, and provides digital strategy.
Discovering his unique calling
Erazo’s path to the pastorate was anything but traditional, but it was during his time at Calvin that he more deeply understood that he could be Christ’s agent of renewal in whatever sector or sphere God called him to.
“I enjoyed the Reformed theology that I learned [at Calvin]. It was extremely helpful for me,” said Erazo. “I think I discovered my passion to do ministry, to be a preacher, a missionary evangelist in a different way, and that happened at Calvin.”
So, the communications and economics double major picked up a $200 camera and tripod at a local Meijer grocery story and got to work.
“As a sophomore, I started a YouTube channel. As someone who has always been passionate about sharing my faith, I wanted to share my faith with my friends in El Salvador,” said Erazo. “This was pre-social media before the iPhone had a front-facing camera, so to record yourself was very awkward.”
The path Erazo was heading down was looking quite different than he had anticipated when he first stepped into the United States and onto Calvin’s campus a couple of years prior.
“Before graduating college, I thought I had an obligation as an international student to come here, get the best paying job I could and then go back to El Salvador to provide for my family,” said Erazo. “That was my plan at the end of the day.”
The journey begins
But Erazo says he had a conviction from God to not pursue that path, but instead to become a Christian YouTuber.
“I didn’t have 10 million subscribers, maybe not even 10,000 at the time,” said Erazo. “But I graduated knowing I need to pursue more ministry and digital media and share my faith.”
In 2014, he graduated from Calvin with a clear calling and a partner for the journey ahead, his former classmate and wife, Brooke Erazo ’14, who would help him create videos and upload the content.
It didn’t take long for Erazo to attract millions of followers across multiple platforms and for him to start receiving speaking engagements all over the world. He admits it was a busy and exhausting six or seven years.
“It was all gas, no brakes,” said Erazo. “My wife and I were known by a lot of people, our social media platforms grew, but we were not really known. We were connected, but we felt very disconnected.”
Stepping into a new season
Feeling isolated and tired, the Erazos sought refuge. They knew that started by finding a church and by trimming down everything they were doing.
“We found a local church with a congregation of English and Spanish,” said Erazo. “I knocked on the door and said, ‘whatever you need me to do, I am able to help out.’”
So, Erazo was hired as a part-time student pastor for one of the churches’ campuses. A year later, in January 2020, he was asked to take on a full-time role to help with church online.
“Brooke and I prayed, and we felt this is a new season. So, I called the pastor and said, ‘I’m in,’” said Erazo. Two weeks later, the job loomed much larger.
“Literally two weeks after I accepted the online church pastor role, COVID happened,” said Erazo. “All of a sudden, this church of over 10,000 people was all online, and we are building the plane as we’re flying.”
Inspiring the next generation
Now, a few years later, Erazo is serving as the pastor of digital ministries for the church. He also recently published a book in Spanish called “Follow Me,” playing off the words Jesus said to his disciples in today’s social media-saturated culture. He still shares content in various forms across many channels, including YouTube, Tik Tok, Instagram, and Facebook, and he doesn’t shy away from challenging and sensitive cultural topics because “if the church doesn’t disciple people, the world will,” said Erazo.
As Erazo prepares to return to Calvin’s campus in May, he is hoping his words will inspire others to be faithful in following Jesus.
“Your identity as a follower of Jesus is to be faithful and that’s good news. Obviously, there’s a place for hard work, endurance, boldness, and courage, but ultimately you want to be faithful.”