Redeemed Zoomer

Last updated
Redeemed Zoomer
Redeemed Zoomer Modern Day Debate 2025-02.png
Ackerman in 2025
Born
Richard Ackerman

2002 or 2003 (age 22–23) [1]
New York, U.S.
Education Southern Methodist University (BA, BS)
Spouse
Anna Marburger
​
(m. 2024)​
Instagram information
Page
Years active2021–present
Followers51.2 thousand
Twitter information
Handle
Years active2022–present
Followers34 thousand
YouTube information
Channel
Years active2020–present
Subscribers649 thousand
Views95 million
Redeemed Zoomer's voice (2025)
Ackerman's opening statement during a debate on the compatibility of Christianity and evolution.
Last updated: 14 December 2025
Website redeemedzoomer.com

Richard Ackerman (born 2002 or 2003), known online as Redeemed Zoomer, is an American Presbyterian activist and YouTuber. He founded Operation Reconquista in 2023 and operates the Redeemed Zoomer YouTube channel, which had over 640,000 subscribers as of December 2025.

Contents

Biography

Ackerman was born in 2002 or 2003. [1] He was raised without religious affiliation in a family of Jewish and Italian heritage. [1] [‡ 1] At age 14, he converted to Christianity after attending a Presbyterian Church (USA) music camp. [2] He lived in New York City prior to enrolling at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas, Texas, where he began uploading content to the Redeemed Zoomer channel in 2022. [3] [‡ 2]

In May 2025, Ackerman graduated from SMU with a Bachelor of Arts in music and a Bachelor of Science in pure mathematics, having initially intended to pursue a career as a mathematics professor. [‡ 3]

In June 2025, he announced plans to pursue a Master of Arts in Reformed theology at Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, with the stated intention of seeking ordination within the PCUSA. [‡ 4]

YouTube channel

Ackerman produced content across three YouTube channels and an Instagram account before achieving viral success with Redeemed Zoomer in 2022. [1] He is primarily known for Microsoft Paint-style explainer videos on Christianity, focusing on theology, denominational differences, and church history. His most-viewed video, "All Christian denominations explained in 12 minutes," had accumulated approximately 14 million views as of December 2025. [1]

Ackerman also produces gameplay commentary videos, which feature him playing Minecraft while discussing topics such as theology and history. He additionally hosts weekly or semi-weekly livestreams on YouTube in which he interacts with viewers. [2]

Operation Reconquista

Ackerman is the founder of Operation Reconquista, a Confessing Movement organization aimed at preserving theologically conservative congregations within mainline Protestant Christian denominations, with the eventual goal of restoring them to theological conservatism. [2] [‡ 5] He also co-founded Presbyterians for the Kingdom, a nonprofit organization seeking to advance theological conservatism in the PCUSA. The organization sent representatives to the 2024 PCUSA General Assembly. [1]

As of December 2025, Ackerman maintains a Discord server with more than 13,000 members, intended to organize Gen Z and Gen Alpha participants from mainline Protestant denominations, including the United Methodist Church, the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Anglican Church of Canada, and the Church of England. [4] At least four Episcopal priests who participated in Operation Reconquista-affiliated Discord groups, including one who registered as a "chaplain-adviser" later faced disciplinary proceedings on safeguarding grounds due to the presence of users as young as 15. An investigation conducted by The Living Church found no evidence of suspicious or secretive activity on the server. [5]

Views

Ackerman is a member of the PCUSA and has described his views as aligned with traditional mainline Protestantism, particularly with respect to worship practices, church architecture, and theological doctrine. He has been critical of modern evangelical and non-denominational Christianity, which he has characterized as "pop-Christianity" influenced by televangelists and celebrity pastors, and has instead advocated renewed engagement with Reformation-era theology and ecclesiology. [‡ 6] Ackerman has stated that he believes the federal government of the United States should be "explicitly Christian," while also expressing support for the principle of separation of church and state. [‡ 7]

Ackerman, although being of Jewish descent, has expressed support for supersessionism. [‡ 8] He has also stated that he no longer identifies as a Zionist. [‡ 9] At the same time, he has said that anti-Semitism is incompatible with Christianity. [1]

Ackerman has expressed criticism of both right-wing and left-wing politics, particularly progressivism. He has advocated for laws criminalizing abortion. [‡ 10] He opposes same-sex marriage and homosexuality and has described conversion therapy as "the only healthy form of therapy." [‡ 11] He has also stated that "Uganda is doing nothing wrong regarding LGBT." [‡ 12]

Ackerman has described himself as a "never-Trumper," stating that he views Donald Trump as "way too pro-gay and pro-abortion." [‡ 13] He has also criticized what he has described as right-wing "extremist Internet circles." [‡ 14] Following the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk, Ackerman commented that it was a great day at his church because his pastor condemned the assassination.

Personal life

Ackerman met his future wife Anna Marburger in July 2020 after enrolling at SMU. They married in August 2024. [‡ 2]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Murphy, Fiona (August 2, 2024). "Meet Gen Z's proselytizing Presbyterian reformer". Religion News Service. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 Miller, Patrick (November 8, 2023). "Meet the Zoomers' Martin Luther". Christianity Today. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  3. ↑ "Reconquering Mainline Protestantism?". Juicy Ecumenism. March 21, 2024. Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  4. ↑ Dell, Jacob (July 27, 2023). "Return of the Exiles: A How-to Guide for Restoring Faithfulness to Mainline Churches". The Living Church. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Petersen, Kirk (April 16, 2024). "'Weaponizing' Clergy Disciplinary Canons for Ideological Purposes". The Living Church. Retrieved 5 June 2025.

Primary sources

In the text, these references are preceded by a double dagger (‡):

  1. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (April 17, 2025). "No, just part Italian and part Jewish" (Tweet). Retrieved July 11, 2025– via Twitter.[ non-primary source needed ]
  2. 1 2 "Anna & Richard". TheKnot.com. Anna and Richard Wedding. Archived from the original on 2025-06-10.[ non-primary source needed ]
  3. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (May 15, 2025). "RZ's graduation" (Tweet) – via Twitter.[ non-primary source needed ]
  4. ↑ Redeemed Zoomer (2025-06-06). I got into a PCUSA seminary! (school announcement) - KingdomCraft . Retrieved 2025-06-25– via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "Operation Reconquista About Us". Operation Reconquista. Retrieved 2024-07-09.[ non-primary source needed ]
  6. ↑ Ackerman, Richard (December 19, 2024). "Restoring Protestant glory: A new generation's mission for Christian revival". Blaze Media . Retrieved July 11, 2025.
  7. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (July 3, 2024). "The American government should be explicitly Christian" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025– via Twitter.
  8. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (July 10, 2024). "them constantly insulting my Jewish ethnicity even though I've repeatedly denounced Judaism" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2025– via Twitter.
  9. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (May 16, 2024). "I'm ethnically Jewish. I used to be a Zionist cuz I idolized my heritage as many New Testament Jewish Christians did. It was a hard pill to swallow to realize the Jews aren't the chosen people, but I had to admit it's Biblical. Israel is in rebellion against God" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 25, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2025– via Twitter.
  10. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (April 26, 2024). "Women who get abortions are murderers and must be legally treated as such" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 29, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2025– via Twitter.
  11. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (October 24, 2023). "Gay conversion therapy is the only healthy form of therapy" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 29, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2025– via Twitter.
  12. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (December 20, 2023). "What's your most conservative and most liberal take? I'll start: / Liberal: climate change is real and it's a problem / Conservative: Uganda is doing nothing wrong regarding LGBT" (Tweet). Archived from the original on August 25, 2024 – via Twitter.
  13. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (February 13, 2024). "I've said many times I'm a never-Trumper. Trump is WAY too pro-gay and pro-abortion for me" (Tweet). Archived from the original on October 29, 2024. Retrieved July 11, 2025– via Twitter.
  14. ↑ Ackerman, Richard [@redeemed_zoomer] (July 21, 2025). "I had an edgy rightwing stage a few years ago but got over it after seeing the rotten fruits of those extremist internet circles" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 21, 2025. Retrieved July 21, 2025– via Twitter.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.