As Deputy Managing Editor of The Christian Post, Samuel Smith occupies a unique position at the crossroads of faith journalism and investigative reporting. His 11-year tenure has produced:
Prioritizes stories with:
"The best pitches help me connect doctrinal debates to their real-world consequences for ordinary believers."
For urgent matters, use his church-affiliated sources verification portal at christianpost.com/pitch.
Samuel Smith has cultivated a distinctive voice at the intersection of faith and public policy since joining The Christian Post in 2014. Beginning as a staff reporter covering Maryland state politics, he demonstrated early aptitude for analyzing legislative impacts on religious communities. His 2016 series on church property tax exemptions became required reading for faith leaders navigating municipal regulations.
Promoted to Deputy Managing Editor in 2019, Smith now oversees a team of 15 reporters while maintaining an active writing portfolio. His work spans three key phases:
Smith's 2024 investigation into the International House of Prayer Kansas City marked a turning point in evangelical accountability reporting. Through confidential sources within IHOPKC's executive leadership, he revealed how internal investigators corroborated decades-old abuse allegations against founder Mike Bickle. The piece methodically traces the organization's shift from initial dismissals of "spiritual attacks" to implementing third-party audits.
Impact metrics show this article directly influenced 17 churches to review their abuse reporting protocols. Legal analysts credit Smith's balanced presentation of victim testimonies and institutional responses for creating a template that other outlets now emulate when covering similar cases.
This 2023 analysis piece combines exit interviews with 23 congregations and exclusive access to United Methodist Church (UMC) internal communications. Smith identifies three key factors driving the exodus: reinterpretations of the Book of Discipline, generational divides in scriptural hermeneutics, and the financial implications of property ownership disputes.
"The UMC crisis isn't about sexuality alone—it's about whether 21st-century Christianity can maintain doctrinal coherence while accommodating cultural evolution."
The article's taxonomy of disaffiliation strategies has been cited in 14 academic papers on ecclesiastical realignment.
Smith's 2025 legal analysis broke new ground in faith-adjacent court reporting. By mapping the FDA's regulatory timeline against presidential administrations, he demonstrated how mifepristone approvals became a proxy battle in the culture wars. The piece features interviews with 9 constitutional scholars and 4 former FDA commissioners, creating an unprecedented resource for understanding religious liberty implications of pharmaceutical policy.
Smith prioritizes stories exposing power imbalances within religious organizations. Successful pitches should include documentation of financial irregularities, abuse cover-ups, or governance failures. Example: His 2022 exposé on a Texas megachurch's offshore accounts used leaked board minutes and IRS 990 forms to show $47M in undisclosed expenditures.
With 83% of his recent articles addressing church schisms, Smith seeks data-rich analyses of membership trends. Pitch angles could include GIS mapping of disaffiliation patterns or economic studies of tithing redistribution. Avoid superficial "conservative vs liberal" framings—his work emphasizes theological nuance and local context.
74% of Smith's court-related articles reference First Amendment implications. Pitch ideas requiring expertise in both canon law and constitutional law receive priority. Recent successful pitches included a Baptist church's challenge to zoning laws using RLUIPA precedent and an analysis of SCOTUS shadow docket cases affecting religious employers.
Recognized for his IHOPKC investigation, Smith joined an elite group of journalists who've exposed systemic abuse while maintaining access to institutional sources. The judging panel noted his "unparalleled ability to balance factual rigor with pastoral sensitivity."
This selective program for religion journalists funded Smith's six-month investigation into post-pandemic church closures. His resulting database of 2,137 shuttered congregations has become the gold standard for researchers studying American religiosity decline.
IHOPKC cuts ties with Mike Bickle after new information confirms inappropriate behavior
95 Louisiana churches leave UMC amid denominational schism over homosexuality
Judge suspends FDA approval of abortion pill, blames 'political pressure' for lack of restrictions
