Meet Riley

Kaelyn Free

Riley Mullis shares her faith and how it changed her life

Riley Mullis: singer, optimist and lover of Jesus. Many who know her know that God is the center of her life, but the origin of her newfound love for the faith is not as well-known.

Before following the path to Jesus, Mullis was an evolution-believing atheist - until she met four impactful people her freshman year who slowly changed her outlook.

“I had always thought of Christianity as ridiculous and far-fetched, so it took a lot to get me to change my mind,” Mullis said. “I met four people my freshman year - Zoe Smith, Daniel Sipes, Kayla Fisher and Hannah Badenhorst - who are all Christians, and they became really great friends of mine. They didn’t ‘convert’ me or anything, they were just amazing friends and the love of Jesus really radiated through them.”

Becoming a Christian changed Mullis. After she started following Jesus, her attitude, mentality and friendships changed drastically.

“My faith is so incredibly important to me - it’s my life,” Mullis said. “Just through my testimony and when I think back to the person I used to be, I see how much God has changed my life. I mean, I used to be really mean, judgemental, prideful. I hid behind a mask and I genuinely thought I knew everything, and now God has humbled me and shown me great love and peace. That alone makes my faith everything to me.”

With being bold in her faith, Mullis faces hardships in keeping her walk with God. When first sharing her faith with her family, she received backlash and rebuke. Her family thought of it as odd, since she often made fun of Christians; however, they saw the positive change in her and gave their support.

“It is really hard to be a Christian sometimes,” Mullis said. “When I was an atheist, I thought that Christians believed once you give your heart to Jesus, everything will be easy for the rest of your life. As I learned more about Christianity, I understood that that is actually the opposite of what our faith is about. We have struggles, anxieties and hardships, much like many people, but we believe that God is in control and that He never leaves us. So with that knowledge, we have that underlying hope and joy that takes us through every struggle.”