8-year-old ‘Kid Pastor Luke’, who says God called him to preach in dream, writes a devotional

By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Tuesday, April 28, 2026

Luke Tillman, the 8-year-old “Kid Pastor” who became a viral sensation three years ago for baptizing his stuffed Paw Patrol toys and has continued to share his faith with more than half a million followers on Instagram, has written a new devotional for kids that’s set to be released in September.

The book, titled Finding God Every Day: A 90-Day Devotional by a Kid, for Kids, will be published on Sept. 8 by Zonderkidz, the children's publishing division of Zondervan. It’s now available for pre-order on Amazon.

Since shooting to fame through his viral videos, Tillman has become a motivational speaker, appearing on major platforms such as the "Jennifer Hudson Show" five times, and recently appeared as a guest on "American Idol," where he delivered a powerful prayer declaring the name of Jesus.

Luke told Local 10 in an interview that he first felt God’s call to preach in a dream at age 3.

“When I was three, I had a dream that God called me to preach,” he told the news outlet. “Every single time I preach, I shake. My mom said when I shake, that means the holy spirit is in me.”

His father, the Rev. Ezra Tillman, is the senior pastor at First Baptist Church Piney Grove, in Lauderdale Lakes, Florida. His mother, Catrina Tillman, told The Christian Post on Monday that they suspected early on that their precocious son had the gift of preaching, and when he told them about his dream, it was just divine confirmation.

“It was confirmation [of] what we were already assuming,” Catrina Tillman told CP. “We were already assuming that he had a special divine gift. We just didn't know what. … When he said to us, ‘I had a dream,’ and then he described his dream, we knew.”

 In his devotional, Luke, who is the youngest of four boys, focuses on connecting Scripture to his daily living, and it’s something his mother says he wanted to be reflected in his book as they discussed the work with his publisher.

“He kind of came up with the concept of the book. He said, ‘You know, I want kids to know that they don't have to be a grown-up to have a relationship with God,’” Catrina Tillman explained.

“And so, it's talking about, like, him having to wake up and not wanting to clean his room, and how do you find God in that, you know? There's also a devotional about the first day of school and being nervous. How do you find God in these real-life scenarios that children find themselves in,” she continued.

The book tackles other scenarios, like not getting invited to a birthday party and learning to ride a bike, Catrina Tillman said.

“So there are very relatable instances that are very true to Luke,” she said. “We believe that this would be a great tool for parents to use and for children to grow their faith.”

When asked if she was worried about the challenges Luke would face as he gets older, Catrina Tillman told CP that she and her husband have raised their children to be resilient.

“We have raised all of our boys and continue to raise all of them, to understand that not everyone is going to accept you for who you are, … for the rest of your life, people are gonna talk about you,” she said.

“For me and my husband, we truly believe we are called to prepare our children for life without us. So if that is the case, then we have to have real conversations with them. And so with Luke, he is guarded, he is protected,” she explained.

“We don't say yes to every opportunity that's thrown his way, regardless of what dollar amount or notoriety is attached to it. … As parents, we have to constantly be in prayer, but then it's also making sure that I stay true to [him] being an 8-year-old kid.”