The first time I saw Dana Chanel was at a viewing party for Keke Palmer.
She wore a simple outfit—a white tank under a black jacket, dark-washed jeans ripped at the knee, with her hair slicked back into a low bun and face beat for the gods. Not provocatively dressed, but fashionably flawless. I watched as she quietly worked the room. She didn't make a lot of effort to get close to the celebrity guests; in fact, they seemed to greet her first as if she was an old friend. Though I didn't know who she was at the time, she gave an air of somebody who was supposed to be there, and not just as press, but for reasons beyond posting an event recap on a blog the following day.
I was right, but not for the reasons I initially thought. She was there for a greater purpose—on a mission from God to spread His love and word without the door-to-door sales pitches and fire and brimstone fear tactics. She blended in effortlessly while standing out spiritually, not quite what you would expect from a 21-year-old hailing from the projects of Brooklyn, who once worked in a strip club—serving not swerving.
The young boss is the founder of Sprinkle of Jesus—an online ministry that utilizes social media and technology to touch souls and change lives, spreading the word of God through real experiences and real revelations. On any given day you'll find the beauty passionately delivering a word on a number of relatable topics through her Instagram videos and Sprinkle of Jesus app alerts in between snapping photos with some of your favorite celebs. Not bad for someone who just a few years ago barely even knew who God was.
Growing up Dana had no idea that her purpose in life would involve connecting others to a higher power. She was born in Brooklyn to Dominican parents in a house with eight brothers and sisters. Money was tight and opportunities limited, so to give her kids a chance at a better quality of life her mom moved the family to a small suburban area in Middletown, Delaware. Life was decent but not good enough to stop living paycheck to paycheck, and soon Dana found herself wanting more than just the average lifestyle—she knew that there was something better for her than just getting by. She was the first in her family to get accepted into college, racking up offer letters to some of the top schools in the country including St. John's University, but the cost of tuition was too much to bare.
“They wanted like $55,000 a year and I was like, dude, I am not going to owe you guys a house before I graduate. I was like, hold on, this isn't for me!"
Instead she went to a community college in Philadelphia, but being a poor college student without bus fare to get to school made her desperate, so much so that she found herself working in a strip club as a front desk hostess. For the first time her financial situation seemed to be on the come up. She was going to school by day and walking out the club every night with $500 in untaxed dollars.
“Literally, I had no one; I felt so lonely," she confesses. “But God was by my side the entire time. He needed to remove me from my lifestyle to be able to teach me to seize the gift that He had given me because I was too distracted. That literally was the turning point. A lot of the time we don't give God space, we don't give Him the room to work in our life. But, when I was alone and had no friends, I just read my Bible and was like, yo, why didn't somebody tell me about this guy sooner? Why am I just learning about this?!"
"A lot of the time we don't give God space, we don't give Him the room to work in our life."
Being from a family that didn't grow up in the church meant that she had to become a self-taught Christian. She was overwhelmed with the more traditional text of the Bible, so she started with inspirational books on faith before graduating to The Message Bible and reading up on the New Testament. Although she was learning and growing spiritually on her own, she desired to connect with like-minded individuals who were curious about Christ, but also wanted to talk about the day-to-day struggles such as sex, drugs, violence, and being in the club. She started blogging about her own personal experiences on Sprinkle of Jesus, and shared inspirational videos on her Instagram, so much so that she was deemed “The Jesus Girl" by her followers. The more she posted the more her following grew, and with celebrities and their friends picking up and sharing the content her videos begin to go viral. She also began attracting people from all over the world who wanted to share their knowledge and experiences on the blog as well.
Dana recognized the power of social media and determined that sharing her message about Christ was her calling. She partnered with her dad, who had entrepreneurial experience as a the famous Uncle Majic—a hip hop magician for kids of celebrities—to take Sprinkle of Jesus beyond the desktop and into a full-functioning business, complete with the Sprinkle of Jesus app in addition to a separate Christian-based advertising company specializing in building apps and websites for their clients, as well as helping businesses to get commercials on cable networks such as MTV, BET, VH1, and more.
Having multiple streams of income backs this boss chick's belief that Christians aren't meant to be poor and that it's important to have multiple streams of income, and years of just barely getting by taught her that faith without work is dead.
“Poverty is not of God. It says in the Bible that when you work hard, you reap what you sow. So I expect to make a certain amount of money; I expect certain things from God because I know how hard I work for Him."
"Nobody sees that I'm up at 5 o'clock in the morning every single day and not going to sleep until 3AM, and then waking up and doing it all over again. God will reward you with what you give Him."
To be clear she's not passing the collection plate around to her followers; her earnings come solely from the advertisements on her site and the conglomerate of businesses her and her family have built beyond Sprinkle of Jesus.
Outside of the daily hustle Dana is still a young adult dealing with the pressure of being in a world where almost anything goes, including morals. It's even harder when you publicly claim your religious beliefs, because everything from your actions to your words are constantly critiqued and criticized by peers looking to find loopholes in your character. Recently the gorgeous gal put up a post with a low cut dress that set her comment section on fire, with people claiming that she was dressed inappropriately for a woman repping #TeamJesus.
“We live in a generation where we get judged all the time on Instagram, you feel me? People are judging us regardless of anything that you do. Being judged and stuff doesn't bother me. I've been called to this; God has prepared me for this. So there's nothing that anyone could say because I know who made me and I'm confident in that."
I ask her if she believes that she represents the woman described in Proverbs 31— a chapter of the Bible that depicts ultimate woman of God.
“I'm working on it. And I'm okay with saying that," she says. “I'm not all the way there, but what I can do is I can try and I can do my best to try to embrace that. And when I make a mistake, ask for forgiveness and ask to continue to become the woman that He sees fit."
In actuality, it's her imperfections that make her more relatable to the audience that she caters to. Her past and her not quite cookie-cutter image has given her the platform to be able to have open and honest discussions that her followers may not otherwise get in the churches that often dance around the topics that are really relevant.
“I don't feel like I was prepared for the real world. Other ministries will talk about the good stuff, but are you really preparing me to encounter the enemy and how he's trying to destroy my life?"
On that note, we dip into the subject of temptation, and how she constantly struggles with trying not to revert back to the same way of thinking that she once had when she was the party girl getting drunk in Miami and ending up in “bad situations." She tells me that staying engulfed in her Bible and making sure that she isn't just working for God, but actually spending time with Him is important in helping to keep her thoughts and her attitude in check.
When it comes to love, God blessed Dana with her one when she found her heart in human form in self-proclaimed "Pastor in Business" Prince Donnell. Her partner, her lover, her best friend, the two have been partners in business for a while, as well as partners in life, having made things official by tying the knot. The proud "couplepreneur" have a marriage and a business relationship deeply rooted in their mutual love of God and one another.
"For me, I needed more than a man who was going to love me, but to challenge me to become an extraordinary woman. To us, it's the most attractive thing we love about each other. I remember sitting with my Father and telling him I think it's time for Prince to leave his job and come work with us. You helped make our first million dollars. I praise God for giving me the ability to fire my husband's boss," she shared in an Instagram post.
"For me, I needed more than a man who was going to love me, but to challenge me to become an extraordinary woman."
"It took him a little while to find his footing, but with LOTS of prayer, rebuilding, reshaping his mindset and support he's begun to obsessively figure out new ways to use what the Lord gifted him with to become a resourceful, the sexiest thing about Him is his love for God and I can't help to stare at him awe when he works hard to provide for our families and our future. Our endless conversation and intentional practices we use to force each other to think and grow into a level of consciousness necessary to be there for one another spiritually, mentally, and as an entrepreneur is what keeps our relationship going. I love you so much and love the man you're becoming... let's never stop holding one another accountable."
Love is a beautiful thing. Especially when you can tie it to your purpose.
Together, Dana and Donnell work diligently to spread the wealth of their knowledge with the world. She recently opened a 2000-square foot office in Philly called coWorking Faith for Christian entrepreneurs. There, she spends a lot of time giving workshops on how to create apps and monetize your business to Christians.
Dana's just like the rest of us—a work in progress, but progressively working to fulfill her purpose, as well as helping to guide others to their purpose. From the pulpit to the boardroom.
For more of the Sprinkle of Jesus founder, follow her on Instagram.
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A basis for why I feel this way? Another quote immediately comes to mind. Famed author Jane Austen once wrote: “There is nothing I would not do for those who are really my friends. I have no notion of loving people by halves, it is not my nature.” You know, back when I also wrote “10 Things You Should Absolutely Expect From Your Friendships” for the platform, I shared that some of the traits of a friend — a real friend — include loyalty, honesty and compassion. And if you can’t say that your spouse is this way (as they say the same thing about you), chile…what is y’all doin’ over there?
So, why am I talking about marriage when this article is supposed to be about friendship? It’s because, something that life has taught me, kinda sorta the hard way, is we should vet potential friends — especially close friends — almost like we would a spouse.
And if you keep reading, I think you’ll get why I framed the intro in the way that I did.
Why Friendships Are Still Hella Essential
GiphyOkay, so before I get into why it seems that people have fewer friends than they ever had before, let me just say that, even as an ambivert who enjoys my own company and has absolutely no problem with being alone a good amount of the time, every personality type needs friends. That’s not just my opinion;science makes it a fact. Not only do studies support thathealthy friendships help us to feel more satisfied with our lives, but they can also reduce our chances of experiencing depression, stress, and anxiety and they increase longevity overall.
This is why — without going too deep because it’s kind of another topic for another time — it’s important to not allow past hurts and disappointments from former friends (or folks you thought were your friends) to cause you to build up walls as you declare that you don’t need anyone. When you do that, all you’re really doing is working against your own health and well-being. The saying that “no man (or woman) is an island”? It is absolutely true.
That said, even if it’s just a couple of people, make sure that you’ve got individuals in your life who you can call a friend and, in turn, they can say the very same thing about you, okay?
Are All of Those People Your Actual Friends? Or Do You Just Happen to Know a Lot of Folks?
GiphyAight but what if you happen to be someone who swings on the other side of few? Meaning, if someone were to ask you how many friends you had, you’d quickly declare that you’ve got too many to count. Listen, not to patronize or anything yet, but whenever I hear folks (especially if they are over 35) say something along those lines, it takes me back to high school — a time when so many of us thought that so long as we knew a ton of folks and/or we were popular, clearly, we had many friends.
Wisdom and pure ole’ dealing with humans on a consistent basis will teach you that an article that I wrote a few years back for the platform has a title that is spot-on: “According To Experts, We Only Have A Few Friends — Here's Why.” According to it, the average American (based on a survey that was conducted) has somewhere around 16 friends. Oh, but wait. Last fall, I wrote another article for the platform entitled, “What's The 'Five Friendship Theory' All About?” According to it, if you’re someone who takes the word “friend” and the responsibility that comes along with it very seriously and quite literally, as an adult, you can probably only maintain about five close friendships.
Why? Well, that brings in another article that I once wrote: “Life Taught Me That True Friendships Are 'Inconvenient.'” Chile, I don’t know about y’all but my friends know that if I call you that, you can call me in the middle of the night, and you can have money towards your rent (I’m not your mama but we all have hard times sometimes) and I’m gonna have your back in a way where you’ll wonder where you stop and I start — and no, I don’t have a lot of bandwidth for a ton of those people.
Okay, but what if you’re someone who is like, “I know that I have more than 16 and definitely more than five friends, no question”? The next thing that I would encourage you to explore is a theory by Aristotle (check out “According To Aristotle, We Need ‘Utility’, ‘Pleasure’ & ‘Good’ Friends”). Without even realizing it, many of us have people who we use the word “friend” for when…it’s kind of like how social media apps say “friend”: we’re familiar with one another and enjoy some of the same things, we might even have some of the same goals; at the same time, though, we’re not “all-encompassing friends.” We just get along really well at work (utility friends) or like to go to brunch at the same spots sometimes (pleasure friends).
Taking all of this into account, are you sure that you have a ton of actual friends? Or do you just happen to know a lot of people and you use that word for the lack of having another?
And that brings me to my next point.
There’s A LOT of Space Between “Friend” and “Enemy”
GiphyIf you read a lot of my friendship content, something that you will notice me saying quite a bit is that there is quite a bit of space between friend and enemy. It needs to be mentioned, as often as possible, because there are some people who get offended if you don’t consider them to be a friend — and that is unfortunate. I say that because the conclusion shouldn’t automatically be that they are your enemy just because “friend” isn’t what immediately comes to your mind.
They can be an acquaintance. They can be “cool people.” There is someone in my life who, while we’re not friends in the traditional sense, we are each other’s confidant; years ago, we agreed that we would be the place to tell each other whatever and it would stay between us — that is the main purpose that we serve in each other’s lives. Some people, you may consider to be spiritual family in the sense that you care for them and have some deeply profound things in common and still, they are not exactly a friend (I mean, a lot of blood relatives aren’t “friends” with each other).
All I’m trying to say here is we’re all too old now to only put folks in two boxes when it comes to this particular relational dynamic: friend or enemy. So, take some time out to seriously reflect on what you consider the various people in your life to be. I can promise you from personal experience that the sooner you know and the clearer you are, the easier it will be on everybody — because needs and expectations will be clear to you (and them once you articulate them) too.
What Got Folks to Having Less Friends? The Pandemic Plays a Significant Part.
GiphySo finally on to what inspired this piece to begin with. A part of it was an article that was published last year by Big Think entitled, “Americans more than ever have no friends. Here are 5 steps to make more friends.” Another was something that The New Yorker published back in 2021; it’s entitled “What COVID did to friendship.” Y’all don’t have enough time and I don’t have enough space to get into the fact that, just because the media may be talking about it less, that doesn’t mean that we’re not still in a pandemic.
In fact,one article stated my thoughts on it quite well when it said, “The real question, then, is not whether COVID is still a pandemic, but how much COVID illness and death are we willing to accept?” SMDH. And one of the things that has come with experiencing COVID is an interesting type of PTSD: detachment. There are plenty of articles out here to support the fact that my saying that is not merely my opinion.
Even according to the American Psychological Association, loneliness damn near skyrocketed, especially during lockdown and, unfortunately, a lot of people have not recovered from it. That’s why it did not surprise me at all when I read that more than ever, many people do not consider anyone to be a best friend; fewer people are relying on friends for any type of real support, and there is a semi-steady decline in people having friends, especially quality friendships, overall.
In fact, as far as close friends go, currently, close to 50 percent of Americans say that they only have three or fewer, and a relevant contributor to that was what the pandemic revealed as far as people’s proactive participation in other individuals’ lives (I actually read that young women were the ones who lost touch with friends during the peak of the pandemic the most). I also thought it was interesting that some studies cite that 12 percent of Americans say that they don’t have any friends at all.
Is the pandemic the only cause? No. So are things like people working more hours and spending more time online than they probably should (which also increased due to the pandemic, though). To that, Teen Vogue once published, “Social Media Is Impacting IRL Friendships” and Healthline once published, “Social Media Is Killing Your Friendships.” Then we also have to factor in having families of our own which can also take up a lot of time, and that sometimes can cause us to forget to nurture our friendships; so, before you know it, they fade to black. Not due to a fallout or anything, just…life.
And all of this? Some people are saying that it has led to what is known as a “friendship recession.” A huge flag about that is there are reports that a drop in close friends can cultivate a type of loneliness that is just as health hazardous as smoking a whopping 15 cigarettes a day. Not good, y’all. Not. Good.
Quality over Quantity Is Key. Just Make Sure That You Have a Friend or Two.
GiphyOkay, so what is my overall point? That’s a fair question. Just like sometimes “life life-ing” can make us forget to tend to our friendships, if you don’t stumble across content like this, you might not even realize that you’re feeling mentally stressed, emotionally strained, or super isolated and it’s all because you need to prioritize your friendships — because your mind, body, and spirit need them. Again, science has proved it.
At the same time, if, like a client of mine, you find yourself getting a little bit paranoid because you have noticed that over the past several years, your close friend count has been far less than what it used to be, this article proves that you are absolutely not (pardon the pun) alone. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with having a very small circle of friends because quality is gonna beat out quantity every time; you just need to assess when it happened and why so that you can be sure that you are choosing it to play out that way and it’s not due to some underlying cause that you hadn’t taken into consideration — until now.
An Italian priest by the name of Thomas Aquinas once said, “The happy man in this life needs friends.” Even if it’s just one or two people, please make sure that you have folks who aren’t just your friend but your very close friend. You need them. They need you.
Everyone else, figure out where they fall and nurture accordingly. Life is a lot. We all get by with the help of our friends. Real talk, y’all. Thank goodness for them.
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