Christian leaders and their ministries are some of the most popular Twitter users - not in terms of followers, but in how many times their messages are forwarded to others. Tweets from influential voices like Joyce Meyer, Joel Osteen, and T.D. Jakes do better even with less followers than celebrities like Justin Bieber.

The average number of reactions to ministers' often positive messages is staggering, especially when compared to entertainers like Lady Gaga. Joyce Meyer topped the list, with 170 reactions per every 50,000 followers. Joel Osteen came in a close second with 147 mentions, followed by Max Lucado. On average, their tweets got 30 times as much attention, according to The New York Times.

The discovery came about when Twitter sent a senior executive, Claire Diaz-Ortiz, to investigate exactly why Christian leaders' followers were so engaged with the microblogging site, and to recruit more pastors and their ministries to join.

"Pastors tell me Twitter is just made for the Bible," Ms. Diaz-Ortiz told The New York Times.

The length of many King James Version verses of the Bible - about 100 characters long - lends for easy tweeting, as well as a few words of personal commentary if necessary.

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