13 CT News Stories That Made Us Happy in 2021

It was another hard year on many fronts, but it wasn’t all bad news.

2021 brought more headlines about COVID-19, religious persecution, division, and spiritual abuse. Amid the heaviness, we saw God at work through his people in big ways and small, from signs of hope for Christians in the Middle East to a surprise worship leader at a church in California.

Here are 13 of our favorite good-news stories covered by CT this year, listed in chronological order.

Read all of our year-end lists here.

- More from CT Editors

Also in this series

Introduction

Christianity Today in 2021: Our Top News, Reviews, Podcasts, and More

Top 10 CT News Stories of the Year

Christianity Today’s Top Testimonies of 2021

Christianity Today’s 15 Most-Read Book Reviews of 2021

CT’s Top 10 Articles for Pastors in 2021

CT’s Top 20 Stories of 2021

CT’s 2021 Cover Stories, Ranked

Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2021

CT’s Stories of 2021 That You May Have Missed

Our Favorite Christianity Today Podcasts from 2021

12 Leaders Evangelicals Lost in 2021

Daniel Silliman

The Global Church in 2021: CT’s Top 20 International Articles

Our Latest

An Indian bride and groom holding hands.

Indian Churches Encourage Couples to Leave and Cleave

Divya Chirayath

For many couples, in-laws are a major source of marital strife.

Man wearing VR goggles.

The Bulletin

A Third Presidential Term, South American Boat Strikes, and ChatGPT Erotica

Mike Cosper, Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Trump hints at running in 2028, US strikes more alleged drug boats, ChatGPT produces erotica.

The book cover on a pink background.

Review

Finding God on the Margins of American Universities

Perry L. Glanzer

A new account of faith in higher education adds some neglected themes to more familiar story lines.

CT's 1958 cover and an image of a brewery cellar.

From Prohibition to Pornography

Daniel Silliman

In 1958, CT pushed evangelicals to engage important moral issues even when they seemed old-fashioned.

People walking to work.

Tackling Unemployment

Interview by Haleluya Hadero

The head of The T.D. Jakes foundation on job assistance and economic empowerment.

A photo of Benjamin Watson at mic with the title of the podcast The Just Life overlaid on the image

The Just Life with Benjamin Watson

Stephen Enada: Exposing a Silent Slaughter

Unpacking the crisis facing Nigeria’s persecuted Church

Detail from the painting Still-Life with a Skull by Philippe de Champaigne

The Strangest Enemy I’ll Ever Meet

Eric McLaughlin

Scripture speaks of death as an enemy Christ conquers—and the door through which we see God face to face.

The book cover on a green background.

Review

First Comes Sex, Then Comes Gender

A new book acknowledges both categories as biblically valid—but insists on ordering them properly.