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13 CT News Stories That Made Us Happy in 2021

CT Editors

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

Christianity Today December 28, 2021

In this series

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.

Tolkien Fans Hope to Make Oxford Home a ‘Rivendell’ for Writers

Mexican Census: Evangelicals at New High, Catholics at New Low

Griffin Paul Jackson

Growing Hair for Jesus, German Village Plans for 2022

Ken Chitwood

How Seven Soldiers Carried One Bible into 11 Combat Tours

Adam MacInnis

Nine Years, 782,000 Words Later, South Carolina Woman Completes Handwritten Bible

Adam MacInnis

“First Nations Version: An Indigenous Translation of the New Testament” and Terry Wildman.

Native Christians: Indigenous Bible Version Is ‘Made By Us For Us’

Emily McFarlan Miller – Religion News Service

Singer-Songwriter Bruce Cockburn’s Latest Gig? His Church’s Worship Band

John Longhurst – Religion News Service

Jesus Loves the Brown Pop-Eyed Atewa Slippery Frog

Ryan Truscott

Church leaders from both communities gather at the peace wall in West Belfast in April 2021.

100 Years After Ireland’s Divide, Church Cooperation Is Better Than Ever

Ger FitzGerald – The Conversation

Ministries Help Job Seekers Find a Paycheck with a Purpose

Ericka Andersen

Nine Iranian Christians from Rasht facing national security charges.

Iran’s House Churches Are Not Illegal, Says Supreme Court Justice

Jayson Casper

Etihad Towers and Emirates Palace Hotel in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Sunday Worship Comes to the Gulf

Jayson Casper

Unidentified people carry bags to a vehicle before departing to the airport from the Christian Aid Ministries headquarters at Titanyen, north of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Thursday, December 16, 2021, after 12 hostage missionaries kidnapped two months ago were finally released.

Free at Last: All 17 Missionaries Kidnapped in Haiti Have Been Released

Christianity Today and The Associated Press

Read all of our year-end lists here.

Also in this series

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

CT Editors

Top 10 CT News Stories of the Year

CT Editors

Christianity Today’s Top Testimonies of 2021

CT Editors

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

CT Editors

CT’s Top 10 Articles for Pastors in 2021

CT Editors

CT’s Top 20 Stories of 2021

CT’s 2021 Cover Stories, Ranked

CT Editors

Biblical Archaeology’s Top 10 Discoveries of 2021

Gordon Govier

CT’s Stories of 2021 That You May Have Missed

CT Editors

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

Morgan Lee

Our Latest

View All

Illustration of a wood basinet from a manger on a city street, under a street light.

The Bulletin

The Christmas Story

The CT Media voices you know and love present a special reading of the Christmas story.

Five book covers.

My Top 5 Books on Christianity in East Asia

Compiled by Kazusa Okaya

Insights on navigating shame-honor cultural dynamics and persecution in the region.

A glowing manger in snow.

A Rhythm of Silence and Solitude

Chris Butler

Our culture rewards the sharpest take, but two spiritual practices can help Christians show up better in the public sphere.

An image from a performance by Rosalia.

What Rosalia’s ‘LUX’ Reveals About Religion Today

Christina Gonzalez Ho and Joshua Bocanegra

Young women score higher in “spirituality” than young men, but they’re leaving the church in droves. That comes through in recent releases like this one. 

Wafula celebrating his 91st birthday with his daughter and grandchildren in December 2024.

News

Kenyan Pastors Champion Reconciliation at Christmas

Pius Sawa

One Christian father hopes the church can help his family reconcile before he dies.

A Hispanic congregation at church.

News

New Hispanic Churches See Growth Despite Political Turmoil

Haleluya Hadero

Fresh Lifeway research shows Latino pastors are reaching new people and helping members navigate anxiety about immigration enforcement.

Images from three articles in the list.

CT’s Best Ideas of 2025

CT Editors

From AI to K-pop to medical missions, our essays on culture, ethics, sociology, and more tackled the year’s most discussed topics.

Images from three articles in the list.

Big CT Stories of 2025

CT Editors

Ten of our most-read articles this year.

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