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

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

The Bulletin

No Iran Deal, Russell Brand Reads the Bible, and Ben Sasse’s Public Dying

Clarissa Moll, Russell Moore

Trump insists on nuclear deal with Iran, Brand’s viral Bible faux pas, and Senator Sasse shares his dying and his faith.

Mercy cooking meals to distribute with members of her organization, Women of Purpose.

News

The Christian Migrants Feeding the Displaced in Lebanon

Ghinwa Akiki and Hunter Williamson in Beirut, Lebanon

The war left many domestic workers jobless and homeless. Some Christians see a chance to serve their community.

Yale University Art Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut.

Desperately Seeking Alternatives to Arrogance

The Trump administration’s critique of elite universities is worthwhile, but government control is problematic. Good news: Christian study centers are multiplying at major universities.

Three books on a purple background.

Review

When Faith Feels Cloudy

Elizabeth Woodson

Three books for the doubting Christian.

Voting rights activists protest outside the U.S. Supreme Court as it prepares to hear a case challenging Louisiana's congressional map on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

News

Black Churches Urge Congregants to Mobilize After Supreme Court Ruling

Haleluya Hadero

Denominational leaders say the latest weakening of protections for minority voters is discouraging but not cause for despair.

A chain broken by a glow of light.

Black Hope Faces a Crisis

Thomas Anderson

An influential academic theory says anti-Black racism won’t change. As it trickles into popular culture, the church should be ready to respond.

Kilauea Volcano by Jules Tavernier

We Need the Doctrine of Hell

The harsh reality shows us our depths of depravity and the depth of Christ’s redemption.

An Afghan Hazara woman carrying her child along a street in Dasht-e-Barchi in Kabul.

News

Extremist Attacks Leave Dozens of Christians Dead in Afghanistan

A Pakistani pastor who baptized several of the victims continues shepherding church members living under Taliban rule.