CT’s 2021 Cover Stories, Ranked

Our online readers’ favorite cover stories from last year.

Christianity Today’s print magazine cover stories represented many themes of the past year—topics that are not new but reached a fresh urgency or climactic moment in 2021. From Christians in Afghanistan to multiethnic churches to empty pews, we hoped to remind readers of gospel hope in the midst of difficult times. Here are CT’s cover stories ranked in reverse order of popularity online.

9. December

8. January/February

7. July/August

6. October

5. April

4. May/June

3. November

2. March

1. September

Check out the rest of our 2021 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

13 CT News Stories That Made Us Happy in 2021

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

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

An illustration of a flying saucer.

Public Theology Project

What If Aliens Are Real? A Thought Experiment

I don’t know how likely extraterrestrial life might be. But no matter what, the truth of Christianity will stand.

An Instagram grid of people in blue and red squares.

Faith Should be Public but Not Performative

Jen Pollock Michel

Christian faith must act on behalf of the most vulnerable, not clutter social media feeds.

A child writing math symbols.

Analysis

First, Honesty. Then, Multiplication Tables.

Carrie McKean in Midland, Texas

We need to know how badly students are failing in math class. Then we must return to the fundamentals.

Security officers stand guard next to a bus carrying freed worshippers at the Government House in Kaduna.

News

Mass Kidnappings Leave Nigerian Churches Reeling

Emiene Erameh

Christian leaders fight to draw attention to the abductions by criminal gangs amid government denial.

why-are-young-men-struggling

The Russell Moore Show

Richard Reeves on Why Young Men Are Struggling

What do boys need from fathers, churches, and institutions that they aren’t getting right now?

Inside the Ministry

The One Kingdom Campaign Spring 2026 Impact Report

CT Partners are making Jesus known.

The book on an orange background.

Review

They May Forget Your Sermons, but They’ll Remember This

Reuben Bredenhof’s new book encourages pastors to focus on small acts of faithfulness.

A collage of images showing a Ukrainian soldier, a drone, and an explosion.

A Russian Drone Killed My Brother. Is the World Tired of Our Suffering?

Taras Dyatlik

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a Ukrainian theologian meditates on self-interested calls for a comfortable peace.