In 2018, Ann Voskamp traveled with photographer Esther Havens to rural Kenya to witness the nomadic Rendille people receive a Bible translation in their own language for the first time.
“They have been parched for living water under the desert sun for decades—centuries—and this day is nothing short of a resurrection coming,” Voskamp wrote for Christianity Today. “Dancing women stir the dust with their feet, thousands of beaded necklaces rattling like rising bones, and they point out how even the Word-carrying camel can’t seem to stop grinning.”
Today, the Canadian Christian writer describes this moment as “one of the most formative experiences of my entire life.”
“To sit with people and interview Rendille women who had slept with Scripture underneath their pillows because it was treasured. They had nothing more valuable or priceless in their entire lives than God’s Word,” she said. “Then I think, How many Bibles do I have that are on my shelf collecting dust? Do I treasure God’s Word like this?
“Sometimes we can look at the North American landscape of Christianity and believe that that’s all there is, which is kind of like our own version of ‘flat-earth’ Christianity. We forget there’s a whole global church out there that is living out the words of Christ in rich, robust, orthodox ways that can inform and shape us,” Voskamp continued. “Christianity Today’s vision to have global correspondents and reporters is worth supporting so that we are more informed on a consistent basis and learn the stories of other Christians around the world.”
Voskamp praised CT’s consistent platforming of the wisdom and voices of Christians around the world.
“Christianity Today amplifies, elevates, welcomes, and invites voices from around the world—and how these Christians encounter Christ disciples us North American Christians,” she said.
Voskamp’s relationship with CT goes back decades. She began blogging in 2004, writing about her relationship with God, her life on her Ontario farm, and her family of now nine, when she first learned of the publication.
“I can’t imagine the online community without Christianity Today being part of that topography,” she said. “If you step onto the online space and you’re looking for anything about Christianity, Christianity Today is one of those outposts that you are going to see as this blazing beacon.”
Voskamp first resonated with articles by Alaska writer Leslie Leyland Fields in CT and saw parts of her life represented in Fields’s marriage, their large families, and a mutual love of words.
“It was after reading one of her Christianity Today articles that I said, ‘I want to be a subscriber and support this community,’” she said.
Voskamp connected with Timothy Dalrymple, CT’s now president and CEO, around that time. As she watched his career unfold, she was overjoyed when he joined the ministry in 2019.
“Tim is one of the most thoughtful, considerate, and wise sages in terms of listening to the whole of church and culture and hearing people’s voices and perspectives,” she said. “Tim is a man of profound, deep integrity and true Christlikeness. I believe he’s truly anointed and called to Christianity Today for this particular moment.”
“Christianity Today has—and is—leading so well in communicating that beauty saves the world. Beauty is irresistible. The ultimate beauty is Christ himself. So we do everything with excellence and beauty because ultimately it points to Christ. Christianity Today has done that exceptionally well.”
“Timothy’s vision of ‘the bride of Christ is beautiful, and she needs faithful storytellers to tell the church’s beautiful story around the world’ is culturally transformative. He and Christianity Today have been so faithful to that vision.”
Recently, CT debuted a redesigned print magazine and website, and Voskamp shared her appreciation for that aspect as well.
“Christianity Today’s redesign feels as iconic as Time’s Life magazines,” she said. “The reason it resonated so deeply with me is that it is timeless, classic, and beautiful.
“In Christian spaces, we can be very utilitarian, as opposed to really intentional about beauty. I was just really moved that Christianity Today seeks to be on the cutting edge of exceptional design and creativity in 2024.”
Voskamp also believes that Christianity Today has a significant role to play in helping to heal a fractured and polarized culture.
“In a moment where there is so much confusion around what it means to be a Christ follower, Christianity Today is a faithful light bearer that models following Christ in dark time and a leading prophetic voice,” she said. “The calling of Christianity Today is to be a parable of the glorious upside-down kingdom, this generative power of God to throw subversive seeds that grow invasive hope in this generation. The stories that Christianity Today brings to the forefront are catalytic seeds that will come up underneath and grow through this cultural moment. The stories shared will yield real fruit, not just in this cultural moment but for all eternity.”
Christianity Today’s ability to reach so many parts of the world with each other’s wisdom and experience is needed, especially by those who feel alienated and adrift, Voskamp added.
“CT is offering to the church an accessible library of Christian thought and a long table of global community that we all need a place at as we wrestle through what is being called an epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” she said.
In this context, people need reliable and godly institutions.
“We are formed as believers by the text and the word that we immerse ourselves in, and we are also formed by the church and institutions like Christianity Today,” Voskamp said. “Christianity Today has been part of saving me—personally turning me into a more Christ-centered person. I truly believe that Christianity Today comes alongside the body of Christ to show us what it means to live as a gospel-centered witness in the world.”
Morgan Lee is the managing editor of Christianity Today’s global team
