Some of the stories we publish at Christianity Today are “clicky.” They’re news reports about well-known people or organizations. They’re opinion pieces with provocative titles. They’re movie reviews of the year’s biggest films.
But some of our most compelling, important, and inspiring stories are not clicky. They are reported from lesser-known places—lesser-known, at least, for a segment of our Western audience. They make nuanced arguments that aren’t easily captured in headlines. They have wonderful details and sharp sentences. But you won’t know that until after you click.
Here are 15 of those kinds of stories from this year. You’ll find Kenyan Christians eating fish and playing hymns and learning Chinese to evangelize their neighbors. You’ll learn about the ministries trying to stop exploitative cyberscamming around the world. You’ll be encouraged by an important birthday call from the International Space Station.
You’ll read reflections on doubt and scarcity and fracture and repair. And you’ll encounter some of those sharp sentences. Some of my favorites, from the final essay on this list: “I reached for my Bible and ran my fingers over the puckered pages. To whom else could I go? The Lord has the words of eternal life, and I’m a complete sucker for him.”
Called to Kenya’s Chinatowns
Sophia Lee
Even other Christians thought it was strange when two Kenyans wanted to evangelize their Chinese neighbors.
Fractured Are the Peacemakers
Sophia Lee in Israel and Palestine
A Christian reconciliation group in Israel and Palestine warned that war would come. Now the war threatens their relevance.
A Mother Tortured at Her Keyboard. A Donor Swindled. An Ambassador on Her Knees.
By Erin Foley in Mae Sot, Thailand
Meet the Christians ensnared by cyberscamming and the ministries trying to stop it.
The Return of the Hymnal
Kelsey Kramer McGinnis
Evangelicals seeking permanence and rootedness are reclaiming the practice of singing out of books.
When the Elder Calls—From Outer Space
Emily Belz
Two sick church members in their 90s got a pastoral “visit” from a friend—an astronaut stuck on the International Space Station.
Wrestling with Awkward Stories in the Old Testament
Carmen Joy Imes
Cringeworthy passages can derail our yearly Bible reading plans. How do we interpret them?
Put Away Your Swords
Esau McCaulley
Jesus used his final moments with his disciples before the crucifixion to heal his opponent’s ear—and model the way of love.
Doubt Is a Ladder, Not a Home
Brad East
Churches should welcome questions. That doesn’t require embracing perpetual doubt.
Scarcity’s Strange Gifts
Myles Werntz
Church attendance is down. Giving is iffy. Ministers are tired. But God is with us in lean times too.
The Struggle to Hold It Together When a Church Falls Apart
Jeannie Whitlock
How do we carry on when there’s more confusion and hurt than clarity and healing?
Go Slow and Repair Things
Tish Harrison Warren
We’re facing huge problems in our culture—problems an election alone can’t solve. But by God’s grace, we can do the small, daily work of repair.
The Evangelical Diploma Divide
Daniel K. Williams
How a new class division burst into American evangelicalism—and what it means for church unity.
How to Make Friends at Church
Nadya Williams
It’s tough to plunge into a new congregation. Here’s how to get your head above water.
I Didn’t Want a Baby. I Wanted This Baby.
Faith Chang
Mourning miscarriage means acknowledging the particular life that’s been lost.
In Succor and Silence
Wendy Kiyomi
On praying past the end of silver linings to a God who often does not answer as I hope.
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