Judging from social media alone, you might think that Christians and the Christian faith are in a very bad condition.

Graphs show downward trends in nearly every Christian denomination. Investigative tabloid-style journalism feeds me a stream of scandals among pastors and within churches. “Influencers” tell their stories of deconstructing. Social media experts on religion and politics tell me that evangelicals have hopelessly fallen into political idolatry.

To be clear: the scandals are grievous; people really do deconstruct their faith; and political idolatry is condemnable. But these corruptions are not the whole story. They are like a few trees crashing to the ground in a continent-wide forest. If you assess the entire forest on these occasional booms, you’d be ignoring the more massive amount of quiet but relentless growth happening all the time.

As a pastor, I see countless wonderful happenings that will never go viral. Like photosynthesis, these things are marvelous and constant, but not sensational. For example:

I see people moving toward Christ.

Polls show a declining number of denominational adherents. I’m in no position to dispute the findings of polls, but polls don’t shape what I do and see. Nearly every week, I get to talk to many people who are unexpectedly and inexplicably drawn to Christ, to attend church, to read their Bibles, and to seek salvation. In many cases, these are people who did not grow up attending church, or deliberately rejected the Christianity that they grew with. This is even more remarkable, considering that I live in one of the most secular states in the U.S. 

I see Christians staying faithful to Christ.

Stories of “deconstruction” get a lot of attention, but I talk to people who are persisting in trusting and following Christ—not because they are naive or content with the status quo. In fact, many of these people face pressures to compromise their faith. Rather than “deconstructing,” they are continually “reconstructing.” 

I see Christians loving and serving others.

Rage-stoking flaws and failures in churches move to the top of our news feed. Perhaps rightly so. But far more common is the sacrificial generosity and care that takes place among Christians. As a pastor, I have a front-row seat in this theater of love: warm meals are prepared and delivered to those in need; notes of encouragement are written; children in the foster system are adopted and loved; widows are cared for; hospital bills, car repairs, or furnace replacements are quietly provided for—and these things not from wealthy people looking after their own kin, but from people with modest means but  generous hearts who simply try to follow their Lord Jesus who said, “It is better to give than to receive.”

I don’t deny that churches can become places where sin grows in secrecy, even within leadership. But the Bible already told us to anticipate and look out for this (Acts 20:29; Revelation 2:20). And viewing these tragedies from the insulated bunker of our social media feed can make us cynical spectators instead of fellow pilgrims seeking repentance and restoration.

Your social media feed may never tell you this, but every day there are a thousand miracles worth celebrating.

*AI was not used in imagining, researching, writing, or editing this post.

**Featured picture is from https://www.britannica.com/topic/social-media