In our media-saturated age, it’s easy to see only signs of cultural decay and forget that this cultural moment is still part of God’s grand story of the world from creation, to fall, to redemption, to restoration.

That’s why I always look forward to WORLD Magazine’s annual Hope awards.

A carpentry business employing and discipling ex-prisoners, addicts, and the homeless. An inner-city Christian school that only accepts students who have at least one parent in prison, and provides education, spiritual and physical nourishment, and a safe space—in the true sense of the word. And then there’s an organization in Scotland that is planting churches, running after-school classes, offering reading groups, weight reduction classes, and more—all in public housing areas.

All of these are stories about how God is at work in the world, using ordinary Christians. My colleague Warren Cole Smith often shares these kind of stories in his “Restoring All Things” column.

You can learn more about WORLD magazine’s HOPE Awards here.

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