Christianity Today, New York Times, And Sour Grapes

The free fall of Christianity Today has reverberated outside of Evangelicalism, with numerous outlets taking notice. Ruth Graham, a New York Times religion correspondent, wrote an article titled “Why a Pillar of Christian Journalism is in Turmoil” originally framing Christianity Today as a centrist publication. But the article provides incites as to how the laid off at Christianity Today see themselves and the former employer.

Indeed, these journalists viewed their profession with a sense of nobility. And with the collaspe of Christianity Today, they report the direction of the outlet away from journalism and more towards modern audiences.

Last year, leaders of the evangelical publication Christianity Today summoned the entire staff to a hotel ballroom in the Chicago suburbs for a meeting about their future.

The publication’s chief operating officer, Nicole Massie Martin, opened her presentation with a Bible verse from the Old Testament about rejoicing even in dark times, “though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food.” Then Thomas Addington, the interim president, delivered a blunt message: Christianity Today’s reputation as a staid voice of intellectual centrist evangelicalism — embodied by its proximity to Wheaton College in Illinois — had to change.

Christianity Today needed to be less like Wheaton and more like TikTok, Mr. Addington told his staff, according to several people who attended the meeting. Warning that layoffs were coming, he ended his presentation with a prayer. A senior editor left the room in tears.

Fourteen months later, more than half of the 79 employees at that time have either been laid off or resigned, including an editor in chief and four of the company’s longest-tenured journalists.

In interviews, a number of employees who have departed since the meeting in 2025 said that the changes at Christianity Today seemed to be about more than stabilizing its finances. Its new leaders, they believe, are abandoning the publication’s longtime commitment to independent journalism, a record that includes investigating accounts of misconduct by high-profile evangelicals.

Less like Wheaton (a liberal cesspool of a college) and more like TikTok is the line that stands out about Christianity Today’s alleged direction.

Christianity Today has shed its international assets, probably because Gloo Connect made a ridiculous offer on them. Nevertheless, the journalistic mission of Christianity Today was called into question. However, the TikTok charicaterization, even from an adversarial perspective appears outlandish. A quick peruse of Christianity Today shows run of the mill articles, book reviews, and liberal opinion pieces. Not much looks different.

But suppose TikTok was a reference to a greater emphasis on video content. By the way this is not a recent pivot in journalism. Many outlets: BuzzFeed, Vox, Vice, Slate, etc all turned to video content in the 2010s. And none of them successfully staved off their financial ruin. This desperate strategy would explain why Erik Petrik, their podcast producer, was named editor-in-chief.

Headless Chicken

Petrik’s early tenure has been a disaster, and the Elisabeth Elliot debacle is a prime example. Christianity Today’s does not do the numbers on YouTube, which mostly consists of Russell Moore’s audio podcast. But YouTube is not some infinite money glitch that they can simply turn on. It’s an algorithm that must be cultivated even when ad rates aren’t great. Suffice to say they likely could not break even on the overhead needed to maintain the channel based on how they operate.

Thus, the real problem with Christianity Today is not their commitment to journalism or lack thereof; it’s their unprofitability. The outlet has increasingly been reliant on dark money grants instead of operating revenue. The TikTok direction does not change this.

The Christian Post Model

More practically, Christianity Today could be like Christian Post and sell out its journalism to various groups, even foreign interests. Christianity Today does occasionally publish sponsored content. But Christian Post regularly publishes press releases as news, and religious NGOs are a reliable customer base for this type of coverage. This is more tenable a path for Christianity Today and would align with a perceived loss of mission.

Conclusion

I view much of the testimony from former employees as naturally unreliable and skewed. Christianity Today would inevitably struggle because traditional outlets have too much bloat for a job that can be done by one man, with a camera and a computer. Lofty outlets with no moat are going to be vulnerable. Christianity Today relied on being a nonprofit but what happens when the dark money runs dry? It’s is this we are seeing, and it will be interesting to watch.