It can feel like every headline about Minnesota lately carries heavy, discouraging news. But that’s not the whole story. Quietly, consistently, and often without recognition, good things are happening all around us. Lives are being changed. People are showing up for one another. Seeds of faith, kindness, and service are being planted every day.
I’m seeing it firsthand in my own small neck of the woods, and if it’s happening here, I believe it’s happening everywhere. Let’s start noticing it, sharing it, and talking about it. Here are TEN powerful stories of Good Things happening in Minnesota!
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1: Showing up before the sun comes up:
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On cold mornings, in the middle of packed schedules — even on finals day — more than 100 high school students are waking up early for a breakfast Bible study. At 6:45 a.m., instead of hitting snooze, students are showing up for truth, community, and purpose (plus bacon and eggs). In a world that often says teens are checked out from faith, these students are showing us something different — they’re engaged, intentional, and choosing what matters most.
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2: People Who Keep Showing Up
Week after week, people from our community faithfully show up on Wednesday nights to invest in students. These are adults and teens who give their time, energy, and care simply because they believe the next generation matters. Some of the leaders are teenagers themselves, choosing to pour into middle school students and mentor those just a few years behind them. And one volunteer, even while battling cancer, continues to show up and serve, determined to give back and make a difference. That kind of commitment speaks louder than words. It’s a living picture of compassion, resilience, and love in action.
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3: Courage to Walk In Alone
Wednesday night student ministry is drawing teenagers who have never been connected to church before. One girl from a non-faith background was invited by a friend and began attending regularly. When her friend couldn’t come one week, she still showed up, alone. That kind of courage is powerful.
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4: Dinner and Conversations
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Another meaningful source of good in our lives has been the growing friendship with neighbors who recently immigrated here on a green card. We’ve been sharing regular dinners together, learning about each other’s traditions, foods, and everyday experiences.
Hearing firsthand what life was like for them growing up under a communist system has been especially eye-opening for my sons. It has given them a deeper understanding of freedoms they’ve always known but never fully appreciated. Those shared stories have sparked gratitude, perspective, and thoughtful conversations. It reminds us all how powerful it is to learn from one another and to appreciate the blessings we often take for granted.
This family attended a Christmas Eve service and heard the Good News for the very first time. I gave them their very first Bible. Imagine that moment – hearing a message of hope that is completely new, completely life-altering … and the story has just begun.
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5: Serving Selflessly
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Recently, my son George and one of his friends chose to spend their day off from school volunteering at a local community outreach center. No requirement. No reward. Just two young men deciding their free time could be used to serve others. They gave their time, their energy, and their willingness to help. That’s the kind of character that strengthens a community from the ground up.
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6: The Best Morning Ever
Our local church opened a new campus and I invited several students to serve with me in children’s ministry. After the service, one girl told her mom it was one of her favorite mornings of her entire life. Think about that … in a world full of activities, entertainment, and endless options, serving others stood out as something deeply fulfilling. Even more encouraging, she and other students have kept coming back to serve again and again.
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7: Friends finding hope
Families are being impacted as well. I invited one of my mom friends to come to church with me on Sunday. She hadn’t attended church in over twenty years and now can’t stop talking about the hope and encouragement she’s experiencing.
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8: He Came to Look… and Stayed to Serve
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Before our new church campus opened, connections were already forming. When services were held at a local high school, the custodian who cleaned up afterward would often chat with us. When our campus launched, he came to check it out. Not only did he decide to stay, he signed up to serve!
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9: Winter Joy!
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Another piece of good news is simply watching kids and teenagers grow up with so much to enjoy right here in Minnesota. They’re climbing up snow hills and sledding down, skiing and doing ‘tricks’ – see video below, ice skating (in the land of 10,000 ice rinks!), and playing basketball. They are laughing, moving, and fully living their childhoods. Even in the middle of long winters, there is joy, community, and energy everywhere you look. These ordinary moments are shaping resilient, active kids who know how to make the most of every season.
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10. Bus Stop Bliss
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And sometimes, the good news shows up in the smallest, most unexpected ways. Every morning, Luke’s bus driver gives Wrigley a treat at the bus stop. When winter break ended and the kids were dragging their feet about going back to school, Wrigley couldn’t get to the bus stop fast enough. That simple, consistent kindness, and small gesture, turned a hard transition into something to smile about. It’s a reminder that joy doesn’t always come from big events, but from people choosing to be kind in little ways.
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These stories may never make major headlines. They won’t dominate social media feeds. But they matter. They reflect courage, generosity, faith, and service lived out in ordinary places by ordinary people.
Yes, hard things are happening. But so is healing. So is compassion. So is transformation. So is hope.
Good news is being written every single day – in classrooms, in neighborhoods, in churches, in outreach centers, and in the hearts of people who choose to care for others.
Each story is worth telling.
Please share some good news that’s happening in YOUR neck of the woods!
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