DALLAS — We have a saying at The Christian Chronicle: “There’s nothing Calvin can’t do.”
In fact, we must resist the temptation to pile more and more duties on our friend and colleague.
Calvin Cockrell, 30, earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the University of Alabama, maintaining a perfect 4.0 GPA each time.
Calvin joined the Chronicle in 2021 as a part-time writer, editor and social media manager. In 2025, God provided the opportunity for us to hire him full time as our managing editor.
He helps coordinate coverage strategy, contributors and online and print publication. He crafts a weekly email newsletter along with social media posts highlighting the Chronicle’s articles.
Calvin has reported from seven states. Besides writing, he contributes photos, videos and reviews. He launched the Chronicle’s TikTok and grew it to 17,000 followers, with regular engagement and a viral video that reached 4.5 million views. He also published a Facebook post that reached 3 million views.
Calvin Cockrell, fifth from left, poses for a group photo with fellow Christian Chronicle staff members during a meeting in Dallas. Also pictured, from left, are Cheryl Mann Bacon, Sawmi Sektak, Bobby Ross Jr., Erik Tryggestad, Melinda Wilson and Alan Phillips.
See what I mean? There’s nothing Calvin can’t do.
That’s why I nominated him for the Evangelical Press Association’s 2026 Emerging Journalist Award — and why all of us at the Chronicle were so excited when the EPA recently announced him as the winner.
“The first time I met Calvin was on a Zoom call,” said Erik Tryggestad, the Chronicle’s president and CEO. “I honestly thought that his screen kept freezing, but then I realized that he was just being really still and really quiet.
“He’s a man of few words, but he’s one of the brightest, hardest-working and most dependable people I’ve ever met,” Erik added. “The thing I appreciate most about Calvin is the initiative he takes without any kind of prompting. When you ask Calvin for a hamburger, he gives you a steak. He makes the Chronicle better, and I think he makes all of us better, too.”
Calvin and his wife, Katie, have a 2-year-old daughter, Violet. The family lives in his native Alabama, where he serves as the minister for young adults at the North Tuscaloosa Church of Christ.
Calvin Cockrell, left, receives the 2026 Emerging Journalist Award from Dwight Widaman, president of the Evangelical Press Association. The honor was announced at EPA’s recent national convention in Franklin, Tenn., south of Nashville.
Most of the Chronicle staff is based in Oklahoma City, so we don’t see Calvin often in person. But we enjoyed catching up with him during a recent meeting of the Chronicle’s national board of trustees in Dallas.
“It’s been a huge blessing from God to be a part of the awesome team at The Christian Chronicle and help share the good work of the church among our fellowship,” Calvin said of winning the Emerging Journalist Award.
BOBBY ROSS JR. is Editor-in-Chief of The Christian Chronicle. Reach him at bobby@christianchronicle.org.
