Unraveling the Powerful Story Behind Jenna Johnson’s Viral “The Goodness of God” Video

In late 2022, a simple yet profound video started making the rounds on social media that struck a profound chord with millions of viewers around the world. In the clips, a woman can be seen walking alone through a church, singing an impassioned rendition of the popular worship song “The Goodness of God” by Bethel Music.

Her deep, soulful vocals reverberate powerfully off the sacred space’s vaulted ceilings and stained glass as her face fills with unmistakable emotion and conviction. At one point she even breaks down in tears, overcome with feeling as she belts out the song’s poignant bridge: “All my life, you have been faithful…”

Viral Flooding of The Video

Within weeks, that clip of the mystery singer went massively viral across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, being shared by everyone from celebrity actors and musicians to preachers and everyday people who found her raw, spiritual performance incredibly moving.

Eventually, it was revealed that the woman in the video was Jenna Johnson, a professional dancer and choreographer best known for appearances on shows like So You Think You Can Dance and Dancing with the Stars. The video was captured during an intimate worship moment at her home church, The Fabulous Church in Huntersville, North Carolina.

How it Gained Popularity

As the video’s popularity exploded online, Johnson remained relatively quiet, letting the organic impact of her powerful rendition speak for itself. However, in a recent interview, the 29-year-old opened up about the deeply personal story behind her spiritual journey that gave so much weight and emotion to her viral performance of “The Goodness of God.”

“That song, and that whole album from Bethel Music, became the soundtrack to one of the most difficult seasons of my life over the past couple of years,” Johnson revealed. “Its lyrics and message literally sustained me through a valley of fear, hopelessness, and loss that made me question so much about my faith.”

Johnson explained that in 2021, she and her husband Val Chmerkovskiy (her longtime partner on Dancing with the Stars) had been overjoyed to learn they were expecting their first child together. As an artist who always wanted to be a mom, the news filled Johnson with tremendous excitement and gratitude.

Sadly, that joy was horribly shattered when, at around 15 weeks into the pregnancy, Johnson went into sudden labor and delivered an impossibly tiny baby boy who did not survive. She had suffered a devastating late-term miscarriage.

“Losing our son in that way absolutely crushed me physically, mentally, and spiritually,” Johnson admitted, her voice cracking with emotion. “I’d never felt pain like that before. We had been dreaming about this baby for so long and planning out his entire future. Then in an instant, those hopes were gone.”

Getting Through Depression

In the weeks and months that followed, Johnson fell into a state of deep depression and grief that made her question everything about her faith and her understanding of God’s goodness. All of the Bible verses and worship songs she had once clung to for spiritual strength suddenly felt hollow amid her grappling with such unfathomable loss.

It was during this period of anger, confusion, and spiritual drought that a friend gave her a copy of the new album “Homecoming” from the acclaimed worship collective Bethel Music. From the very first time I heard the soaring overture and rousing anthems of songs like “The Goodness of God,” “Grateful” and “Overshadowed,” they started to cut through the darkness I had been living in,” Johnson shared.

The worshipful lyrics celebrating God’s faithfulness, love, and sovereignty resonated so powerfully that Johnson says she would put the album on repeat, letting the emotional music and words slowly soften and heal her grieving heart. She gained strength from the songs’ assertions that even in life’s darkest valleys and moments of pain, God’s grace and goodness endure.

“I’d find myself listening to ‘The Goodness of God’ over and over again, letting it re-instill hope, perseverance, and a sense of childlike wonder in the heart I almost lost,” Johnson explained. “That song became my personal mantra, my declaration of truth that I desperately needed to cling to.”

It was in the midst of privately rediscovering her faith through that album that the idea was born to record herself singing “The Goodness of God” in the sacred space of her home church as a form of personal catharsis. One morning before services, Johnson’s friend started filming her from the balcony as she entered the empty sanctuary and began belting out the words she had grown to lean on so heavily.

“I wanted to capture the very visceral feelings and experiences I’d just walked through while this song and message penetrated my soul during some of my darkest days,” she said. The resulting footage speaks for itself, showcasing the young artist’s transcendent vocals while laying bare the range of complex emotions transforming across her face.

So powerful was the raw sincerity of Johnson’s performance that her friend shared the clip privately with a few loved ones and church members, never expecting it to be released or shared publicly. However, one of those initial few recipients felt the setting and Johnson’s story were so incredibly poignant that the video demanded a wider audience.

The person uploaded the clip to social media without Johnson’s knowledge, and that’s when it went massively viral before anyone could really process what was happening. Despite the unexpectedly public nature of the video’s release, Johnson views it as a blessing in disguise.

“When I saw it was out there being shared on such a massive scale, my first reaction was to be a bit embarrassed because I never intended it to be so widely seen,” she admitted. “But then I started reading the comments and messages from people sharing how deeply it resonated with them during their own struggles, and I realized this was much bigger than me.”

From young mothers who had also experienced the devastation of miscarriage, to soldiers grappling with PTSD, to ordinary people simply going through a crisis of faith or Purpose, Johnson found that her personal journey through the darkness resonated on a universal level. Her profoundly stirring performance reaffirmed the power of worship to sustain the soul through life’s most excruciating trials.

“It was humbling to realize that a song and experience that had helped resuscitate my belief in God’s goodness could now have the same healing effect for others going through a season of hopelessness or doubt in their lives too,” Johnson said.

For her part, Johnson has since been overjoyed to become pregnant again, surely aided by the process of re-affirmation and hope she experienced by clinging to the lyrics of “The Goodness of God.” Now, when she finds herself overwhelmed by emotion on stage or the dance floor, she can dig a little deeper, having come through a dark night that strengthened her artistry and spirit.

When it comes to the video that continues to inspire millions worldwide with its authenticity and spiritual conviction, Johnson is just grateful it unlocked the ability to share her very personal story of loss and redemption with a wider audience.

“If my journey through that valley and the peace I ultimately found in God’s faithfulness can help open someone else’s eyes to that goodness and give them comfort, then I can’t ask for anything more.”