Joel Belz was an American publisher who was the founder of WORLD News Group, which began with It's God's World for Children in 1981 and today includes all of the God's World News magazines for students; WORLD magazine, a biweekly Christian newsmagazine, launched in 1986; the World Journalism Institute, started in 1999; WORLD Watch, a daily video news program for students; various news websites; and a daily news podcast.
15 Facts About Joel Belz
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Joel Belz was raised in the grain and lumber business, but learned the importance of the print media when his parents opened up a printing business out of their home.
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When Joel Belz was eleven years old, he learned how to operate a linotype press and attempted to start a printing business as a freshman at Covenant College.
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Joel Belz earned a BA in English from Covenant College in St Louis, Missouri in 1962 and an MA in communications from the University of Iowa.
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Joel Belz served as a board member for Covenant College for decades, teaching logic and English, and was a member and elder in the Presbyterian Church in America.
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In 1964, Joel Belz helped the college move from St Louis, Missouri to Lookout Mountain, Georgia and helped found Lookout Mountain Christian School, which today operates as Chattanooga Christian School.
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Joel Belz became heavily involved with Asheville Christian Academy, the school his daughters attended, joining the board of directors.
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Joel Belz helped found Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church in 1980 and remained a member until his death.
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In 1981, Joel Belz founded the publication It's God's World for middle school aged children and subsequently launched similar publications for other age groups.
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However, Joel Belz persuaded The Presbyterian Journal board members to shut down and reallocate their resources to WORLD, which relaunched the following year.
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Joel Belz's family became heavily involved in the business, with his brother designing the magazine layout and his sister-in-law writing many columns and training other journalists.
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Joel Belz helped start the World Journalism Institute in 1999 to train journalists who are Christians that are committed to factual reporting.
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In November 2009, Joel Belz signed an ecumenical statement known as the Manhattan Declaration, calling on evangelicals, Catholics, and Eastern Orthodox Christians to promote a pro-life culture and support the Biblical definition of marriage, the lifelong union between one man and one woman.
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Joel Belz married Carol Esther Jackson in 1975 and moved in 1977 to Asheville, North Carolina, where they raised five daughters together.
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Joel Belz died there, reportedly of Parkinson's disease, on February 4,2024 at the age of 82.