WORLD News Group founder Joel Belz died this past weekend after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. In the early 1980s, Belz launched a newspaper targeting middle-schoolers to help them see the world from a Christian perspective. Eventually, publications were added for other age groups, and after growing interest in a similar publication for adults, Belz launched WORLD Magazine in 1986. It quickly became an evangelical staple as a media outlet and training ground for Christian journalists. 

G.K. Chesterton once said, “This is the age in which thin and theoretic minorities can cover and conquer unconscious and untheoretic majorities.” Put another way, an ill-informed mind makes for a weak faith. It was against this threat that Joel Belz battled. He leaves behind decades of service to Christ’s Church, a trusted institution, a lengthy body of work, and a new generation of journalists and writers who stand on his shoulders.