Joel Belz (August 10, 1941 – February 4, 2024) 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. 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.
When 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. However, his printing press broke after he dropped the machine while moving it downstairs to the school basement. He 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. In 1964, 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.
Publishing career
In 1977, he moved with his family to Asheville, North Carolina and started working for The Presbyterian Journal, a theologically conservative news publication, eventually becoming interim editor. In 1981, Belz founded the publication It's God's World