On Sunday, February 4, 2024, Joel Belz, a former professor and board member at Covenant, passed away at the age of 82. His story is an inspiring one for both Covenant College and the wider Evangelical Christian community. His legacy and efforts to champion the Gospel are significant, so here are some of the elements of his story as we remember him.
Joel Belz. Photo taken by Jeff Wales for World News Group
Joel Belz was an integral member of the Covenant community. He graduated from a young and developing Covenant College in 1962 (while the campus was still in St. Louis). In 1963, he was sent by Covenant College to scout out the abandoned hotel on Lookout Mountain. There, he stayed for three months, researching the area and helping the college gauge the move to Georgia based on the local situation. After Covenant made its move, Belz worked in its public relations office for a short time.
After obtaining his master’s in communications and journalism, Belz returned to Lookout Mountain to teach logic and English at Covenant. He was influential in making the Bagpipe totally student run, encouraging staff/faculty to allow students full editing power, and developing this important part of this publication as the opportunity for students to develop as writers and journalists. He founded what is now known as Chattanooga Christian School, remaining involved at Covenant as a board member and working closely with the proceeding presidents and staff. Belz Tower in Founders remains home to many students, indicating how his legacy remains not only in the work he did but also in the very architecture of Covenant College.
The work that Belz is best known for is his founding of World News Group, one of the largest and most popular Christian publications in the United States. His work in trailblazing Christian journalism truly has no measure, as he revolutionized views on how Christians can write about news, as well as promoting education for young people hoping to enter the field while maintaining their faith.
Belz once stated: “For so many people, church and religion are Sunday morning only, and from 11 a.m. to noon only, and then you forget about it for the rest of the week. …There is no engagement of those principles with what happens the rest of the week.” After creating the World News Group, this reality changed. Belz helped encourage bringing a biblical worldview into everyday news and journalism. His work and that of WNG was so impactful that big secular publications praise it, especially for its ability to call out wrongs and injustice in the world.
The New York Times mentions World’s faithfulness to the truth, stating: “For World’s journalists, [this] means not looking the other way when influential religious figures and organizations commit ungodly behavior.” It was this commitment to seeing the Bible and its truth spread that led to his powerful change and impact on the world.
Belz accomplished these things and so much more: from his legacy at Covenant to that of Christian journalism, we as Christian scholars can be inspired to seek truth, beauty and Gospel in whatever we do. For more information about Joel Belz’ accomplishments and story simply google his name! WNG, Christianity Today, The New York Times and many more publications all speak to the incredible legacy of Joel Belz. His impact is far from complete, and there is so much encouragement that we as students can draw from his example. Even as broken sinners, simply seeking to bring Christ to the forefront of our lives shines a light in a dark world.