Faithful stewards

As our team is putting this issue together, the 28th annual World Journalism Institute collegiate course is just getting underway.

That milestone is encouraging, but it also raises a harder question: What does it take for a work like this to endure? Great Christian institutions, as I’ve written before, rarely last beyond a generation or two. When they do, they are rare blessings.

That shapes how we think about our work. We do not assume we will endure. Instead, we seek, by God’s grace, to be faithful stewards of what has been entrusted to us—and to use wisely the means He provides.

One of those means is the formation of people.

For nearly three decades, that has been the work of the World Journalism Institute. What began in 1999 as a single collegiate course has grown into a range of programs: internships with WORLD and other newsrooms, mid-career and young professionals courses, international training, and a network of alumni working across the country and around the world.

This year also marks our 10th year holding the collegiate course at Dordt University. Each class brings together students learning not only the craft of reporting, but also the habits and convictions required to practice it well. From these courses come young reporters prepared for the kind of work we have long sought to model.

In recent years, that same commitment has taken on a new dimension within WORLD. We have begun building a more intentional program of ongoing professional development for our own staff. Led by Paul Butler, our director of training, that effort is now entering its second year. We expect to continue increasing both the attention and the resources devoted to it, with long-term benefit for our audience and for the work itself.

Now for something new: We are building a yearlong WJI journalism fellowship.

There are other good journalism fellowships out there. Why start one at WORLD now?

Short answer: Ours will be different. Distinctively Christian, for one. Focused on reporting, as WORLD is. Vocational, not academic. Fellows will receive a stipend and some expense support for a full year. Beyond that, we will say more in time.

We have been working on this quietly since last fall, when we brought on our first fellow. One reason for keeping it low-key is simple: The program is still being built, and our first fellow is helping us work out the kinks.

We intend to build the program slowly. In the coming year, we expect to add only one or two fellows. The long-term goal is modest—perhaps 10 fellows annually—but even that will take time.

That pace is deliberate. Formation does not scale easily. It requires attention, patience, and a willingness to invest deeply in a few.

From the beginning, WORLD has taken deliberate steps to guard its mission. This work through WJI is one way we continue that effort.

We will have more to say about the fellowship as it develops. For now, we ask you to pray—for the students in this month’s course, for those who will take part in the programs ahead, and for the work of our staff toward training young journalists.

Whether this work endures for generations is in God’s hands. Our task is to be faithful with the means He has given us.