Retreat offers remote team opportunity for in-person work

Every couple of years we try to gather the whole WORLD staff in one place. For a largely remote news organization, that takes some planning.

Before arriving, most of our teams worked ahead to lighten the daily load. Even so, the retreat was not time away from the work so much as a different way of doing it. Each day included several hours of in-person work with our teams—something that rarely happens the rest of the year.

Our theme for the week came from Psalm 34:3: “Oh, magnify the LORD with me, and let us exalt his name together!”

That verse shaped the rhythm of the retreat. Each morning began with singing and a devotional, and each evening we gathered again for worship. For a newsroom, it was a helpful reminder that our work is done for God’s glory, not our own.

This year we met at The Cove, the Billy Graham Training Center just outside Asheville. It is only a short drive from our offices, but it feels removed enough to allow people to slow down a bit. Sharing meals in the dining room and staying on the same property meant fewer logistical distractions and more time simply being together.

We also used the week for training. Paul Butler, our director of training, organized several optional sessions on specific skills and topics, and we hosted a series of organization-wide discussions with guest speakers.

But as has often been the case with our retreats, some of the most memorable moments were not on the schedule—late-night conversations, music, hikes in the surrounding hills, and time around the bonfire with colleagues who usually interact only through meetings and online messages.

I cannot say the week left anyone well rested. But it did leave us encouraged—reminded again of the remarkable group of people God has brought together to do this work. We returned to our desks tired, perhaps, but filled up and ready to press ahead.

And there is plenty of work ahead.

One of the most important tasks now underway at WORLD is building our budget for the next fiscal year, which begins July 1.

Budgeting is about numbers, of course. But more fundamentally, it is about priorities. It forces us to ask difficult questions about what we should pursue next and where we should invest our time and resources.

The full board ultimately approves the annual budget, but the process involves dozens of staff members and a board committee focused on financial oversight. Our chief financial officer, Michele Bartlett, coordinates the effort and will be especially busy in the months ahead.

Part of her task is bringing a measure of realism to the optimistic assumptions and ambitious ideas that naturally arise when people care deeply about their work.

By the time the process is complete, we usually arrive at a healthy balance—a plan grounded in reality but still bold about the work we hope to do.

And when the budget is finalized, I look forward to telling you more about some of those plans for the year ahead.