WORLD Notes: Haitian ministries cultivate gardens of gospel hope

For the second year in a row, I am attending a gathering of Christian ministries working in Haiti. A few of these ministries are large and well known. Most are not. Most depend on the labor of one or two founders, and whoever those founders can rally to the work.

News reporting frequently focuses, understandably, on the immense problems facing Haiti. But another story deserves attention: the faithful work of dozens of small, locally led ministries that carry on despite extraordinary obstacles to cultivate small gardens of gospel hope.

It is the Creation Mandate and the Great Commission wrapped together. It is patient work. It rarely makes headlines. But it endures.

WORLD Watch carries the motto, “Whatever the news, the purpose of the Lord will stand.” If you want to see that truth lived out, start paying attention to the many ministries serving faithfully in Haiti.

At the other end of the spectrum—demographically and geographically—are tiny island communities scattered across the oceans of the globe. One of them is Kosrae, an island state in the Federated States of Micronesia that I have visited. Only a few thousand people live there, compared to nearly 12 million in Haiti, but the challenges can feel just as difficult.

Only one Christian organization works on the island: a small, founder-led ministry called Grateful Ministries. God is at work there too, allowing steady faithfulness to bear fruit over time.

May we be faithful to report on all of God’s work in the world—especially when it is quiet, patient, and easy to overlook.

Ever wonder how artificial intelligence might change the news business? We think about it often, partly because it is advancing quickly, and partly because WORLD has been here before.

WORLD exists today because our founder, Joel Belz, recognized that new tools could extend faithful journalism far beyond what a small staff and modest resources would otherwise allow. He embraced desktop publishing when it was mainly used to print office memos—effectively hacking the early Macintosh to build a national newsmagazine while others relied on expensive legacy systems and networks. We were early adopters of remote work, when dial-up was the norm and before broadband made it easy. That allowed us to add employees without the cost of relocation.

AI presents a similar moment. It is already changing the way people do research. Even basic web searches are no longer the same. AI-generated answers now sit atop search results—most of the time helpfully, occasionally not. Honestly, I prefer the AI to the algorithm. So whether we welcome it or not, AI is now part of the information environment. Anyone who has searched for a Supreme Court case or breaking news recently has already seen this shift.

WORLD has rules for AI use in our newsroom, aimed at protecting human skill, judgment, and accountability. At the same time, we believe responsible stewardship means testing and evaluating new tools.

That experimentation happens under human direction. AI does not replace reporting, sourcing, or editorial judgment at WORLD. Human editors are fully responsible for everything we publish. Where AI plays a visible or material role in what readers see or hear, we will be clear about how we use it.

One early example we are exploring is an optional article-­listening feature on our website. This tool uses AI to read staff-written articles aloud for readers who prefer listening to reading. It does not make editorial decisions but simply offers a different way to experience our journalism that has already been reported, edited, and approved by people.

We plan to introduce such tools carefully and incrementally. The goal is not to replace human work, but to support it. Joel Belz understood that technology, wisely used, could extend faithful journalism rather than diminish it. That remains our aim today: to use what helps, refuse what harms, and steward new tools in a way that strengthens trust.