God's World Publications, Inc.

The information on this page was last updated 5/9/2023. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]


Summary

Since 1981, WORLD News Group has provided Biblically sound journalism that informs, educates, and inspires, to believers around the world. We began with print magazines for both adults and students, and added digital (web) news coverage along the way. Our podcast news programs followed, and then, in 2020, we introduced video news programs for students.


Contact information

Mailing address:
God's World Publications, Inc.
PO Box 2330
Asheville, NC 28802

Website: wng.org

Phone: (828) 435-2982

Email: [email protected]


Organization details

EIN: 560538016

CEO/President: Kevin Martin

Chairman: John Ward Weiss

Board size: 10

Founder: Joel Belz

Ruling year: 1981

Tax deductible: Yes

Fiscal year end: 06/30

Member of ECFA: No

Member of ECFA since:


Purpose

WORLD News Group produces sound journalism, grounded in facts and biblical truth. Through print magazines, robust online news and commentary, video news programs for young people, and podcast programs, our trained journalists report on current events both global and national so that readers and listeners can see how God is at work in the world, no matter the headlines.


Mission statement

Biblically Objective Journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.


Statement of faith

1. God exists eternally in three persons, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. He is the sovereign Creator of the heavens and the earth and everything that is in them. He also sovereignly governs all His creatures and all their actions after the counsels of His own will.

2. God communicates with mankind through the revelation of Himself. Without His initiative, human beings would never know Him. In His creation, God reveals His eternal power and dominion. In Jesus Christ, His Son, who was born of a virgin and who was and is fully God and fully man, He revealed Himself and his providence uniquely. Today, God is known in His written Word, the Bible, which is the inerrant and altogether authoritative revelation of Himself for us in all matters. The Holy Spirit applies that word and opens our eyes to its meaning, even as He opens our hearts to its application.

3. Mankind, having been first created in the image of God, fell from that happy condition by sinning against God. All human beings since Adam and Eve have inherited their sinful natures, corrupting our behavior, our understanding, and our emotions.

4. God, through the sacrificial death and bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ, has lovingly redeemed a people who are commanded to believe in Him and to live holy lives through the enablement of the Holy Spirit. After Christ's bodily return to this earth to claim His people, they will reign with Him in the life to come. Those who do not believe will be judged by God and made subject to his eternal punishment.

We seek to be faithful to all of these truths as we explore the great themes of the Bible, God's creation, man's fall, Christ's redemption, and our eternal hope as the structural framework of a uniquely Christian world and life view.

Donor confidence score

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Transparency grade

C

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Financial efficiency ratings

Sector: Educational Media

CategoryRatingOverall rankSector rank
Overall efficiency rating648 of 107632 of 47
Fund acquisition rating772 of 107733 of 47
Resource allocation rating923 of 107743 of 47
Asset utilization rating118 of 10766 of 47

Financial ratios

Funding ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts =
Fundraising expense /
Total contributions
8%15%17%16%10%10%
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total revenue
7%8%7%7%4%4%
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance =
Total contributions /
Total revenue
94%51%45%46%41%35%
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio =
Fundraising expense /
Total expenses
7%8%8%8%5%4%
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance =
Total other revenue /
Total revenue
6%49%55%54%59%65%
 
Operating ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio =
Program services /
Total expenses
82%72%74%72%75%80%
Spending ratio Spending ratio =
Total expenses /
Total revenue
87%95%93%93%93%98%
Program output ratio Program output ratio =
Program services /
Total revenue
69%68%69%68%70%78%
Savings ratio Savings ratio =
Surplus (deficit) /
Total revenue
13%5%7%7%7%2%
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate =
Surplus (deficit) /
Net assets
21%89%1041%-104%-52%-12%
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio =
Management and general expense /
Total expenses
12%20%18%20%21%17%
 
Investing ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total assets
0.792.022.383.353.753.68
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment =
Total assets /
Total current assets
1.651.221.391.922.252.28
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover =
Total expenses /
Total current assets
1.342.483.306.438.448.38
 
Liquidity ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Current ratio Current ratio =
Total current assets /
Total current liabilities
13.471.120.760.450.320.27
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio =
Total current liabilities /
Total current assets
0.070.891.322.253.133.68
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level =
(Total current assets -
Total current liabilities) /
(Total expenses / 12)
7.320.52-1.16-2.33-3.03-3.84
 
Solvency ratiosSector median20202019201820172016
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio =
Total liabilities /
Total assets
12%89%98%122%150%172%
Debt ratio Debt ratio =
Debt /
Total assets
0%16%3%5%11%11%
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio =
Net assets /
Total expenses
104%5%1%-7%-13%-20%

Financials

Balance sheet
 
Assets20202019201820172016
Cash$3,945,638$2,358,463$925,513$497,040$287,273
Receivables, inventories, prepaids$349,436$519,649$502,138$610,384$860,349
Short-term investments$6,039$7,199$7,071$6,981$12,776
Other current assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total current assets$4,301,113$2,885,311$1,434,722$1,114,405$1,160,398
Long-term investments$0$0$0$0$0
Fixed assets$793,322$805,320$757,312$696,960$789,931
Other long-term assets$170,290$307,331$557,488$698,633$695,437
Total long-term assets$963,612$1,112,651$1,314,800$1,395,593$1,485,368
Total assets$5,264,725$3,997,962$2,749,522$2,509,998$2,645,766
 
Liabilities20202019201820172016
Payables and accrued expenses$690,882$504,314$287,355$626,732$674,609
Other current liabilities$3,147,950$3,299,666$2,936,533$2,864,054$3,597,466
Total current liabilities$3,838,832$3,803,980$3,223,888$3,490,786$4,272,075
Debt$854,354$128,258$144,137$279,887$289,847
Due to (from) affiliates$0$0$0$0$0
Other long-term liabilities$0$0$0$0$0
Total long-term liabilities$854,354$128,258$144,137$279,887$289,847
Total liabilities$4,693,186$3,932,238$3,368,025$3,770,673$4,561,922
 
Net assets20202019201820172016
Without donor restrictions$571,539$65,724($618,503)($1,260,675)($1,916,156)
With donor restrictions$0$0$0$0$0
Net assets$571,539$65,724($618,503)($1,260,675)($1,916,156)
 
Revenues and expenses
 
Revenue20202019201820172016
Total contributions$5,692,084$4,579,047$4,488,717$4,143,883$3,466,273
Program service revenue$5,468,166$5,645,995$5,416,775$5,907,962$6,526,093
Membership dues$0$0$0$0$0
Investment income$17,587$783$461$335$548
Other revenue($17,325)($27,245)($42,423)$12,049($33,685)
Total other revenue$5,468,428$5,619,533$5,374,813$5,920,346$6,492,956
Total revenue$11,160,512$10,198,580$9,863,530$10,064,229$9,959,229
 
Expenses20202019201820172016
Program services$7,634,068$7,038,652$6,670,444$7,014,306$7,760,611
Management and general$2,160,286$1,711,702$1,838,792$1,960,979$1,612,577
Fundraising$860,343$763,999$712,122$433,463$356,349
Total expenses$10,654,697$9,514,353$9,221,358$9,408,748$9,729,537
 
Change in net assets20202019201820172016
Surplus (deficit)$505,815$684,227$642,172$655,481$229,692
Other changes in net assets$0$0$0$0$0
Total change in net assets$505,815$684,227$642,172$655,481$229,692

Compensation

NameTitleCompensation
Kevin MartinCEO$163,372
Nick EicherChief Content Officer$157,226
Pierson GerritsenDevelopment Director$129,832
Marvin OlaskyEditor In Chief$123,216
John AlmaguerAdvertising Account Executive$116,352
Kyle CrimiAdvertising Account Executive$115,948
William GibsonCFO/Treasurer$48,658

Compensation data as of: 6/30/2020


Response from ministry

No response has been provided by this ministry.


The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 5/9/2023. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]


History

In 1981, The Presbyterian Journal-founded as The Southern Presbyterian Journal by L. Nelson Bell in 1942 and renamed in 1959-took a new direction. The publication had historically covered news related to church doctrine and government, mission work, and other issues directly affecting conservative Presbyterianism.

However, faithful parents across several Christian denominations began voicing a need. These parents felt called to raise up their children to discern truth in world events and issues, to honor God in their lives and even in their opinions, and to learn and live to impact the world as disciples in Christ's kingdom.

Making that calling more difficult was a news media slant that was growing more prominent in America. Mainstream news was following (or at times, even leading) a cultural drift toward a "post-Christian" culture. The days of reporting facts and leaving the reader or listener to form an opinion independently were coming to an end. Too often, the media slant was not in keeping with biblical truth. Was it possible to provide a news resource that sought to understand world events through a scriptural lens?

Under the guidance of a young publisher named Joel Belz, and with the keen editorial and teaching skills of editor Norm Bomer, the Journal launched a weekly newspaper for young people called It's God's World. The prototype issue debuted August 10, 1981. Covering not just church news but national and world news, It's God's World challenged kids to explore the events happening around the globe and to see God at work in His world, using His people for His kingdom purposes, opposing evil and dealing out mercy.

Forty years later, WORLD News Group still operates, now with publications for all ages. God's WORLD News offers three editions for kids (God's Big WORLD, WORLDkids, and WORLDteen), alongside the WORLD Watch video program for older teens, WORLD Magazine for adults, a variety of podcasts, and an internet presence for all publications. The corporation today even has its own journalists training arm, WORLD Journalism Institute.

Over the last four decades, God has blessed this Christian news media organization with purpose, growth, and impact. Hundreds of thousands of children in Christian homes, homeschools, and Christian schools have read about the biggest events-now in our history-from the perspective of devoted Christian journalists who strive to deliver facts faithfully, reporting from a position of trust in Christ and determination to tell His story in the world honestly.


Program accomplishments


Needs