Belz was born on August 10, 1941 to Max Victor Belz and Jean Franzenburg Belz in
Marshalltown,
Iowa. Belz was raised in the grain and lumber business, but learned the importance of the print media when his parents opened up a printing business out of their home. When Belz was eleven years old, he learned how to operate a
linotype press and attempted to start a printing business as a freshman at
Covenant College. However, his printing press broke after he dropped the machine while moving it downstairs to the school basement. He served as a board member for Covenant College for decades, teaching logic and English, and was a member and elder in the
Presbyterian Church in America. In 1964, Belz helped the college move from St. Louis, Missouri to
Lookout Mountain,
Georgia and helped found Lookout Mountain Christian School, which today operates as
Chattanooga Christian School.
Publishing career In 1977, he moved with his family to
Asheville,
North Carolina and started working for
The Presbyterian Journal, a
theologically conservative news publication, eventually becoming interim editor. In 1981, Belz founded the publication ''It's God's World'' for middle school aged children and subsequently launched similar publications for other age groups.
Personal life Belz married Carol Esther Jackson in 1975 and moved in 1977 to Asheville, North Carolina, where they raised five daughters together. ==Notes==