EPA’s Lifetime Achievement Award Bestowed on Marvin Olasky

During the 2026 EPA convention in Nashville, Christianity Today Editor-in-Chief Marvin Olasky became the latest recipient of the Terry White Lifetime Achievement Award, EPA’s highest honor.

The presentation to Olasky was made in his absence during EPA’s annual member business meeting on May 13 held at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs. Andy Olsen, the editorial director for news at Christianity Today, accepted the award on his behalf.

Olasky has been a leading figure in modern evangelical journalism, with a career spanning more than five decades. His work has consistently sought to integrate rigorous reporting with a consciously Christian moral framework, shaping both institutions and generations of journalists.

A graduate of Yale with a PhD from the University of Michigan, Olasky began his career as a reporter and columnist for mainstream outlets, including the Boston Globe and the Austin American-Statesman.

His most defining professional chapter came at WORLD News Group, where he served for more than 30 years as editor and later editor-in-chief of WORLD Magazine. During that time, he also founded and led the World Journalism Institute, helping train aspiring journalists.

Alongside his editorial work, Olasky taught journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and later held leadership and teaching roles at The King’s College and Patrick Henry College.

A prolific author, he has written 30 books on journalism, public policy, and American history.

In 2024, he became executive editor for news and global at Christianity Today, and in 2025 was named editor-in-chief.

Throughout his career, Olasky has argued that journalism should pursue truth with humility, resist sensationalism, and highlight both human brokenness and redemption.

The presentation to Olasky included comments and anecdotes shared by Warren Smith, president of MinistryWatch and a former reporter for Olasky at World magazine. Smith told the story of the first time he was edited by Olasky.

“(Marvin) assigned me a story of about 2,000 words after I’d done a number of shorter stories for World magazine,“ said Smith. “I turned in 2,200 words rather than the 2,000 he assigned. He ended up publishing 800 words in the magazine, and I was a little frustrated by that. Yet, I didn’t know Marvin well enough to object vigorously, so I called Mindy Belz and sort of complained to Mindy that he’d edited me so severely. She just laughed and said, ‘Congratulations, Warren, you’re now one of us. You’ve been Marvinized.’”

Smith said that it can feel intimidating to be around Olasky because of his amazing intellect.

“But one thing I will say,” said Smith, “is that he always made the stories better, and I learned as a result of that process.”

The Terry White Lifetime Achievement Award is named after EPA’s longest tenured member. Terry White first attended an EPA convention in 1968 and has served the association in every way possible. He has attended more than 50 conventions, including the 2026 convention.

Posted May 27, 2026