LifeWay Christian Resources
Encyclopedia
LifeWay Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee
, is one of the largest providers of Christian
resources in the world. LifeWay has been recognized as one of the "Best Employers in Tennessee" by BusinessTN magazine.
, in a small office funded in part by money borrowed from his wife.
Today, the ministries of LifeWay, originally called the Sunday School Board, provides Christian resources throughout the United States and internationally.
LifeWay's ministries include the production of Bible
s, church literature, audio and video recordings, church supplies, and Internet services. The company operates over 160 LifeWay Christian Stores through the United States, as well as two of the largest Christian conference centers in the country.
LifeWay is a 501(c)(3) religious nonprofit organization that receives no funding from the denomination and reinvests income above operating expenses in mission work and other ministries around the world.
LifeWay employees are committed to the company's vision: "As God works through us ... we will help people and churches know Jesus
Christ and seek His Kingdom by providing biblical solutions that spiritually transform people and cultures."
Church Resources consults with churches and delivers Biblical solutions through many ministries, resrouces, enrichment and training events, and age-group products, including Sunday school, Vacation Bible School
, leadership development, evangelism, discipleship, music, worship, marriage, and parenting. Biblical solutions include training and enrichment events, and resources in print, on CD, DVD and the Web. New resources include a young-adult ministry called Threads; Worship KidStyle; a new Baptist Hymnal; expanded resources for African-American and Hispanic churches; and an initiative to provide key evangelism and discipleship resources in more than 50 languages via free download.
LifeWay Christian Stores operates over 160 outlets in two dozen states, serving Southern Baptists and the wider evangelical community. The division also serves customers online and through LifeWay Special Services.
B&H Publishing Group
produces Bibles, books, audio and video productions, and church supplies, selling to bookstores and other retailers. A new emphasis on resources for pastors, seminary professors and students, and scholars has been launched with the B&H Academic line of resources.
CrossBooks Publishing is the self publishing division started in 2009 and caters primarily to new authors, but holds the manuscripts submitted to the same theological standard as books produced by B&H Publishing Group.
Executive Communications and Relations produces LifeWay's news and information services, directs corporate events and supports the office of the president in maintaining good relationships with other Southern Baptist Convention
entities, state conventions and other evangelical organizations. This division also coordinates the LifeWay Community Fund, which supports 10 like-minded charities in Middle Tennessee
; and directs LifeWay sponsored, employee-led mission trips, which over the last 11 years have included more than 75 trips involving more than 1,100 volunteers.
The Technology division provides five key services for LifeWay: strategic, retail, business, enterprise, and Internet technologies. The division oversees the content and functionality of LifeWay.com and its affiliated pages. In all, LifeWay.com houses more 12,000 articles in addition to countless other resources and products.
Finance and Business Services is responsible for LifeWay's financial policies and general accounting and directs many keyLifeWay business services. The division also operates conference centers at Ridgecrest, NC, and Glorieta, NM, which minister to more than 100,000 guests each year. Lifeway also owns an operates two historical camps: a boyscamp founded in 1929, Camp Ridgecrest, and a girls camp founded in 1955, Crestridge. Both are near the Ridgecrest Conference Center in the Black Mountains
of North Carolina
near Asheville. Plans to open two more single gender camps at the Glorieta Conference centerare currently underway, with the start of Camp Glorieta for Boys and Camp Glorieta for Girls in the Summer of 2008. LifeWay operates the Centrifuge family of Christian summer camps as the official summer camp of the Southern Baptist Convention
and the largest summer camps organization in the world.
Research and Ministry Development houses LifeWay Research, which helps churches impact the culture for Christ; coordinates employee-led mission trips; and directs ministry development and strategic projects. LifeWay Research studies have been cited in several national news sources.
to assume the presidency of LifeWay. He succeeded James T. Draper, Jr.
, of the Fort Worth
metro area, who had headed LifeWay from 1991 to 2006.
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
, is one of the largest providers of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
resources in the world. LifeWay has been recognized as one of the "Best Employers in Tennessee" by BusinessTN magazine.
Background
In 1891, J.M. Frost, a 43-year-old pastor, started the company that is now known as LifeWay Christian Resources. The business began, after receiving approval from the Southern Baptist ConventionSouthern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
, in a small office funded in part by money borrowed from his wife.
Today, the ministries of LifeWay, originally called the Sunday School Board, provides Christian resources throughout the United States and internationally.
LifeWay's ministries include the production of Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
s, church literature, audio and video recordings, church supplies, and Internet services. The company operates over 160 LifeWay Christian Stores through the United States, as well as two of the largest Christian conference centers in the country.
LifeWay is a 501(c)(3) religious nonprofit organization that receives no funding from the denomination and reinvests income above operating expenses in mission work and other ministries around the world.
LifeWay employees are committed to the company's vision: "As God works through us ... we will help people and churches know Jesus
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ and seek His Kingdom by providing biblical solutions that spiritually transform people and cultures."
Ministries
LifeWay directs its ministries through seven divisions:Church Resources consults with churches and delivers Biblical solutions through many ministries, resrouces, enrichment and training events, and age-group products, including Sunday school, Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School is a specialized form of religious education which focuses on children. Churches usually hold the week long events during the summer, though the lengths of such programs may vary, and they are sometimes held during other times of the year.-History:The origins of Vacation...
, leadership development, evangelism, discipleship, music, worship, marriage, and parenting. Biblical solutions include training and enrichment events, and resources in print, on CD, DVD and the Web. New resources include a young-adult ministry called Threads; Worship KidStyle; a new Baptist Hymnal; expanded resources for African-American and Hispanic churches; and an initiative to provide key evangelism and discipleship resources in more than 50 languages via free download.
LifeWay Christian Stores operates over 160 outlets in two dozen states, serving Southern Baptists and the wider evangelical community. The division also serves customers online and through LifeWay Special Services.
B&H Publishing Group
B&H Publishing Group
B&H Publishing Group, once known as Broadman & Holman, is a division of Lifeway Christian Resources. Specializing in Christianity pertaining to fiction, homeschool, youth, history, and other interests...
produces Bibles, books, audio and video productions, and church supplies, selling to bookstores and other retailers. A new emphasis on resources for pastors, seminary professors and students, and scholars has been launched with the B&H Academic line of resources.
CrossBooks Publishing is the self publishing division started in 2009 and caters primarily to new authors, but holds the manuscripts submitted to the same theological standard as books produced by B&H Publishing Group.
Executive Communications and Relations produces LifeWay's news and information services, directs corporate events and supports the office of the president in maintaining good relationships with other Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
entities, state conventions and other evangelical organizations. This division also coordinates the LifeWay Community Fund, which supports 10 like-minded charities in Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee
Middle Tennessee is a distinct portion of the state of Tennessee, delineated according to state law as the 41 counties in the Middle Grand Division of Tennessee....
; and directs LifeWay sponsored, employee-led mission trips, which over the last 11 years have included more than 75 trips involving more than 1,100 volunteers.
The Technology division provides five key services for LifeWay: strategic, retail, business, enterprise, and Internet technologies. The division oversees the content and functionality of LifeWay.com and its affiliated pages. In all, LifeWay.com houses more 12,000 articles in addition to countless other resources and products.
Finance and Business Services is responsible for LifeWay's financial policies and general accounting and directs many keyLifeWay business services. The division also operates conference centers at Ridgecrest, NC, and Glorieta, NM, which minister to more than 100,000 guests each year. Lifeway also owns an operates two historical camps: a boyscamp founded in 1929, Camp Ridgecrest, and a girls camp founded in 1955, Crestridge. Both are near the Ridgecrest Conference Center in the Black Mountains
Black Mountains (North Carolina)
The Black Mountains are a mountain range in western North Carolina, in the southeastern United States. They are part of the Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The Blacks are the highest mountains in the Eastern United States...
of North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
near Asheville. Plans to open two more single gender camps at the Glorieta Conference centerare currently underway, with the start of Camp Glorieta for Boys and Camp Glorieta for Girls in the Summer of 2008. LifeWay operates the Centrifuge family of Christian summer camps as the official summer camp of the Southern Baptist Convention
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention is a United States-based Christian denomination. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination and the largest Protestant body in the United States, with over 16 million members...
and the largest summer camps organization in the world.
Research and Ministry Development houses LifeWay Research, which helps churches impact the culture for Christ; coordinates employee-led mission trips; and directs ministry development and strategic projects. LifeWay Research studies have been cited in several national news sources.
Leadership
In February 2006, Dr. Thom Rainer became the president and CEO of LifeWay. Rainer left his post as Dean of the Billy Graham School of Evangelism of the Southern Baptist Theological SeminarySouthern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary , located in Louisville, Kentucky, is the oldest of the six seminaries affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention . The seminary was founded in 1859, at Greenville, South Carolina. After being closed during the Civil War, it moved in 1877 to Louisville...
to assume the presidency of LifeWay. He succeeded James T. Draper, Jr.
James T. Draper, Jr.
James Thomas "Jimmy" Draper, Jr. , is a prominent figure in the theologically conservative Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States...
, of the Fort Worth
Fort Worth, Texas
Fort Worth is the 16th-largest city in the United States of America and the fifth-largest city in the state of Texas. Located in North Central Texas, just southeast of the Texas Panhandle, the city is a cultural gateway into the American West and covers nearly in Tarrant, Parker, Denton, and...
metro area, who had headed LifeWay from 1991 to 2006.