B&H Publishing called ‘powerful force in Christian publishing’

LifeWay Christian Resources President and CEO Thom Rainer praised the work of B&H Publishing Group and cited the growth of LifeWay Christian Stores in his state of the ministry report, according to Baptist Press. The report was presented at a Feb. 3-4 meeting in Nashville.

“B&H Publishing is an incredible story of growth,” he said. “B&H is now a powerful force in Christian publishing.” 

Rainer particularly noted the advances of the church resources division.

“Our church resources division has turned around a nearly 30-year decline in use of our ongoing Bible study resources in order to get more resources into more churches and the Bible into the hands of more people,” Rainer said. “And Ministry Grid, launched last fall, is the most massive resource we’ve ever produced with thousands of training videos for the local church available anytime, anywhere.”

Rainer also cited last year’s growth of LifeWay Christian Stores, which acquired the 17-store Berean chain and opened nine additional locations. There are now 186 LifeWay Christian Stores in 29 states.

“The Berean acquisition was an incredible endeavor that required cooperation by all of LifeWay—from everyone in the stores division to IT [information technology] and human resources and from finance to legal services.” 

Rainer spoke of his approach to his approach to leadership overall in the report.

“My consistent prayer since coming to LifeWay eight years ago is that I would lead LifeWay with wisdom,” Rainer said. “I don’t want to lead out of my own strength or ability, but with God’s wisdom. And I believe He has shown us His favor in so many ways.”

Rainer said his executive leadership team is “constantly asking honest questions about everything we do at LifeWay. ‘Is LifeWay doing what we should be doing—what God wants us to do?’ We want to be a leader instead of a follower—an influencer instead of simply a reactor.”

He also announced a new LifeWay partnership with Big Oak Ranch, a national ministry to abandoned and neglected children in Alabama. Employees are being given opportunities to donate and provide support for Big Oak.

Trustees at the meeting also approved a response to a motion from last summer’s Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meeting that SBC entities report how they are assisting churches in “the challenge of ministry to those suffering from mental health issues.”

LifeWay plans to provide a variety of resources to assist individuals and churches in ministering to persons with mental health challenges.

LifeWay’s board also heard reports from the ministry’s executive leadership team, one of which pointed to the organization’s strong financial start to the fiscal year.

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