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B&H Publishing called ‘powerful force in Christian publishing’ Print Email
Written by Christine D. Johnson   
Monday, 10 February 2014 10:01 AM America/New_York

ThomRainer.WebLifeWay 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.

"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."

Rainer reflected positively on the changes at LifeWay the last eight years.

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

He 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."

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.