With the push of a button, Thom Rainer, president of LifeWay Christian Resources, launched the newest initiative to help people and churches know Jesus Christ and seek his kingdom: “The Transformational Church” project.
LifeWay president Thom Rainer introduces LifeWay’s new resource initiative, “The Transformational Church,” to trustees at the board meeting Sept. 8-9.“I am excited about this initiative because this is a new way for us to raise the intensity of our emphasis on evangelism,” Rainer told LifeWay trustees Sept. 8. “And the intention is to help the church with its focus on reaching people for Christ.”
The newly launched site, at www.transformationalchurch.com, will feature a variety of resources. According to the Web site, “The Transformational Church project will be LifeWay’s initiative to help churches join God’s mission of transforming lives, churches and communities. This Web site will become a one-stop shop for churches seeking practical help for everyday ministry. As part of the Transformational Church initiative, LifeWay Research will research hundreds of churches of multiple denominations that are seeing actual transformation. The research will lead to resources and tools to help churches join God on his mission.”
The initiative is one of many that Rainer said he is excited about, despite an economy that has been labeled “ugly” by CFO Magazine in conjunction with Duke University.
“In 2008 we reached some specific groups with our resources that are expanding our influence,” Rainer told trustees during their semi-annual meeting at LifeWay Ridgecrest Conference Center near Asheville, N.C. “We saw growth in areas related to young adults, African-Americans and Hispanics. LifeWay Research is achieving broad appeal and has momentum in secular media. B&H Academic is becoming more renowned and respected. And even though the 2008 VBS numbers are not in, we can report that more than 88,000 children made decisions to follow Christ in 2007.”
During these tough economic times, Rainer said LifeWay’s leadership is choosing “fearless faith over fear-inspired disobedience.”
Citing 1 Samuel 14:1-15, Rainer said, “Jonathan knew where God was leading, and he knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But he chose to obey and exhibited fearless faith. That is what we are choosing to do. We believe God is working in some incredible ways, and we’ve seen that in some incredible ways.”