# LifeWay Christian Resources The publishing-and-curriculum arm of the [[Southern Baptist Convention]] — founded 1891 (originally as the Sunday School Board), headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, and one of the largest Christian-publishing organizations in the United States. LifeWay produces Sunday School and small-group Bible-study curricula used in tens of thousands of SBC churches (and substantial numbers of non-SBC evangelical churches), a publishing imprint (B&H Publishing Group; previously Broadman & Holman), the *Bible Studies for Life* series, *The Gospel Project*, the LifeWay Research polling/reporting operation, the LifeWay-affiliated retail bookstore chain (closed 2019 as a brick-and-mortar operation; continues online), and adjacent products (Christian curriculum, women's-ministry resources, men's-ministry programs). Annual revenue: ~$200–300 million range. LifeWay's significance in the [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]] runs through its **role as the publishing infrastructure** of the broader SBC institutional apparatus. The curricula LifeWay produces shape the weekly small-group and Sunday-School experience of millions of SBC congregants, making LifeWay's editorial choices (which authors, which topics, which doctrinal frames) substantially consequential for the everyday theology of the convention. The organization's relationship with [[Beth Moore]] — Moore was LifeWay's bestselling Bible-study author for nearly two decades, with cumulative sales in the tens of millions of copies — is one of the most-prominent LifeWay author relationships of the past 30 years; Moore's 2021 public departure from the SBC included implicit (sometimes explicit) tension with LifeWay over women's-ministry programming. LifeWay's principal recent institutional move was the **2019 closure of the LifeWay Christian Stores brick-and-mortar retail chain** — at peak ~170 stores nationally, the largest Christian-bookstore retail chain in the U.S. — due to declining brick-and-mortar Christian-bookstore traffic and competition from Amazon and online distribution. The closure was a substantial institutional contraction and is informative about the broader transition of Christian-conservative cultural-product distribution from physical retail to digital platforms. For the Right Wing KB, LifeWay is the **publishing-and-curriculum infrastructure node** of the SBC's portion of the [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]]. Tracking LifeWay's editorial and authorial choices over time is part of tracking the SBC's center-of-gravity on doctrinal and political-cultural questions. ## Founding and Institutional History The organization was founded in **1891** as the **Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention** — established at the SBC's annual meeting to produce Sunday School literature, curricula, and educational materials for Southern Baptist churches. The board was headquartered in **Nashville, Tennessee**, which became and remains the institutional center of SBC publishing and administrative operations. Through the 20th century, the Sunday School Board expanded from curriculum publishing into broader Christian retail and media: book publishing (the **Broadman Press** imprint, later **Broadman & Holman**, now **B&H Publishing Group**), church-supply retail, conference-center operations (including the Ridgecrest and Glorieta conference centers, later sold), and research operations. The organization was renamed **LifeWay Christian Resources** in **1998** to reflect its expanded mission beyond Sunday School curriculum. ## LifeWay Christian Stores (1984–2019) LifeWay operated the **largest chain of Christian bookstores in the United States** — at peak approximately **170 stores** nationally under the "LifeWay Christian Stores" brand. The stores sold Bibles, Christian books, church supplies, music, and gifts, and served as the physical retail distribution channel for SBC-published curricula. In **March 2019**, LifeWay announced the **closure of all brick-and-mortar retail locations** — citing declining foot traffic, competition from Amazon and online retailers, and the broader contraction of the Christian bookstore retail category (Family Christian Stores, the other major Christian chain, had closed in 2017). The closures were completed by year-end 2019. LifeWay's retail operation transitioned to **online-only** through lifeway.com. The closure marked the end of the brick-and-mortar Christian bookstore model as a viable national-chain operation. ## B&H Publishing Group LifeWay's book-publishing imprint — originally **Broadman Press** (founded 1934), later **Broadman & Holman** (1991 merger with Holman Bible Publishers), now **B&H Publishing Group**. B&H publishes across Christian non-fiction, academic theology, Bible study, children's books, and fiction. The imprint produces several popular Bible translations and editions, including the **Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)** and its revision, the **Christian Standard Bible (CSB)** (released 2017). B&H is one of the largest Christian book publishers in the U.S. ## Major Curriculum Lines LifeWay's core institutional function is producing **Sunday School and small-group Bible-study curricula** used in tens of thousands of SBC churches and substantial numbers of non-SBC evangelical churches. Principal curriculum lines include: ***Bible Studies for Life*** (topical, application-oriented), ***The Gospel Project*** (chronological, gospel-centered — launched 2012, reflecting the Calvinist-resurgence influence in SBC curriculum), ***Explore the Bible*** (book-by-book), and various age-graded and demographic-specific series (children's, youth, women's, men's). These curricula shape the weekly small-group experience of **millions of SBC congregants**, making LifeWay's editorial decisions substantially consequential for everyday SBC theology. ## Beth Moore and the Women's-Ministry Relationship **[[Beth Moore]]** was LifeWay's **bestselling Bible-study author** for nearly **two decades** — her *Breaking Free*, *Believing God*, *Stepping Up*, and other studies sold cumulative copies in the **tens of millions** and were the foundation of LifeWay's women's-ministry programming. Moore's studies were the most-used women's Bible-study materials in SBC churches, and the annual "Living Proof Live" conference tour (organized through Moore's Living Proof Ministries but distributed and promoted through LifeWay channels) was one of the largest women's-ministry events in American evangelicalism. Moore's **2021 public departure from the SBC** — driven by her opposition to the SBC's handling of sexual-abuse cases, her criticism of the convention's Trump-era political alignment, and the backlash she received for opposing complementarian strictures — included the end of her LifeWay publishing relationship. Moore's departure left a significant gap in LifeWay's women's-ministry product line. ## Leadership **Thom Rainer** served as LifeWay president from **2006 to 2019** — overseeing both the organization's peak institutional reach and the strategic decision to close the retail chain. Rainer, a church-growth researcher and SBTS professor, positioned LifeWay as a data-driven church-resources organization. **Ben Mandrell** succeeded Rainer as president in **2019**, navigating the post-closure retail transition, COVID-19 disruption, and the post-Moore women's-ministry programming recalibration. ## LifeWay Research LifeWay operates a **research-and-polling division** (LifeWay Research) that produces surveys, reports, and statistical analysis on American religious life, church attendance, and evangelical attitudes. The research operation — formerly directed by **Ed Stetzer** (now at Wheaton's Billy Graham Center), currently led by **Scott McConnell** — produces some of the most-cited data in evangelical-press coverage and has become a significant source for religion-beat journalism. ## KB Significance LifeWay is the **publishing-and-curriculum infrastructure** of the [[Southern Baptist Convention]]'s portion of the [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]]. Its significance is less political than operational: LifeWay's editorial choices — which authors to publish, which theological frameworks to embed in weekly curricula, which voices to platform in women's and men's ministry — shape the everyday theological formation of millions of SBC congregants. The Beth Moore departure illustrates how LifeWay's institutional decisions both reflect and reinforce the SBC's political-theological trajectory. The retail-chain closure illustrates the broader disruption of Christian-conservative cultural-product distribution from physical infrastructure to digital platforms. ## See Also - [[Beth Moore]] - [[Southern Baptist Convention]] - [[Christian Nationalism Ecosystem]]