BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — One of the most effective ways Lifeway Christian Resources serves the local church is by empowering church leaders with relevant resources that catalyze health, growth and impact. That’s the message the organization hopes messengers to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) in June will take away from their visit to The Lifeway Village in the exhibit hall.

“We’ve designed an experience that reflects Lifeway’s focus on serving church leaders,” said Lifeway CEO Ben Mandrell. “Church leaders who visit The Lifeway Village will clearly see and learn that Lifeway is here to walk alongside you in ministry.”

The 12,000-square-foot Lifeway Village will highlight different areas of church ministry and allow messengers to find many categories of resources for their specific needs — whether they are a pastor or a leader in kids ministry, students, discipleship, worship or women’s ministry. Messengers will also be able to have conversations with the people at Lifeway who are developing those resources.

For those looking for ways to engage their congregation in Bible study, Lifeway staff will help messengers and guests plan and select the appropriate material for group Bible studies and offer information on Lifeway’s short-term studies and Sunday School curriculum, including Bible Studies for Life, The Gospel Project, Explore the Bible and YOU.

Other features include onsite demonstrations of Lifeway’s digital curriculum experiences and leader training.

Lifeway’s Auxano team will be at The Lifeway Village providing free, 45-minute consulting sessions to discuss strategies to address common problems around visionary identity and strategic direction for ministry. Ministry leaders can schedule their session through the SBC Annual Meeting app or visit lifeway.com/sbc. Also, free copies will be available of the latest Lifeway Research Insights Report detailing five priorities for the church.

Come discover and leave refueled

Guests in The Lifeway Village will find books on leadership, prayer, marriage, parenting and other Christian living topics, as well as devotionals, Bible studies and reference material for purchase.

Also available in The Lifeway Village will be a wide selection of CSB Bibles for men, women, students and kids. Published by Lifeway’s Holman Bibles, the CSB is now the fastest-growing Bible translation in the U.S. market. “It’s such an honor for our team to steward this translation on behalf of Southern Baptists and to get the Word of God into as many hands as possible,” Mandrell said.

“According to Lifeway Research, we know Bible engagement — reading and studying the Bible — is a strong predictor of spiritual maturity,” Mandrell said. “We hope church leaders will join us this fall and encourage their churches to ‘read and remain’ in God’s Word.”

Church leaders can stop by The Lifeway Village to learn more about Read and Remain, a yearlong Bible-reading emphasis. Lifeway has created two free tool kits to help congregations read through the Bible in a year. The tool kits include 52 weeks of teaching outlines, presentation slides and a number of digital graphics to help pastors encourage their people to stay engaged with God’s Word. To learn more, visit lifeway.com/readandremain.

Among the new resources available for purchase in The Lifeway Village are “Heaven,” a seven-session Bible study by Jennifer Rothschild; “Together,” a six-session study by Ben Mandrell; “Deep Discipleship,” a 24-week discipleship course by JT English, Kyle Worley and Jen Wilkin; “A Unity of Purpose,” commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Cooperative Program, “The Church History Handbook,” the “CSB Jesus Daily Bible,” and the “CSB Grace Bible for Kids,” a new resource for children with special needs, featuring a new font for children living with dyslexia.

Spanish resources will be in big supply at The Lifeway Village, given its location in Dallas.

Messengers will want to stop by throughout the week, as Lifeway will be giving out some helpful resources to the first 600 visitors each day. Free resources will include “A Short Guide to Church” by Dean Inserra, “Pastoring Small Towns” by Ronnie Martin and Donnie Griggs, “Turnaround” by Jason K. Allen and “Succession” by Bryant Wright. Messengers can also drop in throughout the day and refuel with a cup of coffee.

Mandrell said he hoped church leaders visiting The Lifeway Village will feel renewed and refueled knowing Lifeway is here to walk alongside them in their ministry. “We hope they gain new insights and learn new approaches for their ministries, that they connect with us in new and meaningful ways, and that they feel empowered by all of the resources we’ve created to equip them on their ministry journey.”

(EDITOR’S NOTE — Carol Pipes is director of corporate communications for Lifeway Christian Resources.)