NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–Bill Henry has been named director of the network partnerships area of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention. He replaces Bill Taylor who retired July 1.
Henry has been at LifeWay since 1984. For the last three years he has been managing director of network partnerships, working directly with Taylor. Before that, he was director of LifeWay’s national collegiate ministry. Before coming to LifeWay, Henry was associate director of the department of student work for the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
Network partnership is the LifeWay component that has responsibility for developing strategic partnerships with local Baptist associations and state Baptist conventions to serve churches.
John Kramp, vice president of LifeWay’s church resources division, said, “Since 2002, Bill Henry has been fully engaged in all aspects of the work that he will now lead for us. One sign of organizational health is when new leaders can be promoted from within the organization to fill key positions. With Bill, we have the privilege of promoting a leader who knows the work fully and who can move quickly to build on the strong foundation laid. No time will be lost; no energy wasted.”
Henry said one area of work in network partnerships that particularly excites him is The Smaller Membership Church Growth Plan. “This new strategy addresses the question of how to help smaller churches grow,” Henry said. “With 70 percent of SBC churches having 100 or fewer members, and having stayed that size for the past five years, that’s a big question. We’re working with a group of directors of missions and state convention partners now to form a stronger relationship with these churches and help them grow. The results so far have been very encouraging and we expect even more impact in the future.”
“Bill Henry has proven himself to be a gifted and knowledgeable leader at LifeWay,” LifeWay President James T. Draper Jr. said. “His experience serving on a state staff and his tenure here at LifeWay working in both the collegiate and network partnership areas uniquely qualify him for this task. He is a dedicated and greatly valued partner in ministry here at LifeWay. We could not have chosen a better person for this job.”
Henry co-wrote the collegiate edition of “How Now Shall We Live,” with Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey and contributed to “Discipleship Covenant for a New Generation” with Richard and Henry Blackaby.
A native of Nashville, Henry holds a bachelor of science degree in business administration and management from Belmont University in Nashville and a Ph.D. in higher education from Vanderbilt University. He also attended Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. He and his wife, Patsy, have two adult sons.
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