Thomas S. Rainer recommended as LifeWay's president-elect; will succeed Jimmy Draper Feb. 1

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP) - The presidential search committee of LifeWay Christian Resources' board of trustees recommended Aug. 5 that Thom S. Rainer become the Southern Baptist entity's next president after James T. (Jimmy) Draper Jr. retires Feb. 1.

Rainer is dean of Southern Seminary's Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth in Louisville, Ky.

Thom Rainer

LifeWay's board of trustees will vote on the recommendation during its Sept. 12-13 meeting in Nashville. If approved, Rainer would become LifeWay's president-elect and begin Oct. 17 to work alongside Draper to ensure a smooth transition, according to search committee chairman Rick Evans.

"Dr. Rainer has proven himself to be a successful leader of the local church and at the seminary," Evans said. "He is a gifted man of authority in the areas of trends within the Christian church and in church growth."

Rainer, 50, is a 1977 graduate of the University of Alabama who has earned a master of divinity degree and Ph.D. at Southern Seminary. He served as pastor of churches in Alabama, Florida, Kentucky and Indiana prior to becoming the founding dean of the seminary's Billy Graham School in 1994.

He has served as a church consultant and church growth conference speaker for several years and is in frequent demand as a speaker in Southern Baptist churches. Rainer is author of 16 books, including Surprising Insights from the Unchurched, The Unchurched Next Door and Breakout Churches. He is a member of both the Academy for Evangelism in Theological Education and the American Society for Church Growth.

Rainer is founder, president and CEO of the Rainer Group, one of the nation's leading church and denominational consultant organizations. He and his wife, Nellie Jo, have three sons, Sam, Art and Jess.

"We've had a great presidential search committee," said Draper, who has served as LifeWay president since 1991.

"I have explicit confidence in the process the committee followed and the members' sensitivity to the Lord," Draper said. "I am incredibly excited to have a man of Thom Rainer's gifts and vision to work alongside in the months ahead."

The recommendation of Rainer follows an intense six-month search that began with the committee members' pledge to pray every day, seeking God's guidance through the process, said Evans, adding that the committee received a "significant number" of nominations.