- Baptist Press - https://www.baptistpress.com -

LifeWay, Fellowship Church link up to develop innovative resources

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–LifeWay Christian Resources and Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, have entered an agreement to co-develop resources for church leaders and laypeople.

The partnership will become part of LifeWay’s New Ventures initiative to develop alliances with influential churches and authors, said Gene Mims, vice president of LifeWay’s church resources division.

As part of this venture, LifeWay will use resources developed by Fellowship Church to develop Bible study curriculum, children’s programs, software, worship service planning elements and other resources for churches, Mims said.

“We believe our partnership with Fellowship will help us broaden the ministry solutions we offer to churches whose needs continue to expand,” Mims said. “This agreement allows us to move quickly to help those churches who want and need innovative resources.”

The Dallas-area church and its pastor, Ed Young Jr., have received attention recently from such national media as The New York Times and CBS Morning Show for its explosive growth and creative worship environment. In 12 years, attendance at the church has increased from 90 to more than 16,000 in five weekend worship services, ranking it as one of the largest churches in the United States. In 2001, Fellowship Church baptized 1,580 people.

“God has infused our church with an urgency for reaching today’s contemporary culture utilizing creative communication techniques,” Young said. “It’s truly an honor to be a ministry partner with such a respected organization as LifeWay which provides invaluable biblical resources to so many of us in the area of ministry.”

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As part of the partnership, LifeWay will co-sponsor with Fellowship Church a C3 Conference for pastors, staff and other leaders on Jan. 24-25, 2003, and launch a line of Sunday morning children’s resources for fall 2003.

“I have a strong personal interest in this partnership,” said James T. Draper Jr., president of LifeWay Christian Resources. “My son, Randy, and his family have been members of Fellowship for 10 years. I was delighted when we began discussing this unique partnership with Ed and his staff and look forward to linking LifeWay’s strengths in biblical content with Fellowship’s strengths in creativity and innovation.”

John Kramp, director of church ministry solutions for LifeWay, will oversee the New Ventures initiative that includes the Fellowship Church partnership and the acquisition of Serendipity House Publishing in August.
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