[1]BRENTWOOD, Tenn. — In his first trustee meeting as interim president of Lifeway Christian Resources, Joe Walker made clear the next leader would be taking over a strong organization.
“The next Lifeway president will inherit a healthy organization from both a financial and cultural perspective,” Walker told trustees. He noted Lifeway’s growth trajectory along with a strong bottom line, healthy reserves, no debt and no significant operational issues.
“If Lifeway comes into another season of financial distress or financial downturn, we can make decisions quickly to address that,” Walker said. “But the culture of an organization is really hard to bring back if you lose it.” He explained numerous changes that have shored up the cultural aspects, one of which was an emphasis on serving local churches. “If it’s not for the churches, Lifeway would not need to exist,” he said.
To highlight the financial security, Walker had several leaders from across Lifeway share areas of growth, new opportunities and long-term stability through economic uncertainty.
Ministry updates
Becky Loyd, vice president of go-to-market strategy, and Neftali Alverio, vice president of technology and digital innovation, spoke about plans for the new LifewayWorship.com. Loyd said Lifeway conducted 14 listening sessions across 11 states. “What we heard was consistent and clear: LifewayWorship.com is a trusted resource. It offers singable arrangements, reliable content and practical support for churches of all sizes,” she said. “Leaders told us it’s not just helpful – it’s essential.”
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Loyd also said the organization is actively searching for the next leader of Lifeway Worship.
Alverio shared a sneak peek at plans for the new, enhanced website. The goal is to offer improvements that incorporate what the organization has learned through changes at Lifeway.com but also retain what customers have appreciated most about the worship site. “We want to come alongside worship leaders, not only through offering songs, but as a partner in their ministry,” he said.
Brad Barnett, director of camps ministry, told trustees that Lifeway camps saw their fifth consecutive year of growth. In 2025, Lifeway hosted 120,800 participants from 4,200 churches at one of the organization’s camps. Lifeway is home to Centrifuge, MFuge, CentriKid, Student Life Camp and Student Life Kids Camp. Among those who attended, Lifeway is aware of more than 5,100 salvations and 900 significant milestone decisions made. Additionally, through MFuge camps, more than 20,000 students served at 525 mission sites, contributing almost 200,000 hours of community service to local ministry partners.
Because of the sustained growth, Lifeway held camps at eight new locations in 2025, including in Indiana and Oregon. In 2026, the organization will continue serving each of the previous locations, as well as adding four new locations, one each in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas and South Carolina. “Right now, we already have more campers signed up for 2026 than we served in all of 2025,” Barnett said.
Chuck Peters, director of Lifeway’s NextGen Ministry, detailed the success story of Vacation Bible School at Lifeway. He explained VBS has been an area of sustained, year-over-year growth since 2020.
Based on the most recent SBC Annual Church Profile, 
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