Lifeway Case Study

In 1891 the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) adopted a resolution presented by Dr. J. M. Frost which created the Baptist Sunday School Board (BSSB) to publish Sunday School literature required by it’s member churches (“Southern Baptist Convention > Lifeway Christian Resources", 2016). The BSSB was located in Nashville, Tennessee due to its prominence as a center of printing and publishing. Although the SBC had authorized the BSSB, it provided no funding and Dr. Frost used $5,000 borrowed from his wife to meet the operational costs of the organization (Draper & Perry, 2006). Dr. Frost was determined that the BSSB would not be a drain on the SBC but a contributor. He described the BSSB as a business dedicated to missions (Sunday School Board

LifeWay is a 501(c)(3) religious nonprofit and receives no funding from the SBC but is self-supported through a chain of over 180 retail stores in 28 states, a conference center, online sales, and direct sales to churches (About LifeWay Christian Resources, 2016). LifeWay’s operating budget for 2015 was $513 million (King, 2015). Funds provided by operations in excess of operating expenses are directed to various mission works and ministries. LifeWay is structured as a divisional company headquartered in Nashville, TN. There are currently six divisions: Church Resources, Retail, B & H Publishing, Technology, Finance and Business Services, and LifeWay Research and Insights. Each division has a Vice-president reporting to the President and CEO. A Board of Trustees, selected from pastors and Church leaders throughout the SBC, oversees the

Operational changes over the years have led to a surplus of office space. In an effort to reduce operational costs, LifeWay has recently sold its campus and has begun construction of a new headquarters building in Nashville. The construction is expected to be completed in November, 2017.
As LifeWay grew, its divisions operated like independent companies causing division and competition for resources within the organization. Organizational changes have been made to create unity and teamwork in order to better serve LifeWay’s customers. Divisions have been combined provide cross functional teams to improve agility and creativity. The new headquarters building is being designed to enhance the push to a more unified organization by using workspace to promote collaboration.
LifeWay, like many publishers, faces the issue of customer demand for printed material declining while demand for digital content is increasing. Substantial resources have been devoted to providing content to customers in the format they desire. Along with demand for digital content comes the increase of online sales and the reduction of sales in brick and mortar stores. The Retail division is facing the problem of finding the most efficient and cost effective balance of online and brick and mortar