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Thom S. Rainer

Thom S. Rainer is a prominent Christian author, speaker and researcher. He currently serves as president and chief executive officer of LifeWay Christian Resources of the Southern Baptist Convention, one of the world’s largest Christian resource providers. He became LifeWay’s ninth president on Feb. 1, 2006.

Previous positions
Academic ministry

Before coming to LifeWay, Rainer served as the dean of the Billy Graham School of Missions, Evangelism and Church Growth at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky. (1994-2005). During that time, he also was professor of evangelism and church growth at Southern Seminary. From 1990-94, he was adjunct professor of evangelism and church growth at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University. And from 1988-90 he served as associate professor of evangelism at Tampa Bay Theological Seminary, a branch of Dallas Theological Seminary.

Pastoral ministry

Rainer served as interim pastor at eight different churches between 1995-2004, including First Baptist Church of Kettering, Ohio; Northside Baptist Church in Indianapolis; and Lakewood Baptist Church in Louisville, Ky.

He served as senior pastor at Green Valley Baptist Church, Birmingham, Ala. (1990-94); Azalea Baptist Church, St. Petersburg, Fla. (1988-90); Hopewell Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky. (1986-88); and Hopewell Baptist Church, Madison, Ind. (1984-86).

Corporate experience

Rainer served in the business world as vice president of Pinnacle Publishers, Inc. (2001-05); president of Church Central Associates, Inc. (2001-05); chairman of Rainer Research, a division of The Rainer Group (1999-2005); founder, president and CEO of The Rainer Group (1988-05); vice president of corporate lending at SouthTrust Bank, Alabama (1980-83); and cash management officer at Trust Company of Georgia, now SunTrust (1977-80)

Organizational activities

Rainer is the former president of the American Association of Church Consultants. He also served as a board member of Romanian-American Missions; Ephesians 4 Ministries; and the Southern Baptist Convention’s Home Mission Board, which later became the North American Mission Board. In addition, he was a member of the Society for Advancement of Consulting, a secular organization in which he served as the only member providing church and denominational consultations; and the American Consultants League, another secular organization in which he served as the only member providing church and denominational consultations.

He has served as a church growth conference speaker for several years and is in frequent demand as a speaker today.

Other activities

Rainer is a featured columnist for Outreach magazine. He is a Gold Medallion finalist for two books; former publisher of Church Health Today, a bi-weekly church-health newsletter; recipient of more than a dozen awards related to work in church health and church growth; and he has provided consultation to numerous periodicals including USA TODAY, Time, Associated Press, Religion News Service, and others.

Education
Rainer holds a Ph.D. from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (1988. Major: evangelism. Minors: Christian missions and preaching); an M.Div. from Southern Seminary (1985. Major concentration: evangelism) and a B.S. from the University of Alabama (1977. Major: corporate finance. Minors: economics and statistics).

Publications
Rainer is author, co-author or editor of numerous books, including Raising Dad (2007); Simple Church (2006); and Breakout Churches (2005).

Personal / Family
Rainer was born July 16, 1955, in Union Springs, Ala. He married the former Nellie Jo King in 1977. He and Nellie Jo have three grown sons: Sam, Art and Jess, who are married to Erin, Sarah and Rachel, respectively.