Lifeway Christian Resources, based in Nashville, Tennessee, is the Christian media publishing and distribution division of the Southern Baptist Convention and provider of church business services. Until the end of their physical retail presence in 2019 it was best known for its brick and mortar LifeWay Christian Stores, one of the two major American retailers of Christian books and products (the other being Mardel Christian & Education). Lifeway produces multiple curriculums and Bible studies used in Sunday schools and other church functions. Lifeway publishes the Christian Standard Bible (the successor to the Holman Christian Standard Bible) as well as Christian books and commentaries through B&H Publishing. Lifeway operates a research division that studies Protestant trends and provides contract research services. In addition they distribute many Christian resources created by outside parties. They distribute and sell many church products such as communion supplies, upholstery etc. through its e-commerce business. Lifeway also provides a multitude of church business services such as website design, architecture, background checks, capital campaigns, pastoral coaching and others through both in-house services and partnerships with outside firms. While Lifeway is a non-profit and part of the Southern Baptist Convention, it receives no church funding through the cooperative program. Instead, Lifeway is self-funded through the sales of its products. Lifeway previously operated World Changers until it was shut down in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic. In April 2020 Lifeway board voted to put the Ridgecrest Conference Center up for sale. History In 1891 James Marion Frost, a 43-year-old pastor, founded "The Sunday School Board of the Southern Baptist Convention" after that year's annual meeting in Birmingham, Alabama. In 1925, the Board began operating retail bookstores under the name "Baptist Book Store". According to Jeffrey Gros, the Sunday School Board was "one of the principal sources of literacy across the South." Around 1971 the Board began using the "LifeWay" imprint on some of its materials and as the name for retail stores in certain markets, reflecting an expansion of items sold which included items produced by others (some of whom were not Southern Baptist). Over a two-year period from 1996 to 1998 the Board re-branded its stores under the LifeWay banner and officially changed its name. In 2002, LifeWay acquired Serendipity House, a publisher of bible studies for small groups. In 2017 Lifeway staff moved out of the Draper Tower and the Sullivan Tower into new headquarters in the