Efrem Smith Joins Board of Advisors
The Institute is pleased to welcome our first pastor to our Board of Advisors! Reverend Efrem Smith joins Andy Crouch, Meritt Lohr Sawyer, Philip Yancey, and Carolyn Custis James on our board. We continue to be humbled and honored by the kindred spirits who are joining the movement toward a new era of Bible reading.
Efrem currently serves as President and CEO of World Impact, an urban mission organization focusing on evangelism among the unreached urban poor, leadership development, and church planting. He is also a Teaching Pastor at Bayside Midtown Church in Sacramento, California. He consults on issues of multi-ethnicity, leadership, and community development, and he speaks and preaches internationally, equipping people for a life of transformation.
Previously, he served as Founding Pastor of The Sanctuary Covenant Church and President of The Sanctuary Community Development Corporation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as well as Superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Efrem has also written several books, including “The Hip Hop Church”, “Jump”, and “The Post-Black and Post-White Church”
“The Bible is where we first lose ourselves in the story and discover God’s compelling love for us that transcends economic, social, ethnic or any other status. Then, we are invited to find ourselves in the Bible, to discover our role in God’s great restoration story. The Institute for Bible Reading is doing important work to give us the tools to read the Scriptures well so we can live them well. Furthermore, the leaders of the Institute love the local church and are dedicated to serving pastors and their congregations for the long haul. Their focus, diligence and innovation are ushering in a new era of Bible reading that I believe might just bring about needed revival!”
We are excited to have Efrem as another great voice speaking into the work we are doing to help people connect meaningfully with the Bible. His perspective as a pastor and his expertise in the process of transformation will help us craft great resources that can be used in churches and communities around the world.
