Scott McConnell – Executive Director – 
Scott McConnell has researched the needs and preferences of church leaders, laity, and the unchurched for LifeWay Christian Resources for over 20 years. His in-depth studies and national polls have generated relevant insights on today’s church and culture.
Scott received a Bachelor of Science in Economics degree in Marketing and Strategic Management from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He was mentored in sound survey methodology and actionable decision-focused research as an associate project manager at NAXION, a Philadelphia based research and consulting firm. This research included segmentation, satisfaction and product development research for Fortune 100 telecommunications and utilities companies.
For 10 years, Scott has led LifeWay Research’s national polling that regularly measures the views of Americans and Protestant pastors. His team’s studies for ministries and business that serve churches have also tested new product ideas, measured the health of churches and denominations, tested packaging, identified motivations, and quantified brand perceptions. Scott is Executive Director of LifeWay Research.
Scott has written the following books:
- Multi-Site Churches: Guidance for the Movement’s Next Generation (2009)
- The Parent Adventure: Preparing Your Children For a Lifetime with God (with Rodney and Selma Wilson, 2009)
Lizette Beard – Qualitative Director –
Lizette Beard coordinates research projects for LifeWay Research on topics such as multi-site churches, mega church growth, church planting, small groups, discipleship, outreach to first generation immigrants, Transformational Churches, and the Church Planter Candidate Assessment. She was also the project manager for the church planting project Ed Stetzer did with Leadership Network in 2006 and 2007.
Lizette has a bachelor’s degree in Religious Studies and a master’s in Missiology. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in applied theology (North American Church Planting).
She also worked on missionary assignments in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire (West Africa) for 2 years and Fairbanks, Alaska for 2 years.
Lizette is also a contributing author to the book Paul’s Missionary Methods: In His Time and Ours.
John Theodore – Project Manager
John has been leading consumer insights research for nearly two decades. Starting his career at a research firm that specialized in improving customer satisfaction and loyalty, John has spent his career helping clients develop stronger relationships with their customers.
Having experiences in both the profit and nonprofit worlds, John has worked with leading brands in both sectors and across a range of research disciplines. His passion, however, is discovering the keys to successful relationships between customers and the brands they value. Whether it’s journey-mapping a first-time purchase, creating customer personas or discovering key drivers of “share-of-wallet,” John is dedicated to identifying the most salient factors that increase brand loyalty and life-time value.
Specific to the nonprofit world, John spent eight years collecting donor insights for Focus on the Family and four years collecting similar insights for Compassion International. Both experiences allowed John to adapt traditional methods of understanding the “customer experience” to the similar (but more complex) “donor experience,” striving to deepen donors’ commitment to the ministry while bringing about greater relevance and impact in their own lives.
John holds a Bachelor degree of finance from SUNY New Paltz, and an MBA in marketing from Pace University.
Casey Oliver – Statistician –
Casey Oliver guides the sampling and statistical methods for LifeWay Research and has worked on projects such as church planting, congregational metrics, city studies, and mental health. Casey received a bachelor’s degree from Susquehanna University in Mathematics and Physics with a minor in Religious Studies. He earned a master’s in Statistics at Iowa State University.
Casey taught statistics as an instructor at The Hill School in Pottstown, PA. He has served in leadership positions for a variety of youth and student ministries, and is ecstatic to combine his knowledge of statistics with his passion for discipleship while working for LifeWay Research.
Casey is married to Mary Beth and they have two children, Maddison and Elijah.
Kevin Walker – Research Assistant –
Kevin Walker is a research assistant for LifeWay Research and has worked on projects on topics such as multi-ethnic church planting, mega church growth and attendance, church planting, and congregational metrics. He also provides customer support for LifeWay Research’s online assessments (Transformational Church, Transformational Discipleship, and Church Planter Candidate Assessment).
Kevin earned both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He also earned bachelor and master degrees in accounting from Louisiana Tech University. Kevin is married to Wendy and they have two children, Elizabeth and Davis.