HARRISBURG, Pa.–Dr. Barry Whitworth, executive director of the Baptist Resource Network (BRN) of Pennsylvania/South Jersey, celebrated his 15th anniversary of work with the network on March 1. He also celebrated his second year as executive director on Feb. 1, a post in which he was unanimously elected to replace retiring executive director, Dr. David Waltz.

Whitworth, a long-time church planter who has planted churches and served on church staffs in Pennsylvania, New York and Maryland, previously served the BRN as the North American Mission Board’s lead church planting catalyst for Pennsylvania/South Jersey and Send City missionary for Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, since 2012, after serving as the network’s multiplying churches team leader since 2009.

Whitworth’s long-time vision has been to see every church “become a healthy, multiplying church,” which reflects the organization’s focus on healthy behaviors of missional engagement, intentional discipleship and leadership development.

He’s often shared his estimation that only about a third of BRN churches are missionally engaged; only around 20 percent of the churches have intentional discipleship pathways; and only around 10 percent have leadership development processes/pipelines.

He thinks today’s culture is demanding churches to think more about their health. “It is making us ask questions, making us examine, making us pursue things differently than we’ve done before,” he said.

Creating the right culture is a big challenge, he admitted.

“What I was doing in church planting was creating a culture of multiplication. Now that’s broadened, because not only do I still want to see that, I want to see our existing churches get into multiplication, and that means disciples, new leaders, new ministries, new churches. That’s the greatest challenge, getting us to a place where that’s our culture.”

His wife Beth agrees, noting that the various regional cultures of the Pennsylvania Dutch, the Appalachian Mountains, the midwestern urban Pittsburgh and the eastern urban Philadelphia all make establishing an organizational culture even more challenging.

“You have to know what the DNA [of each region] is, what they’re like,” she said. “When we first came it felt like coming into a family like a foster child.”

But now after 15 years of serving churches, she and Barry are seeing more and more of “that feeling of being connected as a family of God.”

Looking back, Whitworth said his favorite memory so far has been “watching brand new baby churches and now seeing the impact of those churches across the BRN. They’ve started churches, they’ve sent out missionaries, they’re just making an impact where they are.”

With fondness, he remembered, “I don’t think I laughed any harder than when I had all the multiplying church center leaders together. We used to have a blast. We would laugh, cry. Push each other around, play games …. It was, yeah; it’s a real brotherhood.”

Whitworth said distance didn’t matter to these men, who despite being from all over the region, are still very close.

“Back in the time when we had those guys together, we had guys drive from the extreme part of western Pennsylvania to go to Philadelphia and be with a brother while he was going through surgery,” he explained. “Relationship doesn’t care about miles. Relationship cares about people. And if you have that then you’ve got what you need.”

The emphasis on relationship is most evident in those the Whitworths lead.

“Leaders don’t create followers, they create more leaders,” Tiffany Meeder, Whitworth’s executive assistant, said about reading a quote by Tom Peters.

“I immediately thought of Barry. He leads with the intent of raising up a team who will better themselves personally and professionally,” she said. “He wholeheartedly wants us to lead with Kingdom and prayer first.”

Meeder added, “Barry’s leadership encourages us to be more than we think we can because we have a great God, one who’s ready for us to knock on the door of possibility – the possibility that over 14 million lost people might come to know Jesus Christ through the work that we do at the BRN. It’s been a privilege and an honor to work under such a man of integrity as Barry!”

Dr. Larry Anderson, BRN director of healthy churches, noted, “What I have grown to admire about Barry’s leadership is his willingness to go against the status quo. He is not willing to stand dormant with the church’s plateauing and declining trajectory. He is not happy with the racial and political divisions we are facing in our world. His heart breaks for the lost, and he knows these new millennial believers need some new churches that can help them navigate their world through the Word.”

Andy Weber, director of finances for the BRN, agreed.

“Barry is a strategic leader whose passion for the Kingdom is contagious, and his drive to invest in the next generation is evident. He is a prayer warrior who believes that anything is possible with our God,” Weber said.

“On a personal note, Barry has been extremely instrumental to me in my walk with Christ. Not only has he been a great mentor, he has been an incredible friend. I am extremely grateful for him and his ministries throughout the Northeast,” he added.

Cliff Jenkins, BRN/NAMB director of church planting, said, “People often use the titles of supervisor, manager or boss when describing their direct report. However, the term, ‘leader,’ is the only title that fits for Dr. Whitworth. Over the years, I have watched him tackle hard issues instead of shying away from them.”

Jenkins added, “He leads by example and seeks to find common ground while aiming to do what is right. He listens well and is always a great encourager. I simply love the way you can see his heart in almost all of what he does for the Lord.”

Buff McNickle, BRN network development and director of compassion ministry, put it this way: “Someone once said that life really is about the moments. Fifteen years ago was one of those defining life moments not only for the Whitworth family but for our BRN family. It was in that moment that Barry’s faith intersected with God’s faithfulness and has allowed many of us to see God’s activity and mission in full display.

“Barry’s relentless passion for God’s Kingdom and his strong leadership have the BRN poised for a bright future. I just pray that God blesses us with many more years and moments together. God bless you, Barry and Beth!”