Former Lifeway Leader and Abuse Survivor Jennifer Lyell Dies at 47
Jennifer Lyell, a former abuse survivor, and Lifeway editor and author, passed away Saturday at the age of 47. According to her friend Rachael Denhollander, Lyell suffered "a series of massive strokes, leading to her becoming unconscious sometime Monday afternoon. She was found Thursday evening after missing a medical appointment."
"Jennifer passed gently into the arms of her Redeemer, surrounded by loved ones," Denhollander said.
Lyell, who came to faith at 20 at a Billy Graham crusade, served as a vice president at Lifeway, the Southern Baptist Convention's publishing arm. During her time at Lifeway, she worked on over a dozen New York Times bestsellers.
In 2019, she was considered one of the highest-ranking women leaders in the SBC, Religion News Service reports.
"We are saddened to hear the news of the passing of Jennifer Lyell. Lifeway sends our prayers and deepest sympathies to Jennifer's family and friends," Lifeway spokesperson Carol Pipes said on Sunday in a statement.
Lyell begrudgingly began her publishing career after her primary desire to become a missionary did not come to fruition. She also holds a Master of Divinity from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS).
"Eventually, I'm always convicted of the reality that my life is not my own. It was bought at an incomprehensible price," she said in a 2009 profile published by SBTS.
Although Lyell experienced success as a Christian author and editor, her career was disrupted after she accused a former Southern Baptist leader, David Sills, of abuse. She met Sills, who was also president of Reaching & Teaching International Ministries, a missionary nonprofit when she was 26, and he was in his late 40s while in seminary in 2004. Sills was considered a mentor and a surrogate father figure to Lyell, welcoming her into his family.
Lyell reported to her bosses in 2018 that Sills had allegedly coerced her into nonconsensual sexual acts over a 12-year period using force and his spiritual power. Although no specifics were disclosed, Sills resigned from his position as president of the organization and at the seminary after acknowledging misconduct.
Although Lyell's allegations launched an investigation into the Southern Baptist Convention's handling of abuse cases, she faced backlash and was labeled a "temptress" and "adulteress." Additionally, Baptist Press, an SBC news outlet, initially published an article that aided Lyell in having "a morally inappropriate relationship" with a seminary professor. The outlet later retracted that article and apologized.
As reported by the Daily Wire, Lyell had been dishonest, and Sills had been excluded from the opportunity to return to ministry. In response to the turmoil, Lyell eventually quit her position at Lifeway.
In 2022, a report published by the investigative firm Guidepost Solutions revealed that SBC leaders had mistreated survivors and sought to minimize the issue of abuse in the denomination, resulting in a series of reforms. Sills, however, sued the SBC and its leaders following the report, arguing they had conspired to make him a scapegoat and that he was "repentant and obedient." Additionally, the former professor sued Lyell.
In a deposition earlier this year, Lyell detailed the alleged abuse and how the Bible had been used to silence her for years.
"I do not need to be under oath to tell the truth — and there are no lies that will shake my certainty of what is true," she said in a social media post following the filing of the suit.
I am bound by a protective order—which I opposed—in the ongoing lawsuit, so I am constrained from correcting lies about me w/the material relevant to fresh attacks & false accusations about me. HOWEVER, my prior statement stands—even more firmly—& my day *will* ultimately come. https://t.co/shJinneVjX
— Jennifer Lyell (@Jenlyell) March 19, 2025
Lyell remained a woman of unwavering faith. A quote from C.S. Lewis’s The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe is etched onto paving stones in her front yard, leaving a testament to the hope that shaped her life. The passage speaks of Aslan the lion, a Christlike figure, who conquers death through sacrificial love:
“When a willing victim who had committed no treachery was killed in a traitor’s stead… the Table would crack and death itself would start working backwards.”
Photo Credit: ©Facebook/Ministry Watch
Originally published June 09, 2025.
