Dr. Janet W. Henley
Minister of Discipleship and Congregational Care
Dr. Janet Wilson Henley serves her Lord as Minister of Discipleship and Congregational Care at Clifton Park Baptist Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. Early in her ministry, the Lord impressed upon Dr. Henley a specific call to lead the church in fulfilling Christ’s Great Commission to make “fully-devoted, self-initiating, reproducing” disciples of all (Matthew 28:18-20). She earnestly believes that a sold-out disciple of Christ brings the Kingdom of God near into the spaces where they are, and, as a result, Christ can be known and lives and environments can be transformed. She agrees with Henry Blackaby when he says that “God is always at work around us” and she considers that the life most impacted by recognizing and participating in that work is the disciple herself. She sees her own life and ministry as a living testimony of that reality. Therefore, Dr. Henley labors to the desired end that everyone who is connected to Clifton Park and Christ have the opportunity to be all that Christ died for them to be in Him and for Him. Her prescription for God glorifying discipleship is a hearty dose of the Word of God (through a daily meeting with Jesus of reading and praying the Word, Sunday morning preaching, and group Bible study) and the application, practice, and sharing of that same Word.
Dr. Henley is convinced that discipleship’s best expression is disciplemaking. She, therefore, implements and oversees programs that support the work of developing those won to Christ to the end that they will win and develop others who will win and develop still others and so on until the kingdom of this world becomes the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ (Rev. 11:15). The church’s main disciplemaking program is The Great Commission Groups where same gender persons gather in groups of 3 to 4 to meet weekly for study and prayer and regularly for fellowship, evangelism, and ministry. Dr. Henley also moves with the heartbeat of God in working to see that young people begin their disciplemaking ministries early. To that end she oversees the AWANA program (evangelism and discipleship program for children and teens with over 1,000 touched and reached for Christ) and created the Precious Stones (mothers discipling daughters), Solid Rocks (fathers discipling sons), and Rock Solid (college men spiritually nurturing boys while being discipled) programs.
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Offering herself as a grief counselor to those facing death and as a biblical counselor to those facing life’s other challenging moments, Dr. Henley ministers with compassion and empathy. Other arenas in which Dr. Henley is available to serve are as a teacher/presenter on the subjects of discipleship, disciplemaking, soul care, grief, Christian education programming, and teacher development and as a preacher and writer, being able to bring a relevant, fresh, and practical word from God
A native of Jackson, Tennessee, Dr. Henley holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Lambuth College (now the University of Memphis at Lambuth), in Jackson, TN, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX, and a Doctor of Educational Ministry in biblical counseling from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Her doctoral project focused on greater retention and effective assimilation of new members by incorporating soul care into the church’s membership process.
Dr. Henley enjoys life in Silver Spring, Maryland with her husband Douglas. They are delighted to be the proud parents of three children, Michael Douglas, Timothy Paul, and Asha Jan, and the grandparents of two delightful grandchildren, Nathan and Mila.