Lee Heyward was born in 1955 and raised in Greenville, South Carolina.  It was during his high school years that Lee trusted Christ and became a follower of Jesus.  Lee then attended and graduated from Furman University where he met his wife, Terry.  After marriage, Lee and Terry relocated to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he worked for two years in the field of Business Management.  In 1980, he was invited to join the pastoral staff at Elmbrook Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin, where he served for four years.

After attending and completing Trinity Seminary in 1986 in nearby Chicago, Lee and Terry moved back to the Milwaukee area to plant Northbrook Church in Richfield, Wisconsin.  Lee served as Northbrook’s Senior Pastor as the church grew to a weekly attendance of more than 1,800 people.  Northbrook also planted two more churches in the neighboring suburbs of Milwaukee.  In 2009, Lee founded BrookLink, and he continues to grow the organization’s global footprint.  While his focus has been international church networks, Lee has also served to strengthen local churches in the US.  Since founding BrookLink, Lee has served as Interim Pastor at Meadowbrook Church (2014-2015) and as Lead Pastor for Elmbrook Church (2018-2022).