For Immediate Release
Albert Mohler, Brad Ryan to Address Welch Graduates
GALLATIN, TN—Albert Mohler, President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and Brad Ryan, pastor of Ina Free Will Baptist Church in Ina, Illinois, will address the Welch College graduating class of 2023 on May 4–5. Ryan will bring the baccalaureate sermon Thursday evening, May 4, at 7:00 p.m. Mohler will address the graduates during the commencement exercises at 10:00 a.m., on Friday, May 5.
Dr. Albert Mohler serves as president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and is recognized as one of the most prominent leaders and intellectuals of the American evangelical movement. Mohler, a theologian and ordained minister, speaks to pressing contemporary questions from the vantage point of a Christian worldview. He has authored several books, the most recent of which is Tell Me the Stories of Jesus: The Explosive Power of Jesus’ Parables (Thomas Nelson). Mohler and his wife Mary have two children, Kate and Christopher, and three grandchildren, Benjamin, Henry, and Margaret.
Illinois native Brad Ryan was raised in the home of a Free Will Baptist pastor. A 1995 graduate of Welch College, he now serves on the college’s Board of Trustees. He has served as pastor of First Free Will Baptist Church of Ina since 2001. In addition to serving as a Welch trustee, Ryan serves the Free Will Baptist denomination, especially the Illinois state association, in various capacities. He and his wife Tommi Jo, daughter of president emeritus Dr. Tom Malone and his late wife Mrs. Verna Malone, have four children: Claire, a Welch graduate who also received her M.A.T. from Welch; Kendal, a Welch graduate; Olivia, a member of the 2023 Welch graduating class; and Jack, who intends to enroll at Welch in the fall.
To learn more about Welch College, visit welch.edu.