by Anna Pinson | Dec 3, 2025
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College President Matt Pinson announced to faculty and staff this week that Craig Mahler has resigned from Welch as Vice President for Financial Affairs, after nearly twenty years at the college, first as Comptroller and then, for thirteen years, as VP and Chief Financial Officer.
Pinson said, “My dear friend shared with me that after much prayer and reflection, he and his wife Sabrina feel it’s the right time for him to conclude his season of full-time service at Welch. Craig has endured financial challenges and made Welch stronger over the past thirteen years. He has shown incredible tenacity and believes that, given the college’s financial stability, now is the time God has granted him peace to step away. He has accepted a job as the Chief Financial Officer at Christian Community Schools in the nearby city of White House, where his daughter attends.”
“This has been one of the hardest decisions of my life,” Mahler said. “But the Lord has impressed on me the importance of presence and priority of ministry to my family, especially our girls, with whom time and opportunity are fleeting. With the college experiencing its highest enrollment in 42 years this fall and having received much-needed cash infusions from gifts and real estate investments this calendar year, it has become clear that it’s the right time to step away, given the current financial stability and momentum.”
“We wept together,” Pinson said, “as he shared how difficult a decision this was and reassured me of his deep commitment to Welch and its mission, and to me and our shared vision for the college he loves so deeply. Craig spoke of how thankful he is for what God has done under his tenure, the solid place he has helped us get to with God’s help, and the integrity with which we have done it. He spoke of his and Sabrina’s desire to be Welch’s biggest fans in the future.”
President Pinson has appointed Dr. Daniel Webster as interim Vice President for Administration and Student Engagement. In this role he will continue managing the student experience from recruitment to graduation from Welch, while ensuring the uninterrupted management of the Business Office.
“When I began serving as Comptroller in 2006, I could not have anticipated the profound impact this place would have on my life,” Mahler said. “Since being invited into the CFO role in 2012, I’ve had the tremendous blessing of helping steward Welch’s resources through seasons of both challenge and growth. I sincerely love and appreciate President and Mrs. Pinson and am thankful to God for the opportunity to work alongside them for nearly twenty years. I am confident the Lord will continue to use President Pinson to lead the college to a position of thriving. While I believe the time is right for me to step away, it is not without a heavy heart. I remain confident in our beloved college and the Lord’s continued care for it.”
Mahler will continue full-time through mid-January, moving to a limited, remote and part-time capacity for the next several weeks following that, then serving as a consultant.
Pinson said, “I am so thankful for this dedicated servant of God and close friend who has loved and served Welch so selflessly over these nearly two decades.”
by Anna Pinson | Oct 31, 2025
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Dr. Jon Forlines will retire after more than 24 years of full-time service as Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students and will continue as Special Advisor to the President, according to Welch President Matt Pinson.
Forlines has been on leave of absence from Welch since suffering a stroke in mid-July. “Welch is so thankful for the prayers of its alumni and supporters for our dear friend Jon Forlines for the past few months,” Pinson said. “Dr. Forlines has been such a key member of the Welch leadership team for nearly a quarter of a century—and such a loving, Christlike mentor to our students. It’s going to be hard to replace him.”
A 1980 Welch graduate, Forlines grew up on the Welch campus, the son of Dean of Students and theology professor Leroy Forlines and his wife Fay. Following graduation, he served as an associate and youth pastor in North Carolina for many years. After that he began doctoral studies in psychology while living in Polston Hall, the women’s residence hall on the West End campus, where his wife Susan, Welch Dean of Women, served as women’s resident director. Completing his Ph.D. from Tennessee State University in 1998, he served as a psychological examiner in the Tennessee Prison system until beginning his current role in 2001. Jon and Susan have four children: Stephen, who died in childhood, and Joel, Jared, and Anna, all three Welch graduates.
“There is no one more committed to Welch than Dr. Forlines,” Pinson said. “Having served as president of the student body when he was a student and as president of the Alumni Association for the last few years, he has always been one of the college’s greatest supporters. He brought this love and commitment for his alma mater with him to his work as Vice President and Dean of Students.”
“His quiet, kind, and affable manner, together with his Christ-centered love for students and desire to see them grow in their faith and commitment to Holy Scripture, has been nothing short of life-changing for countless Welch students.” Pinson continued. “He will be sorely missed, and we ask the wider Welch family to remain in prayer for him as he continues his recovery.”
“Compassionate, concerned, and committed are three descriptors that come to mind when I think about Dr. Jon Forlines,” Welch Provost Matthew McAffee said. “Over the years that I’ve known and worked with Dr. Forlines at Welch College, he has consistently shown deep compassion and concern for students, faculty, and staff alike. And one major unifying thread running throughout his life’s work and ministry here has been his loyal commitment to our rich institutional heritage and its ongoing investment in the transformation of students for Christ’s kingdom. We will miss him deeply and pray for God’s blessings upon him and his family in this new season of life.”
Dr. Daniel Webster, Director of Enrollment Services, will serve as Interim Director of Student Services, with the assistance of Susan Forlines, Whitney Lute (Women’s Resident Director and part-time Executive Assistant to the President), and additional support staff.
Pinson said, “Welch College extends its heartfelt thanks to Dr. Forlines for his dedicated service to this institution and will be praying for him and supporting him in the days ahead.” Welch is planning a campus event to celebrate Dr. Forlines’s career at Welch.
by Anna Pinson | Sep 12, 2025
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College enrolled 440 students for its fall 2025 semester, the highest overall enrollment in 42 years, according to Matthew McAffee, Provost of Welch College.
The number represents a 10% jump from last fall’s headcount of 399. The last fall semester the college recorded a higher overall enrollment was in 1983, when total enrollment was 467. This overall growth coincides with a new, on-campus student enrollment, which, at 81, is at its highest number since before COVID. Full-time equivalent (FTE) enrollment increased by 14% from last fall.
Traditional (dorm and commuter) enrollment climbed from 175 last fall to 217. This jump represents a 24% increase, the highest year-to-year increase in at least 73 years, since 1952, the earliest year records are available.
“Our fall 2025 numbers signify a major increase in momentum in our efforts to attain sustainable growth as an institution,” McAffee said. “This enrollment increase has made a palpable impact on campus life, generating a sense of enthusiasm and excitement among our faculty, staff, and students. We thank the Lord for this answer to prayer!”
At press time, college officials reported 154 dormitory students (25 of which are graduate students), 63 commuter students, 36 non-residential graduate students, 66 Adult Studies/Online students, and 121 dual enrollment students. Full-time equivalency (FTE) was 286 students. Total enrollment statistics indicate students from 21 states, 2 territories, and 8 other countries.
“We’ve been projecting and praying and hoping since 2020 that the fall of 2025, after the two low COVID freshman classes had cycled out, would be when we began our ascent back up,” Welch President Matt Pinson said. “Yet this unprecedented boost is larger than any of us anticipated. Thanks be to God for it!”
For more information about Welch College, email recruit@welch.edu or visit the college’s website at www.welch.edu.
by Anna Pinson | Jul 16, 2025
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—The music of Dr. James Stevens, Dean of the School of Music at Welch College, was performed in a pipe organ concert by Carson Cooman at the Harvard University Memorial Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts on June 11, according to Welch President Matt Pinson. Dr. Stevens attended the concert at Cooman’s invitation.
Dr. Stevens’s six movement work, Morning Awakenings–Theme and Variations, was featured as the finale of the organ concert. Carson Cooman is an internationally known composer and organist and has been the Composer in Residence at the Harvard Memorial Church since 2006. Stevens is a prolific composer with many publications.
Dr. Stevens is a graduate of Samford University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and has a doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Kentucky. He has been the Dean of the School of Music at Welch since 2004.
To learn more about Welch College, visit welch.edu.
by Anna Pinson | Jul 10, 2025
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College’s traveling theater group The Evangel Players will begin their summer tour Sunday, July 13, according to AnnaGee Harris, Director of Theater. The six-member team, directed by Abby Settle, will perform 15 shows between July 13 and August 3, traveling throughout Oklahoma, Kentucky, Illinois, Alabama, and Tennessee. The group will perform a dramatization of the great work of Christian literature The Pilgrim’s Progress, written by John Bunyan.
“Written in 1678, The Pilgrim’s Progress is just as applicable to the Christian walk today as it was 500 years ago,” Harris said. “When adapting the book into a play, it was important to maintain the magnitude of the epic journey we each take through a world determined to pull us from the straight and narrow.”
The members of the 2025 Evangel Players are Jaron Austin, Kelli Bowman, Kaylen Hagan, Morgan Livingston, Kaden Parker, and Grace Pope.
Tour Schedule
July 13 Locust Grove Free Will Baptist Church, Locust Grove, OK
July 13 Crossroads Church, Jenks, OK
July 16 Cornerstone Free Will Baptist Church, Sperry, OK
July 17 Heaven Bound Freewill Baptist Church, Stigler, OK
July 18 First Free Will Baptist Church, Checotah, OK
July 20 Bethel Free Will Baptist Church, Allen, OK
July 20 New Home Free Will Baptist Church, Coweta, OK
July 23 Providence Baptist Church, Springfield, TN
July 24 Corner Stone Free Will Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, TN
July 26 Ina Free Will Baptist Church, Ina, IL
July 27 Hendersonville Free Will Baptist Church, Hendersonville, TN
July 27 Red Bay Free Will Baptist Church, Red Bay, AL
July 29 Walnut Grove Freewill Baptist Church, Lowmansville, KY
July 30 First Free Will Baptist Church, Glasgow, KY
August 3 Second Free Will Baptist Church, Ashland, KY
August 3 Lighthouse Free Will Baptist Church, Louisa, KY
