GALLATIN, TN—The Welch College Rejoice! Ministry Team will begin their summer tour on Sunday, June 4, according to Todd Parrish, Vice President for Institutional Advancement. The group will hold services in fourteen churches in six states during their four-week tour. The team will also attend Free Will Baptist state meetings in Missouri, Texas, Virginia, and Kentucky.
The summer tour’s program will feature hymns, gospel songs, and modern worship arrangements designed to evangelize and encourage. The members of the 2023 Rejoice! Ministry Team are Malena Campis, Joy Green, Camden Lewis, Cheyenne Lewis, Sarah Lovett, Austin Owen, Brook Proctor, Daniel Rodriguez, Jacob Snow, Landon Wolfe, and Stephen Yerby. Rejoice! musical directors are Daniel Webster and Jacob Lute. Karen Owen will chaperone the group.
“God has given us the gift of songs, hymns, and spiritual songs to share His gospel with the world,” Parrish said. “It is our prayer that this team will lead our Free Will Baptist people to worship the Lord and that God will bless and use them as they minister around our denomination.”
June 4 AM – Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church, Park Hills, MO June 4 PM – First Free Will Baptist Church, DeSoto, MO June 10 PM – New Beginnings Free Will Baptist Church, Bryan, TX June 11 AM – Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church, Bryan, TX June 14 PM – Central Free Will Baptist Church, Wise, VA June 18 AM – Evergreen Free Will Baptist Church, Erwin, TN June 18 PM – Shady Grove Free Will Baptist Church, Whitesburg, TN June 20 PM – First Free Will Baptist Church, Marion, NC June 21 PM – Hardin Valley Free Will Baptist Church, Knoxville, TN June 22 PM – Harper Road Free Will Baptist Church, Joelton, TN June 25 AM – Hendersonville Free Will Baptist Church, Hendersonville, TN June 27 PM – Good Springs Free Will Baptist Church, Pleasant View, TN June 28 PM – New Pleasant Grove Free Will Baptist Church, Savannah, TN June 29 PM – Cookeville Free Will Baptist Church, Cookeville, TN
For information on auditioning for future Rejoice! Ministry Teams, contact Daniel Webster at daniel.webster@welch.edu.
GALLATIN, TN—The 2022–2023 Rejoice! Ministry Team has been selected, according to Daniel Webster, music director of the group. “After vocal and instrumental auditions and interviews, we have finalized selections for this year’s team,” Webster said. “We had a great number of quality musicians to choose from, and we are excited about these students as our representatives for this year.”
Female members of the group are Malena Campis, Joy Green, Cheyenne Lewis, Sarah Lovett, and Brook Proctor. Male members are Jackson Baer, Camden Lewis, Daniel Rodriguez, Jacob Snow, Landon Wolfe, and Stephen Yerby. Austin Owen will serve as sound technician.
“The 2022–2023 Rejoice! Ministry Team will prove to be one of our best teams yet,” stated Todd Parrish, Vice President for Institutional Advancement. “Their zeal for Christ and His gospel is already evident. They will be great representatives for Welch College and the kingdom.”
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College recently received notification that it ranks 17th among “Best Regional Colleges—South” in the 2023 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges, according to President Matt Pinson. The Regional Colleges—South category comprises 105 other colleges and universities in the South.
“We’re so glad to have Welch’s academic quality recognized by U.S. News,” President Pinson said. “This is another reminder to students and parents that Welch College is a top-quality institution of higher learning that delivers its educational promise.”
The “Best Regional Colleges—South” category where Welch College is ranked includes institutions that focus on undergraduate education and offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in professional fields such as business, nursing, and education.
Most of these institutions award fewer than fifty graduate degrees annually. This year, thirteen colleges and universities were added to this category, moving from last year’s total of 93 to 106 total schools.
“Colleges go up and down in these rankings each year,” Pinson said. “When we first entered the rankings twelve years ago, we were ranked 52nd. Then four years ago we got up to 26th, after which we’ve consistently been in the top 20. Our ranking at 17th is exciting.”
“To be ranked in the top 16% of all colleges and universities in our category is remarkable,” Provost Matthew McAffee said. “Our faculty and staff strive diligently to give our students an excellent Christian educational experience, and this ranking is a testament to their determination and hard work.”
U.S. News rankings judge the relative quality of institutions based on widely accepted indicators of excellence in higher education: what peer institutions think of the institution, how many freshmen return their sophomore year, how many of them go on to graduate, student-faculty ratio, faculty quality, financial resources, alumni giving, and more.
“To put our ranking in perspective,” Pinson said, “the ten institutions ranked directly above and below us have an average enrollment three times higher than Welch’s and an average endowment eight times higher than Welch’s. We are good stewards of the resources God has given us.”
Welch received especially high marks in three strategic areas, ranking as follows:
