by Anna Pinson | Oct 18, 2024
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College has named Ellie Simpson as Financial Aid Coordinator, according to Craig Mahler, Vice President for Financial Affairs. “I am delighted that Ms. Simpson has agreed to join Welch to serve in this important role that helps with the financial needs of students and ensures compliance with federal and state regulations.”
Currently a senior majoring in Business Administration, Simpson will work part-time until graduating from Welch College in May 2025, after which she will serve in the role full-time. “Ellie’s love for Welch College, attention to detail, outgoing and friendly personality, and experience serving as a student employee in the Provost’s Office uniquely qualify her for this role,” Mahler said.
Originally from Missouri, Simpson is a member of Calvary Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church in Fenton, Missouri. For more information about Welch College, visit welch.edu.
by Anna Pinson | Sep 24, 2024
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College has been ranked 1st in social mobility and 10th overall among “Best Regional Colleges–South” in the 2025 edition of U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges, according to President Matt Pinson.
The social mobility ranking measures the percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who go on to graduate. The Regional Colleges–South category comprises 96 other colleges and universities in the South.
“We’re excited that Welch has climbed to 10th overall and 1st in social mobility in U.S. News Best Colleges,” President Pinson said. “This shows students, parents, and alumni our commitment to academic excellence and that Welch’s academic program is competitive and has recognition in the academic community.”
The Best Regional Colleges category includes institutions that focus on teaching undergraduate students. These schools offer a range of degree programs in the liberal arts and in professional fields.
“Colleges go up and down in these rankings each year,” Pinson said. “When we first entered the rankings fourteen years ago, we were ranked 52nd. In the past six years we’ve consistently been in the top 20. Our ranking this year at 10th is exciting.”
“We are thankful to be ranked so high again this year,” Provost Matthew McAffee said. “It’s especially gratifying to see that our faculty and staff’s diligent efforts to help students from economically challenged backgrounds graduate from college has been recognized in this #1 ranking for social mobility.”
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, how many economically challenged students go on to graduate, and more.
“To put our ranking in perspective,” Pinson said, “the other top-ten institutions in our category have an average enrollment more than 5 times higher than Welch’s and an average endowment more than 30 times higher than Welch’s. We’re striving to be good stewards of the resources God has given us.”
Out of the 97 institutions in the Best Regional Colleges–South category, Welch received especially high marks in five strategic areas, ranking as follows:
1st in social mobility
2nd in graduation rate
2nd in student-faculty ratio
4th in ACT/SAT scores
5th lowest among private colleges in student debt after graduation
For more information about Welch, email gotowelch@welch.edu or visit welch.edu.
by Anna Pinson | Sep 20, 2024
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Recently, Welch College Press announced the publication of its newest book, A Life Pleasing to God, by Barry Raper, according to Matt Bracey, managing editor. “We’re so excited about our newest book. We believe Dr. Raper’s accessible study of 1 Thessalonians will be an ideal read not only for preachers and teachers but also for small-group Bible studies and devotions.”
“Among the earliest of Paul’s letters, the various emphases of 1 Thessalonians are ones much needed for our present day, as Dr. Raper helpfully elucidates in this excellent study of this brief Pauline text,” says Michael A. G. Azad Haykin, who serves Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. “I also loved the occasional examples drawn from church history that illustrated Raper’s commentary. Moreover, the questions at the close of each chapter are ideal for personal or group study. Thoroughly recommended!”
A Life Pleasing to God: Reflections on Christian Living from 1 Thessalonians was written by Dr. Barry Raper, who serves as Associate Dean of the Divinity School and coordinator of Ministry Studies at Welch College as well as Senior Pastor of Bethel Free Will Baptist Church in Chapmansboro, Tennessee.
President of Welch College, Matt Pinson, states, “It’s such a privilege to commend this new book on 1 Thessalonians from Barry Raper. He is a gift to the church, and his spiritually rich reflections in this volume will be beneficial not only to general readers, and for Bible study groups or devotions, but also to pastors and Bible teachers. I highly recommend it!”
A Life Pleasing to God is devotional and pastoral in its tone. With study questions after each of its thirteen chapters, it would be ideal for a small-group Bible study. While it retails at $19.99, it is available for $9.99 for bulks of ten or more.
“I love this book!”, writes Edward E. Moody, Jr., Executive Secretary for the National Association of Free Will Baptists. “Dr. Raper writes from a pastor’s heart. He helps the reader put the words of 1 Thessalonians into practice to truly live a life pleasing to God. Enjoy this book and let its message about the gospel change your life.”
People interested in the book may purchase it at www.welch.edu/welchpress. For those wanting to order in bulk (ten or more), use the code “PASTOR50” or contact Nic Cruz at ncruz@welch.edu.
by Anna Pinson | Sep 16, 2024
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Welch College enrolled 399 students for its fall 2024 semester, similar to last fall’s headcount of 393, according to Matthew McAffee, Provost of Welch College.
“We are so delighted to welcome this promising group of new students to Welch College,” McAffee said. “We pray the Lord will grant His richest blessings upon them as they pursue their vocational preparation for life and ministry.”
At press time, college officials reported 142 dormitory students (10 of which are graduate students), 33 commuter students, 39 non-residential graduate students, 60 Adult Studies/Online students, and 125 dual enrollment students. Full-time equivalency (FTE) was 251 students. Total enrollment statistics indicate students from 25 states, 1 territory, and 10 other countries.
“It’s such a wonderful thing seeing students back on campus,” Welch President Matt Pinson said. “We have a great group of committed students this year. Only one other year, 25 years ago, did Welch have as many other countries represented in the student body. On-campus enrollment is not quite as high as it was last year, but we’re holding steady and gradually building up after our enrollment took a plunge in the wake of COVID.”
“Also, ministry enrollment is up, with a larger number of pastoral ministry students in the freshman class,” Pinson added. “In a few more years, we project we’ll be back up to the 40-year record enrollment the college experienced the year before COVID.”
For more information about Welch College, email recruit@welch.edu or visit the college’s website at www.welch.edu.
by Anna Pinson | Aug 29, 2024
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Dr. Timothy Tennent, former president and professor of World Christianity at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, will deliver a series of guest lectures during the 2024 Leroy Forlines Lectures at Welch College, according to President Matt Pinson.
“This year we’re excited to merge our Forlines Lectures and Missions Conference into a series of lectures by world-renowned missiologist Timothy Tennent,” Pinson said. “He will be lecturing on the theology of world missions, which is appropriate since one of the topics mentioned when the lectureship was founded was ‘world mission.’” The presentations are scheduled for October 14-15, 10:00 to 12:00, in Celorio Auditorium on the Welch campus.
The Leroy Forlines Lectures began in 1993 at Welch College as a means of bringing well known speakers to campus who could address challenging issues of the day related to theology, philosophy, worldview, world mission, and other topics. They are named for long-time Welch professor and dean F. Leroy Forlines. The lectureship, which had not been held for a few years, was reinstated in 2023 by means of a generous endowment by Professor Forlines’s wife Dr. Fay Forlines.
“It’s a unique privilege to have Dr. Tennent on campus again,” President Pinson said. “He’s one of the best known missiologists in the evangelical community, and he brings a sound biblical and theological vision to bear on his subject. We’re so glad to be able to bring together our biennial missions conference with our annual Forlines Lectures and have Dr. Tennent lecture on the theology of world missions.”
Tennent is a highly regarded preacher, professor, missiologist, and author. Before his inauguration as president of Asbury Theological Seminary in November of 2009, he held teaching positions at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Toccoa Falls College. He has also taught and ministered in Eastern Europe and Asia.
Tennent received his M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell, a Th.M. from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. He is also a 2008 graduate of a three-year mentor project in Academic Leadership sponsored by the Lilly endowment.
He is author of numerous books and articles, including Christianity at the Religious Roundtable (Baker Academic), Theology in the Context of World Christianity (Zondervan), Invitation to World Missions: A Trinitarian Missiology for the 21st Century (Kregel Academic), and For the Body: Recovering a Theology of Gender, Sexuality, and the Human Body (Zondervan).
Tennent’s wife, Julie, also a graduate of Gordon-Conwell, has led numerous Bible studies and is active in Friendship International in Lexington, Kentucky. She is a church organist and pianist, having produced several recordings and a cantata known as All the Glory. The Tennents have two adult children.
IM, the Free Will Baptist international missions agency, along with other affiliated missions organizations, will feature exhibits and information sessions at the conference. The event is free of charge and open to the public. Gifts to help make the Forlines Lectures possible may be made to Welch College by sending a check marked “Forlines Lectures” to Welch College, 1045 Bison Trail, Gallatin, TN 37066, or by giving online at welch.edu/give with designation to the lecture series.
by Anna Pinson | Aug 27, 2024
For Immediate Release
GALLATIN, TN—Several Welch faculty contributed chapters to the new book Jonathan Edwards: A Reformed Arminian Engagement published by B&H Academic, according to Welch president Matt Pinson.
Edited by Pinson, the book, recently published by the academic publishing arm of LifeWay Christian Resources, presents a Reformed Arminian interaction with the theology of the great Reformed theologian, philosopher, and preacher Jonathan Edwards (1703–1758).
In addition to Pinson, contributors include Robert Picirilli, professor emeritus of New Testament and Greek at Welch; Paul Harrison, long-time adjunct in Church History and Greek at Welch who now serves as pastor of Madison Free Will Baptist Church in Madison, Alabama; Matthew McAffee, Welch provost and dean of Welch Divinity School; Kevin Hester, vice president for institutional effectiveness and dean of the school of theology at Welch; and Barry Raper, associate professor of ministry and special assistant to the president for ministry formation at Welch who also serves as senior pastor at Bethel Free Will Baptist Church in Chapmansboro, Tennessee.
“This book allows the distinctive thinking of the Reformed Arminian expression of theology to shine,” Pinson said. “That’s because there are things we really like about Edwards’s Reformed theology but things we differ from with Edwards when it comes to his Calvinist doctrine of salvation.”
Several Arminian and Calvinist scholars highly commend the book. One of those is Michael A. G. Azad Haykin, Professor of Church History at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, who wrote the foreword for the book: “The authors of the essays in this fine collection are quite prepared to acknowledge Edwards as an important mentor in their lives and yet part company with him on certain issues that relate to freedom and soteriology. . . . A collection of Reformed Arminian essays on one regarded as a quintessential Calvinist is a surprising turn of events, but it is a turn that is both a profitable and an enjoyable read.”
Wesleyan-Arminian scholar Matt Ayars, former president of Wesley Biblical Seminary, said, “This book is needed now. The rapidly changing landscape of Methodism, pan-Wesleyanism, and more broadly Protestant evangelicalism in North America means the establishment of new boundary lines. . . . This book, with the spirit in which it is written, is the kind of work that will simply make the church better in the immediate future.”
Chris Chun, Director of the Jonathan Edwards Center at Gateway Seminary in California, calls the book “a fresh and creative contribution to the ongoing discussions in Edwards studies. . . . This page-turner offers a captivating exploration that underscores the real divergences between Calvinists and Reformed Arminians.”
Tom Nettles, Senior Professor of Historical Theology at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, states, “I recommend the book heartily. . . . Its authors’ grasp of the secondary literature is profound, and their interaction with primary Edwardsean texts shows an impressive, sympathetic, and instructive depth of understanding.”
Brian Shelton, Chair of Christian Studies and Philosophy at Asbury University says, “As the landscape of evangelical thought shifts, this nuanced approach with its generous attitude can help to rectify overstated theological partitions.”
Rhyne Putman, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Williams Baptist University, calls the volume “a unique collection of essays that truly models the art of charitable, appreciative, and balanced theological disagreement . . . a must-read.”
John Mark Hicks, Emeritus Professor of Theology at Lipscomb University, notes: “Any discussion of the differences between the Dordt version of Reformed theology and Reformed Arminianism and Wesleyan Arminianism must engage this book.”
Copies of the book may be ordered from numerous bookstores and online outlets or from Welch College Press (welchpress.com) at the discounted price of $19.99.
