by jowens | Mar 19, 2021
Welch College, (Gallatin, TN) will be hosting a comprehensive accreditation visit by a team of evaluators from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE) April 19-22, 2021 to determine its compliance with the standards for accreditation. During the visit, representatives of the ABHE team will entertain comments from the public. Any members of the public interested in making a presentation regarding the College to the team should contact the College at the following telephone number (615) 675-5322 or email address (khester@welch.edu) to determine a meeting time. Persons wishing to submit third-party comments related to the institution may send them to Dr. Ron Kroll, Director, Commission on Accreditation, 5850 T. G. Lee Blvd., Suite 130, Orlando, FL, 32822. Persons interested in reviewing the standards for accreditation will find them on the ABHE website at abhe.org. They appear under “about accreditation.” The institution is subject to the Institutional Accreditation Standards.
by jowens | Mar 17, 2021
Greg Fawbush, Athletic Director at Welch College, announced an upcoming transition in the women’s soccer program. Leslie Nichols, who has served as head coach since inception of the soccer program in 2018, will become the soccer coordinator for both the men’s and women’s teams.
Dr. Jon Wilson will become the head coach for both the men’sand women’s programs. In her new role, Coach Nichols will oversee the spiritual growth program of the women’s soccer team, serve as assistant coach for the women’s soccer program,and handle day-to-day operations for both teams.
“Coach Nichols has done a tremendous job the past three years with the startup of the women’s soccer program” Fawbush said. “Leslie recently accepted a new position as College Missions Coordinatorwith IM, Inc. Thus the timing for this transition is perfect for everyone in the programs. Coach Wilson will bring years of experience and knowledge to the women’s soccer program.”
Those interested in learning more about intercollegiate soccer at Welch College are invited to contact Jon Wilson (jwilson@welch.edu), Greg Fawbush (gfawbush@welch.edu), or Leslie Nichols (lnichols@welch.edu).
by jowens | Mar 17, 2021
Dear Members of the Classes of 2020 and 2021,
We have been praying for you and are excited about what God is already doing and is going to do through you for His kingdom.
I wanted to write you with an update on Commencement activities for this May. We plan to have three Commencement ceremonies on Friday, May 7th, at 10:00, 2:00, and 7:00.
The three ceremonies will be for the following categories of graduates:
- Bachelor’s degree recipients in the Class of 2021 at 10:00
- The Class of 2020 at 2:00
- Associate’s and master’s degree recipients in the Class of 2021 at 7:00.
Owing to physical distancing requirements, each graduate will be permitted to have a maximum of 4 guests in the in-person ceremony, as well as a maximum of 3 guests in overflow areas set up for viewing the livestream of each ceremony.
We will be sending out R.s.v.p. surveys soon to see how many guests each graduate will be inviting. Bachelor’s degree recipients of the Class of 2021 will, as usual, be required to attend the Commencement ceremony. Attendance for associate’s and master’s degree recipients for the Class of 2021, as well as all degree recipients for the Class of 2020, is optional. Thus the R.s.v.p. surveys will also seek to ascertain who in categories (b) and (c) above plan to attend.
There will be a virtual awards ceremony, and there will be no graduate breakfast or Baccalaureate service. Further details about other Commencement-related activities will be communicated in the near future.
I want to thank you for your patience with us as we navigate these situations in a difficult set of circumstances owing to COVID-19. We look forward to celebrating with you this momentous occasion in your journey.
Sincerely,
Matt Pinson
President
by jowens | Mar 16, 2021
Desiring a career in Nursing? Learn more about the unique opportunity to obtain both an Associate’s and a Bachelor’s degree through the Nursing Partnership program with Welch College and Union University Hendersonville. Students completing the program are well qualified for their practice and are in demand throughout the mid-state. In addition, students with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (B.S.N.) degree are eligible in the future to pursue an advanced practice degree while employed as a nurse.
Welch and Union are both faith-based institutions that emphasize the specific nursing competencies and human relations skills to excel as a nurse. Both are nationally ranked for academic excellence. Students enter as a freshman at Welch College and are eligible for the Tennessee Promise and other academic scholarships. Those who complete the two-year Associate’s degree and meet academic standards are guaranteed admission to Union in Hendersonville. The partnership program offers a low-cost alternative to other private university nursing options with no delay in obtaining a degree and licensure. Students who begin the application process now will receive an additional $2,000 incentive scholarship at Welch.
The Nursing Information Session will be held on the Welch College campus in Coffman Hall on Monday evening, March 29, at 6:30. Interested prospective students, parents, and non-traditional adult students are encouraged to attend. Leadership from both Welch and Union will be present to share more information and provide application instructions. For more information go to www.welch.edu/nursing.
by jowens | Mar 15, 2021
Tim and Kristi Johnson will serve as Missionaries-in-Residence at Welch College beginning in August. Tim will then transition into a full-time position with Welch College in August of 2022 as a faculty member and Program Coordinator of Intercultural Studies.
Tim and Kristi Johnson were appointed as career missionaries in 1997. During their first years in Spain, they completed language school and began their ministry in Villalba. In 2005, Tim and Kristi joined Anthony and Lea Edgmon in a new church plant in Alpedrete. Tim said, “While it is sad to leave the place that God called our family to over 22 years ago, I look forward to this opportunity at Welch College to train future missionaries as they help fulfill the Great Commission.” Teammate Anthony Edgmon added, “The Johnsons have been outstanding, highly gifted teammates and friends. We consider them family. We are thankful and privileged to have served alongside them throughout their years in Spain.”
Clint Morgan, General Director of IM, Inc., the international missions board of the National Association of Free Will Baptists, said, “Leaving the field to return to the U.S. is always difficult for missionaries. But when a missionary leaves their field, with the knowledge they will not return, it is an exceptionally challenging life event. The Johnsons are taking on a new, exciting, and demanding ministry, teaching missions at Welch College. They have ministered for 22 years to the wonderful people of Spain, and I am confident they will bring that same level of commitment and passion as Missionary-in-Residence and as head of the missions program at Welch.”
Tim is filling the role of retiring professor Dr. Ron Callaway. “Dr. Callaway is a great friend to IM. He and his wife Linda served as missionaries to Panama, Cuba, and Spain from 1976 to 2003,” Morgan said.
Welch Provost Matthew McAffee said, “We are excited to welcome Mr. Johnson to our campus community, first as Missionary-in-Residence, and then as full-time faculty member and coordinator of our missions program. We believe his successful years of missionary service in Spain highly qualify him to take up the mantle of training our future Free Will Baptist missionaries. We commend Dr. Ron Callaway for his faithful oversight of the program these past eighteen years. He is leaving behind a strong and vibrant missions program poised for Mr. Johnson’s leadership.”
Welch President Matt Pinson said, “Tim and Kristi Johnson have established themselves as dedicated missionaries on the field in Spain, and they’re a perfect fit to mentor the next generation of young missionaries at Welch College! Lots of eager young heralds of the good news across the world have been trained under the leadership of beloved Ronald Callaway. We’re going to miss him dearly. But I’m so glad a man of Tim Johnson’s caliber is coming on board to carry the torch and build on the foundation.”
Tim and Kristi have two children, Alejandro and Ana. Alejandro is currently attending Welch College, where he has plans to work on his M.Div. degree after graduation next year. He also serves as a Worship Ministry Intern at Cofer’s Chapel in Nashville, TN. Ana studies in Spain bilingually in French and Spanish and will graduate from high school in June. She will participate in Truth and Peace this summer and attend Welch in the Fall.
Curt Holland, Director of Field Ministry Personnel for IM, Inc., said, “IM is confident in Tim’s capacity to serve students, missionary candidates at Welch College, and the Free Will Baptist denomination at large. I am thankful for Tim’s faithfulness in serving with IM in the country of Spain for more than 22 years. And, I watch with great expectation as he works with our college students in this new avenue of ministry.”
For more information about Missions at Welch, please contact Dr. Ron Callaway at 615-675-5339 or rcally@welch.edu.
by jowens | Mar 12, 2021
Dr. Ronald Callaway, longstanding Program Coordinator of Intercultural Studies at Welch College, will retire at the end of the spring semester, according to Provost Dr. Matthew McAffee. Callaway has served as Program Coordinator of Intercultural Studies for eighteen years, assuming the position in the fall of 2003.
Before coming to Welch, Callaway and his wife Linda served as missionaries in Spain, Panama, and Cuba with Free Will Baptist International Missions. During their time in Spain (1977-1995), Callaway filled the role of pastor of a church plant in Alcalá de Henares (1979-1981), worked in a church plant in Móstoles (1982-1995), and taught in the Spanish Free Will Baptist Institute (1985-1995). Since 1989, he has been involved with missionary activity in Cuba, especially in the training of church leaders in the Free Will Baptist seminary Los Cedros del Líbano. He also served as a member of the Free Will Baptist Bible Institute of Panama from 1997-2003, becoming its director in 2000, and has continued to teach as a visiting faculty member at the Seminario Bautista Libre de Panamà since 2005.
As Program Coordinator of Intercultural Studies, Callaway has continued in his ministry of the gospel to the Spanish-speaking world of Free Will Baptists. He has translated several important Free Will Baptist works into Spanish, including F. Leroy Forlines’ Systematics and Robert E. Picirilli’s Grace, Faith, and Free Will, with several other translation projects currently in progress.
“Dr. Callaway came to Welch College with an impressive résumé of missionary service in Spanish-speaking contexts among Free Will Baptists,” McAffee said. “But his efforts in global evangelization did not end when he became professor of Missions. He has mentored almost two decades of Free Will Baptist missionaries, both in the classroom and on the field, at the same time. We are grateful for the legacy that Professor Callaway has established for Missions at Welch College.”
Dr. Callaway, a native of Texas, served in the United States Navy from 1965-1972 before coming to Welch as a student, receiving a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible and Missions in 1975. He went on to complete the Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1997. While a faculty member at Welch, Dr. Callaway also earned a Doctor of Ministry in Missiology from Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, which he completed in 2014. The Welch Board of Trustees named him Professor of Intercultural Studies when the college implemented faculty rank in 2019.
Welch president Matt Pinson said, “Recently I overheard a Free Will Baptist national leader talking about how many young missionaries had emerged from Ronald Callaway’s mentorship. Indeed, what he has done in missions education and shaping the lives of young missionaries has been impressive. It arises from a keen mind, a humble heart, and a love for people, wed with a biblical worldview that places the Great Commission at the heart of the church’s task. We will miss this dear friend and servant of God immensely, but his legacy among Welch graduates across the world will endure.”
The Callaways have one daughter, Rachel DeMerchant who ministers in Canada with her husband Aaron and their three children.
For more information about Missions (Intercultural Studies) at Welch, please contact Dr. Ron Callaway at 615-675-5339or rcally@welch.edu.
