by jowens | Jan 29, 2016
By Josh Owens, Director of Media and Marketing
Nashville, TN—With the addition of Welch College’s new Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Theology and Ministry, two employees will be assuming new roles. Dr. Kevin Hester and Dr. Jeff Cockrell have been designated as graduate faculty. Though they will continue to teach on the undergraduate level, their primary responsibilities will be associated with the new M.A. program.
Dr. Kevin Hester, Chairman of the Department of Theological Studies since 2011 and faculty member since 2003, will serve as the Dean of the School of Theology which will house the M.A. He will oversee faculty and curriculum throughout the school on both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Thus the Department of Theological Studies will now be known as the School of Theology and will administer both undergraduate and graduate degrees in theological studies.
Dr. Hester came to Welch College in 2003 from a teaching position at Saint Louis University where he also worked in the Reinert Center for Teaching Excellence. A 1993 graduate of Welch College, he holds the M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary (1997) and a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University (2002). Hester had previously served in ministry positions at Free Will Baptist churches in Tennessee and Missouri and worked with Stephen Ministries (St. Louis, MO).
Dr. Hester is a member of the Commission for Theological Integrity of the National Association of Free Will Baptist. He was recently appointed to the Commission on Accreditation of the Association for Biblical Higher Education. Hester is the author of Eschatology and Pain in St. Gregory the Great(2007) and Free Will Baptists and the Priesthood of Believers (2010) as well as numerous scholary and popular articles.
Newly appointed faculty member in New Testament, Dr. Jeff Cockrell, will serve as the Program Coordinator for the M.A. degree in Theology and Ministry. In this capacity, he will be responsible for admissions, recruitment, and supervision of the M.A.
Dr. Cockrell has served as a Free Will Baptist pastor for nearly thirty years in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Most recently he served as senior pastor of Ahoskie Free Will Baptist Church in Ahoskie, NC, which also operates a Christian academy. He has served in a number of denominational posts at the local and state levels and currently serves as a member of the Historical Commission of the National Association of Free Will Baptists.
Dr. Cockrell holds a Ph.D. in Theology with a concentration in New Testament from the University of Wales Trinity St. David in the UK, an M.A. in New Testament from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a B.S. and M.A.R. from Liberty University. In addition to his pastoral work, he has held adjunct faculty status at a number of institutions, including Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Liberty University, and North Carolina Wesleyan College. He is the author of a number of scholarly and popular articles and papers.
Welch College will be the first Free Will Baptist college to offer a regionally accredited credential on the graduate level. The thirty-three hour M.A. consists of hybrid courses, in which a portion of the coursework is done online and the other portion in one-week, on-campus intensive sessions. Generous financial aid is available, including institutionally funded scholarships and federally guaranteed loans.
There is still time to enroll in the first session, which begins on February 15 and will feature two courses: The Arminian Theological Tradition, taught by Dr. Hester and President Matt Pinson, and Church Growth and Mission, taught by Drs. Barry Raper and Ronald Callaway. The second session begins April 15. Admission to the program is continuous, and students can apply for admission with each new session. For questions or for enrollment information, please email Dr. Jeff Cockrell at jcockrell@welch.edu.
by jowens | Jan 12, 2016
By Josh Owens, Director of Media and Marketing
By resolution of the Board of Trustees, Welch College will construct a president’s home on its new 66-acre campus site in Gallatin, Tennessee, according to David Williford, vice president for institutional advancement.
“The most recent plans for phase one did not include a president’s home; President Pinson felt that all resources and energies needed to be focused on the building of the core campus,” Williford said. “Plans changed when the lead donor to the Building on the Legacycapital campaign for campus relocation, Mrs. Alicia Celorio of the Do Unto Others Trust in Miami, FL, promised an additional gift that would make it possible for the home to be built without diverting any funds from the core campus.”
“In December of 2014, Mrs. Celorio completed the most significant pledge of the Building on the Legacy campaign. While visiting the West End campus over the years, she had spent time in the president’s home and saw how the home was a hub of ministry to college students and the college family. It was her desire to see that replicated on the Gallatin campus.”
James and Mary Beasley of Turbeville, SC, subsequently made an additional, significant pledge above and beyond their Building on the Legacycommitment. As directed by the Board of Trustees, the funds for the president’s home will not come from gifts to the Building on the Legacy campaign, but from special gifts made above and beyond Building on the Legacy gifts, as well as from the president’s housing allowance.
“We’re grateful to our two lead donors in the silent phase of the Building on the Legacy campaign, who had a special interest in seeing a president’s home built on this land into which they have already poured such great resources and wanted to give above and beyond their original pledges,” Williford said. “Rather than taking a personal housing allowance, President and Mrs. Pinson wanted their monthly housing allowance funds placed back into the new Welch campus through the construction of a president’s home for future generations of the Welch family.”
“In the long tradition of college presidents’ homes, the president’s home on the West End campus was a symbol of the sort of Christian community, hospitality, and mentoring we’re attempting to foster at Welch,” Williford said. “It provided a wide variety of wonderful community-building events for students, faculty and staff, and the wider Welch constituency. We’re so glad, thanks to these generous donors, this tradition can continue in Gallatin.”
The design of the house is underway, according to Relocation Consultant Bob Bass, and construction is set to begin on the house this month.
Bass will oversee the construction of the home. Mike Murdock, a member of the Donelson Fellowship, a Nashville Free Will Baptist congregation, has been selected as construction manager to design the home and manage the building process.
“Mike has designed and built scores of excellent homes in the greater Nashville area,” Bass said. “He’s stepping up to the plate and doing this for the college at a fraction of what he would normally receive for the expertise he brings to the table. He sees it as kingdom work. Mike will produce an excellent president’s home that will mesh well with the overall design of the new Welch campus.”
“It’s great to see the amazing progress on the construction of the new Welch campus,” Bass said. “We are now completing the foundations and are about to see some vertical activity. After more than twenty years of work and anticipation on this project, it’s a wonderful sight to watch it all come together.”
To learn more about campus relocation or to give to the Building on the Legacy campaign, visit BuildingontheLegacy.com.
by jowens | Jan 8, 2016
Both of Welch College’s accreditors have approved its Master of Arts (M.A.) degree in Theology and Ministry, according to Kevin Hester, Chairman of the Theological Studies Department at Welch College.
The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC), the regional accrediting body for the southern states, reviewed Welch College’s Application for Level Change in December. Later that month, Dr. Larry Earvin, Vice President of SACSCOC, contacted Welch president Matt Pinson with notification of SACSCOC approval.
The Association for Biblical Higher Education had previously contacted Welch College with news of its approval in November. In his congratulatory letter, Dr. Ron Kroll, Director of the Commission on Accreditation said, “May God bless your continued engagement in biblical higher education!”
With these approvals Welch College has reached a milestone by becoming the first Free Will Baptist college to offer a regionally accredited credential on the graduate level.
Enrollment in the M.A. degree in Theology and Ministry is underway. For general questions or for enrollment information, please email M.A. Program Coordinator Dr. Jeff Cockrell at jcockrell@welch.edu.
The first two courses begin online February 15 and go through April 15, with the on-campus intensive March 14-18. The first two courses will be Mission and Church Growth (taught by Dr. Barry Raper and Dr. Ron Callaway) and the Arminian Theological Tradition (taught by Dr. Kevin Hester and Dr. J. Matthew Pinson).
“The 33-hour M.A. consists of hybrid courses, in which a portion of the coursework is completed online and the other portion in one-week, on-campus intensive sessions,” Hester said. “Two courses will be offered at every week-long intensive. This means those wishing to complete the M.A. in 16 months can do so by taking two courses at a time. Those who take only one course at a time will take 32 months to complete the degree.” Free campus lodging for students will be available during the intensives.
Generous financial aid is available in the first cohort, including institutionally funded scholarships and federally guaranteed loans. Seats in this first cohort are limited, and students wishing to pursue the degree in sixteen months will receive priority seating.
“There’s a lot of excitement about this new degree,” said President Matt Pinson. “Please be in prayer for us as we start this new program, and for our graduate students as they seek to advance their ministries through further study.”
“There is still time to enroll in the first classes, which begin on February 15,” Pinson said. “We encourage interested students to contact us about starting the M.A. in February or in the second session, which begins in April. I especially encourage churches to make a way to help their pastors who desire further education to enroll in this program.”
More information about the M.A. program in Theology and Ministry may be found at https://www.welch.edu/masters or by contacting Dr. Jeff Cockrell at jcockrell@welch.edu.
by jowens | Jan 6, 2016
Dr. James M. Stevens of Welch College was recently named as a winner in the 2015 Steinway Piano Composition Contest for his arrangement of the classic devotional hymn, “Near the Cross,” written for the intermediate pianist. The contest was sponsored by SMP Press (Sheet Music Plus), Steinway Piano, and Composers Inc. Stevens also received an honorable mention for his original composition, “Silent Stars.”
The cash prize includes an invitation to San Francisco, CA where his composition will be performed in concert by one of the Steinway artists. Dr. Stevens’s piano compositions and books have consistently been in the top ten best sellers at Sheet Music Plus, the world’s largest sheet music dealer where over 350 of his works can be found listed with his James M. Stevens Music ASCAP publishing company.
According to Welch College Provost, Dr. Greg Ketteman, “We are obviously very proud of Dr. Stevens. He is a highly-skilled, prolific composer and arranger who is viewed as world-class by his professional peers. His continuing professional work provides an ideal context for Welch College students to be challenged as they develop their God-given talents.”
Stevens is a graduate of Samford University, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and the University of Kentucky where he received a Doctorate in Music Composition. He has served as the Music Department Chairman at Welch College since 2004.
by jowens | Dec 16, 2015
The following information was posted by our accrediting association on their website sacscoc.org
Southern Association of Colleges and Schools
Commission on Colleges Accreditation
Actions taken by the SACSCOC Board of Trustees
December 6, 2015
At its meeting on December 6, 2015, the SACSCOC Board of Trustees took the following actions regarding the accreditation status of institutions.
The Board accredited the following member institutions at a new or a more advanced degree level:
Welch College, Nashville, Tennessee
Moved from Level II to Level III offering the Master of Arts in Theology Ministry (Effective: February, 2016)
Formal notification of accreditation of the new graduate program by our other accrediting association, the Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), was received in November. More details about the Welch Master of Arts degree in Theology and Ministry will be forthcoming in a subsequent release following formal notification from SACSCOC.
by jowens | Dec 11, 2015
Welch College will hold an orientation on January 5, 2016, for students admitted to the Master of Arts degree in Theology and Ministry, as well as prospective students interested in the program.
The one-day orientation is required for all admitted students, but others who are interested in the program are invited to attend.
Students and prospective students will have the opportunity to meet the administration, faculty, and staff and get information on the College’s unique hybrid course design, which includes a combination of on-line and on-campus instruction. They will learn about services available to graduate students, including tuition costs, scholarships, and loan information.
Lodging for Monday night and Tuesday meals (light breakfast and buffet lunch) will be provided for those who respond before December 18. (Students who wish to bring family may obtain information on local hotels at welch.edu/visit-local-hotels.)
New graduate students and those interested in the program are required to register on the College website: welch.edu/mastersreg by December 18, 2015.
The agenda for this meeting will be as follows:
8:30 AM Continental Breakfast
9:45 AM Welcome and Devotional – President Matt Pinson
Introduction of Program Personnel – Dr. Greg Ketteman, Provost
Graduate Program Overview – Dr. Kevin Hester, Dean of the School of Theology
Graduate Program Course Design – Dr. Jeff Cockrell, Graduate Program Coordinator
Introduction to Populi – Mr. Allan Crowson, Adult Studies
Welch Library – Mrs. Carol Reid, Librarian
Student Services – Dr. Jon Forlines, Vice President for Student Services
Business Office/Financial Aid – Mrs. Angie Edgmon, Financial Aid Office
Question and Answer – Panel
10:30 AM Advisor Meetings and Financial Aid Counseling
Library Tour (optional) – Mrs. Carol Reid
11:30 AM Buffet Lunch
