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.