The Legacy of Mary Ann Welch
In 2012, Free Will Baptist Bible College (FWBBC) was renamed Welch College in honor of Rev. John L Welch and his wife Mary Ann. A pastor of Cofer’s Chapel in Nashville, Tennessee, Bro. Welch played a key role in the formation of the National Association of Free Will Baptists as well as in the founding of FWBBC. His contributions to our denomination are indeed profound. Long before the college received a new name, though, the FWBBC...
Laura Belle Barnard: A Light to the Nations
One could make the case that the two things you don’t want to be in the Lord’s work is single or the first of something, such as the pioneer in a new field of work, study, or ministry. As I’ve written elsewhere, unmarried people face a unique set of challenges in ministry employment and even in meaningful church membership in many churches. Those reasons need not be recited here. However, being both single and the first is no small...
The Shack: A Pastoral Reflection
I have a confession to make: I saw The Shack. I had not planned to, but I did. I write with some trepidation for I know the potential reaction from some believers. Reaction ranging from unease to outright hostility can be glimpsed among many conservative Christians toward William Paul Young’s 2007 bestselling novel. Such sentiments have resurfaced in light of the film’s release on March 3. I’ve also observed a significant (and...
Hannah Dow: Answering the Master’s Call
Sitting on a shelf in the National Association of Free Will Baptists Historical Collection is a thin, bound copy of Hannah Dow’s personal journal from 1843 until 1847. I stumbled across it one day while looking for something else but found myself drawn into this young woman’s story as I scanned through the opening pages. Hannah came to faith during the nineteenth century through the ministry of northern Free Will Baptists (the Randall...
Over Mountain Or Plain Or Sea: The Trula Cronk Story
by Jessica Folsom “We are all amateurs. Even our sending board has no experienced missionary on it. They are all very dedicated and gifted men, but they don’t know anything about cross cultural missions.” These were the words penned by Dan Cronk, a Free Will Baptist pioneer missionary to India, after having been in the field six years with his wife Trula.[1] When we think of pioneer missionaries answering the call of taking the Gospel...
The Lost World of Genesis One: A Review
In 2009, IVP Academic published John H. Walton’s The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate. Walton is a professor at Wheaton College, teaching courses in Old Testament (OT), Hebrew, and archeology. He’s involved in numerous professional societies and has published extensively. Walton’s The Lost World—also the title of that second, less-than-stellar Jurassic Park film—has nothing to do with dinosaurs but...
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