The Influencer

By Wayne Miracle

A New Opportunity

My phone rang while I was attending a pastor’s conference, so I left the meeting to take the call because I saw it was from Dr. Matt Pinson. He said, “Hello Wayne, I have a big favor I would like to ask of you.” I said, “Sure brother, how can I help you”? He then said, “Would you consider being a Welch College Influencer? I would like for you to go to the various associations in Georgia and the surrounding areas and tell the story of what God is doing at Welch College.”

“I want you to talk with people,” he continued. “Give a report on what is going on at Welch, particularly in the new online bachelor’s and associate’s degrees we offer, and just be a representative of the college in your area.” I assured him I was very grateful to have the privilege of representing Welch, and I would proudly do my very best to represent the college with honor and distinction.

At first, I was excited about this great opportunity. But when I began to consider all the other hats I wear, I honestly had to ask myself, ”Why would I want to take on another responsibility?” Quickly the answer to that question became very clear to me: It’s because I believe wholeheartedly in and am passionate about the work and mission of Welch College, and I want others to be too.

Welch and Me

I first learned of Welch College shortly after my conversion in 1977. At that time I became very interested in what the college was all about. A few years later, a new pastor came to our church who showed me his Lumen yearbooks. It was then, when I found out about the kind of faculty, staff, and students associated with the college and what God was doing for the kingdom through their lives, I said to myself, “That’s the kind of school where I would love to be a student!”

Little did I realize that just a few years later God would allow my dream to come to fruition when I enrolled as a ministerial student. As you can see, I’m very interested in Welch College; I know what it did for me, and I can see what it is continuing to do in producing leaders to serve Christ, His Church, and His world. This makes me want to invest myself in my alma mater and share it with others.

Kingdom-Focused Students

One of the main reasons I get so excited about Welch College is because of its student body. The students at Welch College are a cross section of some of the best and brightest students in our denomination. When you have the opportunity to talk with them, you soon discover they have an overwhelming passion for Christ and His Church, and for spreading His Gospel to the ends of the earth. Whenever I have the occasion to be on campus and engage in meaningful conversation with the students, I’m spiritually refreshed to see and hear their excitement about being a student at Welch, and to be given the opportunity to be involved in ministry.

A Comprehensive College

Some Free Will Baptists still think of the college as only a seminary-type school just for young people interested in vocational ministry. However, the college is so much more than that. Welch College is a Christian college that offers over 40 different programs of study, but these programs are always Bible-based and come from the vantage point of a Christian worldview, which is so needed in our current culture.

Centered on Ministry

However, since I’m a pastor, I get the most excited about Welch’s Pastoral Ministry program. As I talk with the pastoral students, it’s evident that they’ve been trained exceptionally well in Bible, theology, preaching, and ministry in general. It’s obvious that the college is producing some of the best-equipped young people for ministry ever.

It’s easy to see why this is the case: the professors and staff at Welch are great and godly people. They’re not just Christian professionals who have high standards of excellence; they’re spiritually minded people who want to reproduce a heart and mind for God in their students.

So, when Dr. Pinson initially called, and when I examined all my other responsibilities, you can easily see why I readily accepted his invitation. I cannot imagine why anyone would not be so passionate about such a great work in the Kingdom of God!

I want you to have the same excitement for our Free Will Baptist college I do, and I encourage you to check out the college at www.welch.edu. Get to know more about your school, and ask the Lord how you can pray for and support this Christian community of faith and learning!

About the Writer: Wayne Miracle is pastor of New Life Fellowship Free Will Baptist Church in Statesboro, Georgia. He serves as moderator of the Georgia State Association and is a member of the Executive Committee of the National Association of Free Will Baptists.