news at free will baptist bible college     Free Will Baptist Bible College in Nashville, TN, has been the official college of the Free Will Baptist Denomination since 1951. To find out more information about the school, visit their website at www.fwbbc.edu.

COLLEGE SELECTS GALLATIN FOR THE NEW CAMPUS

NASHVILLE, TN Free Will Baptist Bible College (FWBBC) has selected a 66-acre site in Gallatin, TN, on which to build a new campus, according to Relocation Consultant Colonel Mark Johnson. The site is a short drive from the college’s current campus on West End Avenue. College officials signed a contract on November 19. Because of a confidentiality clause, terms of the contract cannot be disclosed until all required city approvals have been obtained, and the contract has been finalized.

President Matt Pinson said, “The Board and administration could not be more pleased with the purchase arrangements. We believe that we received an excellent price from the owner for this prime property on which to relocate. The confidentiality clause will be lifted as soon as the contract has closed, and we will share more details with our constituency.”

Photo Identification: FWBBC leaders present for the contract signing. Seated: President Matt Pinson; Standing (L-R): Sandy Goodfellow, Director of Plant Operations; Mark Johnson, Campus Relocation Project Consultant; Milton Fields, Vice President for Institutional Planning; Greg Ketteman, Provost; David Williford, Vice President for Institutional Advancement; Jon Forlines, Vice President for Student Services and Dean of Students.

The larger campus site will allow FWBBC to build outdoor sports facilities for students, and provides plenty of parking space for students, staff, and campus guests. In addition, the college can design a campus from the start to fit current and future needs. The site is near medical and educational resources, surrounded by new housing developments, and is still in the Greater Nashville area.

Colonel Johnson assured FWBBC’s constituents that freeway accessibility to the new campus site would mirror what the college enjoys in its current location.

President Pinson said, “This property in Gallatin is everything we were looking for in a new campus. It’s more than seven times the size of our current campus, which means that we will not have to cap enrollment and curtail new programs. We will have room to construct adequate buildings for instructional needs and to house students.”

Sumner County’s exploding economy, along with Gallatin’s inviting small-city atmosphere, means that the college will have the benefits of the larger Nashville community as well as the charm and convenience of the Gallatin/Hendersonville communities. “We have been welcomed by city officials and business leaders,” Pinson said. “We believe that we’ve found our new homeafter searching long and hard for a new campus.”
Station Camp High School, Knox Doss Middle School, and an elementary school now under construction are located across the street from the new campus site. Volunteer State Community College is two miles away.

The $18 million Sumner Regional Healthplex-Wellness Center is under construction less than a mile from the campus site, and will be completed in early 2008. Affordable housing in a wide range of prices is readily available in the area for faculty and staff needs, and numerous employment opportunities for students.

Gallatin officials project rapid population growth in the next five years as the area’s surging economy attracts high-end shops, malls, jobs, healthcare facilities, and an array of restaurants and housing developments.           

The college originally planned to purchase the Sumner County property in tandem with the sale of its West End Avenue campus in Nashville. However, after the proposed buyer notified the college in March 2007 that he was unable to go forward with the purchase, the college administration and Trustees became convinced of the need to proceed and secure the Gallatin site, even though a construction timetable for the new campus has not been set. The college has financing in place to purchase the property, and will be talking with donors and friends about their help in offsetting the cost of the land.

“As you can see,” Pinson said, “we have a lot of work to do in the next few years. We have our current campus to sell, a new campus to design, buildings to construct, funds to raise, and most important, we have students to teach. Every effort will be made to guarantee an uninterrupted learning experience for our current students and the new students who will enroll over the next few years. The students are and always will be our first concern.”

Colonel Johnson said that the college will work with the property owner to satisfy all contractual requirements that will lead to a close and sale of the property.

The decision to relocate the 65-year-old college came in June 2006 after a six-month feasibility study. At the time, college officials projected that it would cost approximately $30 million to buy land, build a new campus, and relocate.

Dan Downs, property owner and developer, said, “Free Will Baptist Bible College will be an asset to our community providing a Christian education for our future leaders. We are fortunate in Sumner County to have both a two-year community college (Volunteer State) and now a four-year college (Free Will Baptist Bible College).”

Reverend Gene Outland, chairman of the Board of Trustees, said, “This is a great moment for FWBBC. Sixty-five years ago, our fathers walked along Nashville’s Richland/West End Avenues and laid the foundation for a dream called Free Will Baptist Bible College. Today, that dream is a reality looking for a new home, a larger home just up the road on 66 acres in Gallatin.”

Gallatin Mayor Jo Ann Graves responded to the news by saying, “Gallatin welcomes Free Will Baptist Bible College. This is truly a historic and exciting time for our city and communities around us. FWBBC will bring us a great college with a tremendous, rich tradition of education and community service. It will change our city for the better, and we could not be more pleased.”

21 Attend FWBBC’s Fall Welcome Days

Twenty-one high school students from six states participated in Free Will Baptist Bible College’s 2007 fall Welcome Days October 19-20. The event brings prospective students to campus where they experience college life firsthand.

According to Jeff Caudill, director of enrollment services, “Welcome Days guests were able to tour campus, interact with some of our students, learn about the financial aid process, and be challenged from the Word of God. Visiting students were able to see both the fun side and the serious side of FWBBC campus life.”
Spring semester 2008 Welcome Days meets March 27-29, and is expected to attract more than 200 students, parents, and sponsors.

FRESHMAN CLASS ELECTS OFFICERS

NASHVILLE, TN The Freshman Class at Free Will Baptist Bible College elected the following officers for the 2007-2008 school year:

• President—Holly Rains (Missouri)

• Vice-President—Andrea Shattuck (South Carolina)

• Secretary/Treasurer—Lauren Jolly (Kentucky)

• Chaplain—Chris Talbot (Michigan)

• Worship Leader—Nic Dennis (Arkansas)

This year’s Freshman Class includes 80 students out of a student body numbering 324 from 25 states and two foreign countries.

Photo: Front Row (L-R): President Holly Rains, Vice-President Andrea Shattuck, Secretary/Treasurer Lauren Jolly. Back Row (L-R): Chaplain Chris Talbot, Worship Leader Nic Dennis.

COLLEGE SETS SPRING SCHEDULE

The 30-voice Free Will Baptist Bible College Choir will give 11 performances March 6-12 during a six-day tour through Missouri, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Dr. James Stevens, choir director and chairman of the FWBBC Music Department, invites area churches to join with host congregations for the vocal presentations as the College Choir travels to America’s heartland for its annual spring tour.
For more information about tour dates and times, please visit www.fwbbc.edu.

COLLEGE SETS SPRING WELCOME DAYS

Free Will Baptist Bible College will host Spring Welcome Days on campus March 27-29, 2008. Some 150 students are expected to attend the three-day event.

Jeff Caudill, director of enrollment services, said about the event, “This will be an eye-opening weekend for high school sophomores and juniors. They will get a chance to experience life on the college campus, meet teachers, attend classes, check out financial aid options, and get acquainted with some of the finest young people anywhere.”

The cost to attend Spring Welcome Days is $35. Students may register online at www.fwbbc.edu/welcomedays. 

For more information, call 800-76-FWBBC or email recruit@fwbbc.edu.

COLLEGE NAMES INTERIM BASKETBALL COACH

Brian Jamison, 27-year-old account executive with the Worcester Sharks semi-pro hockey team (MA), has been named interim men’s basketball coach at Free Will Baptist Bible College. Mr. Jamison, a Nashville native, assumed his duties November 12.

While a student at FWBBC (2000-04), Brian played point guard four years with the Flames basketball team under the leadership of three coaches. He attends Donelson FWB Church in Nashville.

Mr. Jamison said, “This will be like coming home to me. The Flames’ tradition is such a part of my life from my days as a player and student at FWBBC. I’m looking forward to working with these young men and seeing them develop as a team and as Christians. The Flames make a big impact wherever they play. We have a great opportunity to influence Free Will Baptist youth for Christ.”

HESTER PUBLISHED

Dr. Kevin Hester, professor of Biblical and Ministry Studies at Free Will Baptist Bible College, published his first book in 2007, a 150-page volume titled Eschatology and Pain in St. Gregory the Great: The Christological Synthesis of Gregory’s Morals on the Book of Job. The volume is part of the Studies in Christian History and Thought series printed by Paternoster, an evangelical English publishing company.

The book, an adaptation of Hester’s doctoral dissertation, focuses on the two major themes of eschatology and pain in the five-volume work of St. Gregory the Great.

“Hester’s writing is clear and direct,” said Dr. Carole Straw, history professor at Mount Holyoake College. “His arguments are persuasive. This is an admirable first book.”

Dallas Theological Seminary’s Dr. Jeffrey Bingham said, “For those who seek pastoral perspective from Job and other biblical texts, [Hester’s work] will provide insight into the deeply Christological, contemplative, and moral nature of Gregorian spirituality.”

Hester, age 36, graduated from FWBBC (1993), and subsequently earned the M.Div. degree (1997) at Covenant Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. (2002) from Saint Louis University. Copies of Dr. Hester’s book may be ordered at www.amazon.com.

RECRUITMENT DIRECTOR RESIGNS

NASHVILLE, TN Ryan Lewis, director of recruitment since 2005, recently resigned to accept the associate pastor position at First FWB Church in Amory, Mississippi, according to Jeff Caudill, director of enrollment services..

“Ryan has been a great representative for FWBBC. He is a good communicator and was at his best explaining how an education with a Christian worldview could benefit prospective students,” Caudill said.“We will miss his commitment to excellence and his positive attitude on campus. He is a good friend, and we wish him well in his new responsibilities.”

Ryan graduated summa cum laude in 2005 with a degree in Exercise Science. He was voted Most Outstanding Student his senior year and was included in Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities.
Ryan is the son of Reverend Ernie Lewis, pastor of Blue Point FWB Church in Cisne, Illinois, and assistant clerk of the National Association of Free Will Baptists. His brother Derek is a sophomore at FWBBC