Through
Stormy Waters
BY TODD PARRISH
It was September 1942, and the entire world was ablaze from the fires of another World War. In the islands of the South Pacific, 18-year-old American boys were storming the beaches of Guadalcanal; while in England, General Eisenhower huddled with generals to discuss plans to invade North Africa. Soon, college-age young men would begin the effort to free the African continent from Hitler’s grip and start the long, northward march toward Berlin and liberation. At the same time, in Nashville, Tennessee, a young preacher from Southern Illinois sat waiting on the steps of 3609 Richland Avenue. A brand-new Bible college was opening, and its new president was arriving from Georgia to oversee its beginning. Paul Ketteman would soon be joined by other students who, along with Rev. and Mrs. L.C. Johnson, would usher in the start of Free Will Baptist Bible College, now Welch College. Starting a college in the middle of a world war was a
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daunting task. The fact the college survived beyond the first semester of operation boggles the mind when one considers the sponsoring denomination was only seven years old, and the first class numbered only ten students. Hailing from small towns such as Beulahville, North Carolina; Glennville, Georgia; Macedonia, Illinois; and Monett, Missouri; these young men and women, along with a handful of dedicated faculty members, ushered in a school whose worldwide influence and gospel impact continues 78 years later.
