Administrative Changes at Pentecostal Theological Seminary
The Pentecostal Theological Seminary has announced two internal administrative changes that President Lamar Vest indicates is an attempt to better serve students and various publics.
Dr. Oliver McMahan, who has served the Pentecostal Theological Seminary with distinction as a member of the faculty and part of the administration team for several years has been selected to serve as Vice-President for Institutional Effectiveness and Accreditation. The Pentecostal Theological Seminary participates within four accrediting organizations including the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools-Commission on Colleges (SACS-COC) and the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (ATS).
Dr. McMahan is an ordained bishop in the Church of God. He received his B.A. from West Coast Bible College, 1975; his M.Div. from Brite Divinity School, Texas Christian University, 1978; D.Min. from Brite Divinity, School Texas Christian University, 1984; and his Ph.D. from Georgia State University, 1997.
Dr. Vest states, “The Global Initiative and expansion of Seminary offerings in the United States requires a more robust approach to Institutional Effectiveness. It is not enough that we merely exist. We must deliver powerful mission hopes to the church that is ministering in a world where the Christian story no longer holds the cultural center of gravity, but is one of any number of larger stories or metanarratives, which seek to provide ultimate meaning.”
Dr. McMahan present serves as a member of the International Executive Council and as Pastor of Cross Pointe Church of God. He has, also, served as an accreditation reviewer, committee member and in other capacities with the accreditation and certification agencies listed above. He is married to Martha, and they have two children and six grandchildren.
Dr. McMahan states, “Our effectiveness must be evident in the lives and success of students and graduates. Our accreditors and certifiers tell us this, but most of all our faith demands it.”
Dr. Vest has also announced the appointment of Dr. Welton Wriston as the Senior Director of Enrollment Management. Dr. Wriston has most recently served at the Seminary in the role of Director of Student Services and Care Director since August of 2012. Prior to that position, he effectively worked at PTS as Director of Facilities and Support Services for eight years. Dr. Wriston is a graduate of East Coast Bible College (1996), and received his Master of Divinity (2007) and Doctor of Ministry (2012) from the Pentecostal Theological Seminary.
Dr. Vest commented, “We want to do all that we can to attract the students God is calling to a seminary education as they prepare for effective ministry. The addition of Welton Wriston as Senior Director of Enrollment Management is significant to our future success in communicating our spiritual and academic offerings.”
Dr. Wriston is an ordained bishop in the Church of God and served many years in his local church in multiple roles. From 1987 to 1999, he served as the lead pastor in churches in his home state of North Carolina. Dr. Wriston is married to Tanya who is a teacher at Cleveland Middle School. He has two adult children, Tyler and Brittany.
Upon his appointment, Dr. Wriston shared, “I am grateful to have the opportunity to serve the Seminary in this new role. Each step in ministry is important, and a student cannot take a better step in ministry than to attend the Pentecostal Theological Seminary. I want to help that student get here.”
