Our Directors hold long-term positions at Wesley here in Milledgeville. An important aspect of their roles is creating and shepherding long-term vision. Directors oversee leadership development, discipleship, Freshley, and our weekly Wednesday services.
Directors
Tate Welling,
Director
Tate Welling is the Director of the Georgia College Wesley Foundation. He is married to Ashley Welling and together they have four girls - Brylee (11), EllieAnn (8), Kate (5) and Hallie (2)!
Tate graduated from the University of Georgia with a Bachelors in Journalism - Advertising and graduated from Asbury Theological Seminary with a Masters in Divinity.
Tate loves golf, making people laugh, and making breakfast for his four girls before work every morning. He spent his college years involved at UGA Wesley where he worked with their worship and small group ministries.
Maranda Blum,
Associate Director
Maranda is in her fourth year as an Associate Director. She graduated from Georgia College in December 2018 with a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Communication and a minor in Marketing. She's from Snellville, GA and has been around Wesley since 2015 where she started coming to Freshley her freshman year.
As an Associate Director, Maranda works with our Discipleship program, Finances, and is on our Teaching Team. She loves meeting with her discipleship girls, Coffee House Days and a good spreadsheet.
Georganna Alexander,
Associate Director
Georganna is in her second year as an Associate Director. She graduated from Georgia College in 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and served 2 years as a Coordinator.
Georganna has been involved with Freshley since she was a freshman in 2015 and now runs our Freshmen ministry!
Mackenzie Shover,
Associate Director
Mackenzie is in her second year as a Associate Director. She's from Valdosta, Georgia. She graduated in December 2019 with a B.S. in Psychology and previously served two years as a Coordinator.
As an Associate Director, Mackenzie works directly with our Worship and Production ministries and is the woman behind our Monday and Wednesday night services.
Mackenzie loves hanging out with students, making drinks at Coffee House, and watching students step into their fullest potential!
Coordinators
Coordinators are missional staff. They give a year (or more) of their lives to serving at GC Wesley. They raise financial support independently. Their number one job is to be relational. They disciple interns, shepherd ministry areas, and are crucial to our operation.
Jenna Bryson
Second Year Coordinator
Media, Fundraising & Worship/Production
Loganville, Georgia
JENNA'S WHY : “I have such a heart for the work God is doing in Milledgeville! As a student, my social life revolved around all the things Wesley was putting on because I couldn’t get enough of the community here, something I had never experienced before. As a coordinator last year, I saw the Lord grow my heart in faithfulness, prayer, and more of HIS heart for those around me (and myself). This year, I’m continuing to grow in those things and step deeper into a calling of ministry - to learn more, be challenged more, and share more. I’m also excited to continue to use my degree (a B.A. in Graphic Design) that I earned December 2021 to communicate with our students and the Georgia College community about the things our ministry is doing and the things our God is doing in Milledgeville!”
Since Fall of 2019, Jenna has served on the media, Freshley, and women's teams in leader and intern positions.
Hannah Wildes
Second Year Coordinator
Freshley, Prayer & Youth
Brunswick, Georgia
HANNAH'S WHY: "Earlier last year one of my friends looked at me and said, “Why don’t you stay at Wesley?” And I thought to myself, why don’t I stay? From then I began to pray over this decision and where God wanted to stir my heart. As spring semester rolled around, so did this huge decision that I thought about over and over. The closer I got needing to make a decision, the less I felt a desire to leave Milledgeville. It honestly felt natural to stay, and I knew I needed to be here. I feel like the Lord has a lot of work he wants to do in me as well as around me. I’m excited to get to witness it all."
Hannah became a part of Wesley her freshman year. Her sophomore year, she joined the fellowship and hospitality team as a leader and this last year served as a prayer intern! It has been so cool for her to see Wesley from different ministry areas, and all pursue the same goal just in different ways. Hannah graduated in 2021 with a B.A. in Mass Communication.
Josh Hammond
First Year Coordinator
Freshley & Youth
Cumming, Georgia
JOSH'S WHY :
Josh graduated in May 2022.
DJ Hayes
First Year Coordinator
Worship & Production
Milledgeville, Georgia
DJ'S WHY: "I simply love getting to do life with college students, which looks like walking alongside them as they continue to grow in their faith and ENACTING that faith through local and international evangelism. My hope this year is that the students I get to reach here in Milledgeville will feel just how special it is to be a part of real Christian community and see God is moving in and through their life.”
DJ graduated in May 2022 with a B.A. in Mass Communication and a minor in Rhetoric.
Sam Johnson
First Year Coordinator
Community
Lawrenceville, Georgia
SAM'S WHY: "Wesley gave me a strong community for the last 4 years and I've wanted to stay and help the community grow and flourish. People have gone out of their way to pour wisdom into me and I've wanted to be able to do the same. Staying with Wesley after college has been something I've wanted to do even dating back to freshman year, so felt like a no-brainer when applications opened."
Sam will graduate from Georgia College in December 2022 with a B.S. in Computer Science. He's been involved with Wesley since he was a freshman, serving with the our Freshley and Community teams as a leader and intern over the last 3 years.
SAMI STanley
First Year Coordinator
Community & Discipleship
Vidalia, Georgia
SAMI'S WHY: "Wesley was a crucial aspect of my college experience. It provided me with a community that has helped me grow in understanding God's love and His heart for myself and others. I want to be able to help provide that community for other and help them grow in their relationships with God - whatever that looks like for them! I know a lot of college students, especially since the wake of covid, that are looking for friends and for a place to feel safe, at home, and like they belong. I want to see students who otherwise would never have met (due to different majors, lifestyles, or anything in between) be able to gather in one place and experience the presence of God in each other and the love Christ through the Wesley Foundation."
Sami graduated in May 2022 with a B.A. in Rhetoric and a minor in Spanish!
Tony Wyche
First Year Coordinator
Outreach & Freshley
Greenville, SC
TONY'S WHY: "I am staying on staff because I genuinely love Wesley and the people in it. Wesley became a family to me, one that I was able to learn from, grow with, and really enjoy! After lots of prayer and guidance from the Lord, I’m back for another year in a new context! Excited to be apart of a new work of the Lord this year and expectant for the things he plans to do through the Wesley team! Let’s go!!!"
He's been involved with Wesley since his freshman year when he attended Freshley services! Tony graduated in May 2022 with a Bachelor’s of Business Administration in Management.
Discipleship & STaff Support
These people are honorary staff. They give their time to discipling and helping us make all our events happen!
Elena Balkcom
Elena is married to Zach Balkcom, another Wesley alumni, and they have an 9 month old named Luke. You'll find their therapy dog, Gloria, hanging around at Coffee House every now and then!
She graduated from Georgia College in 2014 and owned Laurel Ave, a wedding coordinating business which she operated for 4 years before working at Wesley.
Elena is on our Teaching team and disciples!