Staff

Pastoral/Program Staff

Dr. Dale Welden, Senior Pastor, was born in Frankfurt, Germany when his father was stationed there in the military. Most of his growing up took place in St. Louis, Missouri, which is where he met his wife Connie in the high school youth group of their church (This is also where he first met our assistant pastor, Ralph Kelley). Dale graduated from Missouri Baptist College with a BA in Bible/Behavioral Science and then from Covenant Theological Seminary in 1980 with a Masters of Divinity (MDiv). In 2001, he received his doctorate (DMin) from Covenant as well. After seminary, Dale was ordained in 1980 and served in Pittsburgh for three years as an Assistant Pastor. Following that he has served as the Senior Pastor of two churches, the last one for nearly eighteen years in Atlanta. Dale and Connie also serve as a Pastoral Associate couple for Mission to the World where they are responsible for being the pastor to our missionaries/church planters in England. They travel there once each year to minister to them personally. Dale has also traveled to India, Pakistan, Hungary, Chile, and Mexico, preaching and teaching. Dale and Connie have been married 32 years. Connie has spent her time raising their children and ministering alongside Dale, especially in hospitality. She has worked for many years as a part-time dental hygienist. They have four children: Nathan, married to Amelia; Rachel, married to Seth; Benjamin, married to Vanessa; and Abby, who is a student at Dutch Fork High School.
e-mail welden@sapc.net , Phone 803-732-2273 ext. 107

Rev. Ralph Kelley, Executive Pastor, grew up in a covenant home in the St. Louis, Missouri area. From his earliest memory he knew he was a sinner in the need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Both his parents modeled the Christian faith for him as he was growing up. His dad served as PCA Ruling Elder for 25 years until God called him home to glory a few years ago. Ralph graduated from Covenant College in 1989 with a business degree. He met his wife Wendy there and they married soon after graduation. Ralph and Wendy have two sons: Scott, 15 and Jonathan, 13. Both boys have made professions of the Christian faith. After working several years in different businesses, Ralph started attending seminary part time at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta, 1999, graduating in 2004 and being ordained in the North Georgia Presbytery in 2005. Prior to coming to SAPC, Ralph served as the Director of Church Relations for Great Commission Publications, the publishing arm of the Presbyterian Church in America. Providentially, Ralph and Dale first met when Pastor Welden was a youth worker and Ralph was a member of his junior high youth group in St. Louis, Missouri, in the late 70’s. Ralph’s role at St. Andrews as Executive Pastor is in the area of Administration, as well as pastoral duties such as Outreach and Assimilation.
e-mail ralph@sapc.net phone 803-732-2273 ext. 103

Wendy Kelley, Director of Women's and Children's Ministries, is the wife of Executive Pastor Ralph Kelley and the mother of two teenage sons, Scott and Jonathan. She grew up in the upstate of SC in a wonderful Christian home and she is thrilled to once again be living near her parents who now live in Blythewood. Wendy earned a BA in elementary education from Covenant College. She has taught in the classroom and she spent eight years home schooling her sons. Prior to moving back to SC, Wendy was very active in her church in Georgia serving in a variety of roles in the women’s and children’s ministry. She also worked as a curriculum consultant for Great Commission Publications. She has a deep appreciation for sound doctrine and biblical discipleship and is thrilled to serve in a church where the Session and pastors are committed to those issues. It is her desire and joy to come alongside the women and children of SAPC encouraging and equipping them to know the Word of God and to love and serve God faithfully.
e-mail wendy@sapc.net Phone 803-732-2273 ext. 102

Rev. Paul Poynor, Minister of Pastoral Care, was born and grew up in Nashville, Tennessee. Paul trusted Christ as a child in a Christian family which was active with the Cumberland Presbyterian Church. However, it wasn’t until high school that Paul realized the joy of life by focusing on the goals that Jesus Christ desires. Paul graduated from Vanderbilt University School of Engineering, and went to seminary at Columbia Bible College (today CIU) for three years. After graduation, he joined the China Inland Mission and served as a missionary church worker in Laos from 1967-1971. During this time, he met his wife Alice and married her in Southeast Asia. They returned to the US, during which time Paul continued his seminary training at Reformed Theological in Jackson, MS. After graduation in 1974, Paul was ordained in the newly formed PCA. Continuing to focus on world missions, Paul and Alice worked with Mission to the World. Then in 1976, now with three sons, the Poyners moved to Indonesia to work within a large national church in central Java. In 1980, their assignment ended, they returned to the US having accepted the pastorate of Edwards PCA, near Jackson, MS. In 1985, with the desire to continue to be involved in God’s mission enterprise, Paul moved the family to Chicago to recruit and present mission work in churches through the Midwest. In 1990, the Poynors moved to Columbia to do the same mission representation work in the Southeast. In 1995, Paul was called to Trinity PCA Montgomery, AL, to serve as the Interim Minister of Pastoral Care. Then in 1998, Paul and Alice returned to Columbia to pastor the Eau Claire Presbyterian Church. Paul joined the staff at St. Andrews in July, 2006. Paul and Alice (who is a gifted Bible teacher) have three sons. Daniel is married to Nancy, and both are lawyers in Washington, DC. David (an English teacher at Gilbert HS) and Kathy (who now tutors) are actively parenting their grandsons, Will and Nathaniel. Dean, married to Caitie, live and work in the Columbia area, while Caitie is finishing her business degree at USC.
e-mail poynor@sapc.net Phone 803-732-2273 ext. 123

Marc Rattray, Director of Worship and Arts, was touched by God’s grace and became His child when he was 13, although he remembers always being interested in the things of God. He has both a Bachelor and Master of Music in Church Music/Voice and post graduate studies in Voice Performance. As a singer, Marc continues to perform with professional musical organizations throughout South Carolina. However, his greatest vocational love is planning and executing weekly worship services for the church family as well as special creative programs throughout the year. The goal of the Worship & Arts Ministry is to enable and equip God’s people to worship Him through music and the arts with joy and excellence thereby providing a clear witness to the watching world of the Christian’s ‘new song.’ God brought Marc to SAPC in March of 2003; and what a blessing! Not only has God gifted Marc with great musical talents but God has also given him a profound understanding of who He is, along with a heart that is full of love for God. The bigness of God in Marc’s heart is reflected in every Sunday’s worship service and in every special event he directs. Born and raised in Vero Beach, FL, South Carolina has been his home for over 20 years. Marc is married to Sharon, another one of God’s blessings to SAPC. Sharon serves us as well with her musical talents, but officially she is our “Organist Extraordinaire.” Marc brings to SAPC a passion to encourage God’s people to offer up worship that is Spirit-filled and thoughtful. When there are periods of “time off,” he loves spending time with Sharon and his two sons, Truman and Matthew, as well as hiking, camping, and cooking.
e-mail marc@sapc.net Phone 803-732-2273 ext. 127

Matthew Rings – SAPC’s Director of Youth Ministries has personally known and loved the Lord Jesus Christ since 1989, and this love spills over to all our SAPC youth. Matthew “walks the walk and talks the talk” with the youth, desiring for them to know and love Jesus, stand tall for Him in their generation, and pass on to others the truths contained within the gospel. In 2003 God brought Matthew from Tampa, FL, along with his wife Tammy and their two daughters, Kaleigh and Mary Ashleigh. When Matthew is not spending time with SAPC youth, he loves just “hanging out” with his girls.
e-mail matthewrings@gmail.com Phone 803-732-2273 ext. 202