Rev. Melinda Welton-Mitchell (Mindi) was born in Oregon, raised in Alaska and came to Massachusetts to study at Andover Newton Theological School. Mindi comes from a long line of American Baptist ministers, 5 generations on her mother’s side, and her aunt on her father’s side. Before accepting the call to First Baptist Framinham, Mindi served at First Baptist Church in Newton for 4 years as the Associate Minister for Education. She also currently serves on the Commission for Ordained Ministry for TABCOM and the Board of the Samuel Stillman Association. Previously she was on the board of Boston-Cambridge Ministry in Higher Education, as well as the president of Interfaith AIDS Ministry in the Greater Boston area. She is married to JC Mitchell, currently an Andover Newton student and the Program Coordinator for Carter Memorial United Methodist Church in Needham. They have two dogs, Manchester, 12, and Jabber, 10. Mindi plays guitar and enjoys writing songs and prose.