Walking in the Light

James M. Beaty was born January 30, 1925 in North Carolina.
He graduated from Smithfield High School in 1942, from Atlantic
Christian College (A.B) in 1945, and from Vanderbilt School of
Religion (B.D) in 1949. He spent one year in Haiti (1946-47)
between his first and second year of Seminary and was married to
Virginia Green in 1948. From 1949 to 1952 the Beatys laid a very
important foundation for the church in the Dominican Republic.
From 1952 to 1959 the Beatys served in Haiti where they were instrumental in building and
founding Séminaire Biblique. In 1959 they returned to the states where James did his Ph.D. at
Vanderbilt. From 1962 to 1967 Dr. Beaty was Superintendent of South America and worked
out of Chile, where in 1964 they adopted their son, Mark Ulrich Beaty. In 1967 he was asked
to come to Lee College, where he taught seven years and served as the secretary of the General
Board of Education until 1974. In 1972 he was elected Secretary of the Society for Pentecostal
Studies, and was later President.
From 1974 to 1980 Dr. Beaty founded, and was president of, the Spanish Institute of Ministry
in Houston, Texas. From 1980 to 1992 Dr. Beaty served as Academic Dean of the School of
Theology, now the Theological Seminary. During that time the Seminary was accredited by both
the College Commission of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (1984) and by the
Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada (1990). In 1992 Dr. Beaty
was presented the “Outstanding Educator” award at the General Assembly. From 1993 to 2001
Dr. Beaty taught part-time and was Director of the M.A. program in Puerto Rico and from 1998
to 2001 coordinated the M.A. program for the teachers of the seminary in Haiti. Since 2001 he
has served as Professor Emeritus.