WOODLAND PARK — Charis Bible College, which turns 30 this year, is the first entity in Andrew Wommack’s stable of evangelical Christian ministries to enact a multi-phased succession plan. The college announced Thursday that Mike and Carrie Pickett, both executive vice presidents at the main campus in Woodland Park, will be taking on additional leadership roles within the school, which offers offers an unaccredited three-year program with courses on Christian ministry, public life, worship, business, practical government, leadership, film and production, and other subjects, and mission opportunities. The Picketts “have been integral to Charis leadership for nine years,” Wommack said in a statement to The Gazette, adding that he began thinking about planning for the future seven years ago.
He and his wife, Jamie, have been training the Picketts for the leadership role through coaching and other preparation for the past three years, Wommack said. “I plan on living a long, healthy and productive life, but I am aware that each one of us has an expiration date,” wrote Wommack, who turned 75 in April. Now, Wommack and his successors will continue the transitioning process but at an accelerated pace, with more people aware of their evolving role.
Wommack also said that he’s not retiring or stepping down. “I’m going to continue doing everything I’m doing now,” he said, “but I look forward to working even more closely with the Picketts, who I’m confident will take Charis to new heights of influence in the body of Christ.” Wommack will make the official announcement worldwide via livestream during Charis’ 30th anniversary celebration on Sept.
6. “After years of assessing who would best fit this pivotal role, it was decided that Mike and Carrie Pickett were perfect for the position,” the organization's statement said. Carrie spent 16 years as a missionary in Russia, where she met Mike.
Together the couple led Charis’ ministry in Russia, establishing a local office, directing the Russian Charis Bible College, translating literature, securing spots on Russian TV and other duties. No other aspects of the organization will change, leaders said, including The Gospel Truth television and radio shows that Wommack hosts and an on-site telephone call center where people can receive prayer, advice and supportive products such as books. The ministry also hosts numerous conferences that each draw thousands of people each year, including this week’s Healing is Here, which ends Friday.
Wommack is a key speaker at all the campus' events, which include theatrical productions. Wommack founded Andrew Wommack Ministries in 1978 in Colorado Springs and Charis Bible College in 1994. He purchased 157 acres of land in Teller County in 2009, had it annexed into the Woodland Park city limits and began building “The Sanctuary.
” The first building for Charis Bible College's staff and students opened in January of 2014. Today, the campus spans nearly 500 acres with multiple buildings and a large parking garage. The first building in a village of luxury dorms is slated to open this month.
Andrew Wommack Ministries moved to the campus in August of 2018, and a month later, a building for classrooms and events opened on the site. Locals have criticized the campus for having graduates insert conservative ideology into elected, nonpartisan school board seats and on the Woodland Park City Council, for the large property not being subjected to property taxes, as allowed under the status of being a religious ministry, and for prevailing in a community dispute over whether property taxes should be paid on the campus' under-construction dorms. In his letter to supporters, Wommack said he “won’t be on TV forever, but Charis is positioned to be around for generations, not only here in the U.
S. but around the world.” Charis Bible College operates 53 separate locations in 22 nations, and the ministry employs nearly 1,200 people, according to the organization.
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