John Bechtold Nielson (born February 26, 1918, in Darby, Pennsylvania; died June 29, 1997, in Waterville, Vermont),[3] an ordained minister in the Church of the Nazarene, and his wife Marguerite Helene Mann Nielson (born May 11, 1916, in Waterville, Vermont; died February 16, 2009, in Salisbury, Maryland), later an elementary school teacher, who were married on June 25, 1942.
Ronald G. Parker, Lead Pastor of the Cross Pointe Church of the Nazarene in Salisbury, Maryland, since November 1991;[9] and Rev.
After graduation from Shea High School in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, in May 1961, Nielson enrolled later that year in a Bachelor of Arts program at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, Massachusetts, choosing to major in Religion.
Nielson was Director of Ministerial Development at the international headquarters of the Church of the Nazarene (then located in Kansas City, Missouri) from 1980 to 1981.
Nielson was responsible for organizing the Palcon II Conferences for Nazarene ministers in the USA and Canada in this period, and for developing resources for Multiple Staff Org.
In 1982 Nielson was appointed Vice President of Church and Public Relations for his alma mater, Eastern Nazarene College, and also served as the Executive Director of the ENC Alumni Association from 1982 to 1989.
During Nielson's presidency, APNTS received initial accreditation by the Association for Theological Education in South East Asia (ATESEA) in 1991; endowments increased to over US$200,000; the Seminary's journal, The Mediator, commenced publication in 1996; and the Board of Trustees was re-organized to include ten elected members from within the Asia-Pacific region; and enrollment increased from 80 to 120.
[13] During his presidency of APNTS, Nielson was also appointed Education Co-ordinator of the Asia-Pacific Region of the Church of the Nazarene, serving for five years from 1991.
In April 2003 Nielson was declared President Emeritus of Asia Pacific Nazarene Theological Seminary by action of the APNTS Board of Trustees.
On April 4, 2003, a special ceremony was held to dedicate the five-story multipurpose Nielson Center for Education and Evangelism located at the heart of APNTS's ten-acre campus.