Alvin Shifflett is a native of the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.  He holds a B.S. in Business Administration from Bridgewater College, Bridgewater, Va.  He Holds a Master of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry from a consortium of seminaries in Ohio--including  Brethren, United Methodist and Lutheran.  He pastors two Independent Methodist Churches in Ridgeland and Tillman, SC.  He has a son, Tony Shifflett in Manassas, VA., and a daughter, Carey Freeland in Bluffton, SC.