Ozark Christian College is a private

evangelical Christian Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being " born again", in which an individual exper ...

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

Joplin, Missouri Joplin is a city in Jasper County, Missouri, Jasper and Newton County, Missouri, Newton counties in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Missouri. The bulk of the city is in Jasper County, while the southern portion is in Newton County. J ...

. It is affiliated with the

Restoration Movement The Restoration Movement (also known as the American Restoration Movement or the Stone–Campbell Movement, and pejoratively as Campbellism) is a Christian movement that began on the United States frontier during the Second Great Awakening (17 ...

Christian churches and churches of Christ The group of churches known as the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ is a fellowship of congregations within the Restoration Movement (also known as the Stone-Campbell Movement and the Reformation of the 19th Century) that have no forma ...

Academics

The college's stated purpose is to "train men and women for Christian service" through an undergraduate Bible college education. Coursework focuses almost exclusively on the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...

, ministry training, and related topics. OCC's learning goal is to educate and equip students to become like Christ and serve Christ in leadership ministry. Graduates will be ''biblically grounded, spiritually matured, culturally engaged,'' and ''vocationally prepared.'' Ozark's training in intercultural studies, worship and creative arts, student and children's ministry, biblical communication, and more equip students with the biblical knowledge, cultural awareness, and vocational skills needed for effective Christian service. A dual degree program with

Missouri Southern State University Missouri Southern State University (Missouri Southern, MSSU, or MoSo) is a public university in Joplin, Missouri. It was established in 1937 as Joplin Junior College. The university enrolled 4,346 students in Fall 2021. History Missouri Southern ...

lets students earn two bachelor's degrees — one from each college — to serve in a variety of fields. OCC also offers an entire degree online.

Accreditation

Ozark was initially accredited by the American Association of Bible Colleges (now the Association for Biblical Higher Education) in 1988. It is also accredited by the

Higher Learning Commission The Higher Learning Commission (HLC) is an institutional accreditor in the United States. It has historically accredited post-secondary education institutions in the central United States: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa ...

Athletics

Ozark's varsity sports teams are known as the Ambassadors and include men's and women's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, men's

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

, women's

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

, and men's and women's cross country. Athletic teams are members of the

Midwest Christian College Conference The Midwest Christian College Conference is a college athletic conference that is a member of the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) and the Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) in the United States. Schools ...

and the National Christian College Association of Athletics. Intramural sports include Ultimate Frisbee,

futsal Futsal is a football-based game played on a hardcourt, hard court smaller than a football pitch, and mainly indoors. It has similarities to five-a-side football and Indoor soccer, indoor football. Futsal is played between two teams of five players ...

, volleyball, and basketball. Ozark's Multi-Purpose Building provides a full-size basketball/volleyball floor, indoor walking/running area, weight room, cardio room, racquetball court, locker rooms, and theater seating. The campus also includes outdoor basketball goals, tennis courts, a sand volleyball pit, and a soccer field.

Protection of Biblical Relationships

The college has expelled students for gay or lesbian relationships. The college has a partial exemption from

Title IX Title IX is the most commonly used name for the federal civil rights law in the United States that was enacted as part (Title IX) of the Education Amendments of 1972. It prohibits sex-based discrimination in any school or any other educat ...

which allows it to discriminate against LGBT students for religious reasons in keeping with the clear teaching of scriptures.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Association for Biblical Higher Education Seminaries and theological colleges in Missouri Universities and colleges affiliated with the Christian churches and churches of Christ Buildings and structures in Joplin, Missouri Educational institutions established in 1942 Association of Christian College Athletics member schools Bible colleges Education in Joplin, Missouri 1942 establishments in Missouri