Evangel College
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Evangel University is a
private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...
Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
university and seminary in
Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an esti ...
. It is affiliated with the
Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
Christian denomination, which is also headquartered in Springfield. The campus sits on that were originally part of O'Reilly General Hospital.


History

Evangel College (later University) was founded by the
General Council of the Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of white Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas (with e ...
in 1955 as the first national
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestantism, Protestant Charismatic Christianity, Charismatic Christian movement The college was established on the property of the former O'Reilly General Hospital, which had been established during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
by the U.S. Army. In its five-year history as an Army hospital, O’Reilly served more than 100,000 patients. After the war, it briefly served as a veteran's hospital before the Army declared it excess property. The property was acquired by the Assemblies of God in December 1954 for the use of Evangel College. The first day of classes at Evangel was September 1, 1955. There were 87 students. Evangel students lived and went to classes in the O'Reilly barracks for years. The first permanent structure built on campus was the Klaude Kendrick Library in 1963. In the decades since, Evangel has slowly replaced the barracks with permanent structures. The last Army barrack on campus was demolished in 2009.


Consolidation

In 2010, the Assemblies of God began an effort to consolidate Evangel University with Central Bible College and
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) is a seminary located in Springfield, Missouri. History The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary was founded in 1972. The enrollment as of Fall 2006 was 474. In 2010, the school was merged with ...
. All three institutions were owned by the Assemblies of God and located in Springfield, Missouri. A resolution for consolidation was passed at the Assembly of God's 2011 General Council in Phoenix, Arizona, following which efforts began to make a formal proposal to the Higher Learning Commission. The consolidation was approved by the Higher Learning Commission in April 2013, making way for the official launch of the "new" Evangel University in August 2013. With the Higher Learning Commission's approval, the Assemblies of God also announced that Carol Taylor, president of
Vanguard University Vanguard University of Southern California is a private Christian university in Costa Mesa, California. It was the first four-year college in Orange County. The university offers over 39 undergraduate degrees and emphases in 15 different departm ...
in Costa Mesa, CA, had been named to lead the consolidated university. Taylor is an alumnus of Evangel University and the Assembly of God Theological Seminary. Michael Rakes became president of Evangel University in 2021.


Academics

Academic departments include Business, Behavioral and Social Sciences, Communication, Education, Humanities, Kinesiology, Music, Natural and Applied Sciences, and Theology and Church Ministries. In addition Evangel offers graduate degrees in Social Sciences, Kinesiology, and Education along with master's and doctoral degrees through Evangel's embedded seminary, the
Assemblies of God Theological Seminary The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary (AGTS) is a seminary located in Springfield, Missouri. History The Assemblies of God Theological Seminary was founded in 1972. The enrollment as of Fall 2006 was 474. In 2010, the school was merged with ...
. This makes the total number of programs available 42 associate programs, 378 bachelors programs, 104 masters programs and 20 doctorates. Evangel's School of Theology and Church Ministries was launched in 2013 to prepare students for vocational ministry. The new school was created with the 2013 consolidation of Evangel, Central Bible College, and Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. The three departments within the school are Bible & Theology, Church Ministries, and Intercultural Studies.


Accreditation

Evangel University is
accredited Accreditation is the independent, third-party evaluation of a conformity assessment body (such as certification body, inspection body or laboratory) against recognised standards, conveying formal demonstration of its impartiality and competence to ...
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, Io ...
, whose predecessor the
North Central Association of Colleges and Schools The North Central Association of Colleges and Schools (NCA), also known as the North Central Association, was a membership organization, consisting of colleges, universities, and schools in 19 U.S. states engaged in educational accreditation. It ...
first accredited Evangel in 1965. Evangel also has the following specialized/programmatic accreditations: * Social Work –
Council on Social Work Education The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) is a nonprofit national association in the United States representing more than 2,500 individual members, as well as graduate and undergraduate programs of professional social work education. Founded in 19 ...
* Music –
National Association of Schools of Music The National Association of Schools of Music (NASM) is an association of post-secondary music schools in the United States and the principal U.S. accreditor for higher education in music. It was founded on October 20, 1924, and is based in Reston ...
* Education – Initial Teacher Preparation and Advanced Preparation Levels –
National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was a professional accreditor focused on accrediting teacher education programs in U.S. colleges and universities. It was founded in 1954 and was recognized as an accreditor by ...
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education issues teaching certificates to graduates who successfully complete the Teacher Education program.


Student life

Approximately 2,350 students attend Evangel University from all 50 U.S. states and 20 countries. The university's gender distribution is 55% female and 45% male. There are more than 50 student clubs and organizations at Evangel. Each year more than 80% of Evangel students are involved in at least one campus activity outside of athletics and music. Evangel is primarily a residential campus, with most students living in one of six residence halls: Spence Hall, Walther Hall, Scott Hall, Krause Hall, Burgess Hall or Lewis Hall. The Perkin Apartments are available for married student housing.


Athletics

The Evangel athletic teams are called the Valor (formerly known as the Crusaders). The university is a member of the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its stu ...
(NAIA), primarily competing in the
Heart of America Athletic Conference The Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC or The Heart) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). Member institutions are located in Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska in ...
(HAAC) since the 1987–88 academic year. Evangel competes in 17 intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, soccer, tennis and track & field; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field and volleyball; and co-ed sports include cheerleading. In February 2022, Evangel got an invitation and accepted to join in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference (KCAC) for all sports, effective beginning the 2023–24 academic year.


Club sports

The university will begin to offer club sports, effective beginning in the 2022–23 academic year, such as bass fishing, beach volleyball, bowling, crossfit and disc golf.


Facilities

* Ashcroft Center – sports: basketball, volleyball, capacity 1,200 * Baseball Complex – capacity 1,000. * Coryell Field – sports: football, men's and woman's soccer * Softball Complex – capacity 1,000 * Tiger Stadium – sports: football, capacity 4,400 * Baseball/Softball Fieldhouse * Rivercut Golf Course * Bill and Payne Stewart Golf Course


Notable alumni

* Barry Corey, President of
Biola University Biola University () is a private, nondenominational, evangelical Christian university in La Mirada, California. It was founded in 1908 as the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. It has over 150 programs of study in nine schools offering bachelor's ...
*
Vern Clark Vernon Eugene Clark (born September 7, 1944) is a retired admiral who served as the Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) of the United States Navy. He retired on July 22, 2005, making his tenure of five years the second-longest serving CNO behind Arlei ...
,
Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...
who was 27th
Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the professional head of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the secretary of the Navy. In a separate capacity as a memb ...
,
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
*
Samuel Der-Yeghiayan Samuel Der-Yeghiayan (born February 16, 1952) is a former United States District Court Judge of the Northern District of Illinois. He was appointed in 2003. Der-Yeghiayan is noteworthy as being the first Armenian immigrant U.S. District Court Ju ...
,
United States federal judge In the United States, federal judges are judges who serve on courts established under Article Three of the U.S. Constitution. They include the chief justice and the associate justices of the U.S. Supreme Court, the circuit judges of the U.S ...
for the
Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial-level court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. Appeals from the Northern District of Illinois a ...
*
Tony Dollinger Tony Dollinger (born October 18, 1962) played for the Detroit Lions briefly during the 1987 NFL season. He was a running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running ba ...
, NFL
Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...
running back * Joey Greco, host of the television series, Cheaters * Sara Groves, recording artist and author *
Ted Dekker Ted Dekker (born October 24, 1962) is an American author of Christian mystery, thriller, and fantasy novels including '' Thr3e'', '' Obsessed'', and the ''Circle Series''. Biography Dekker was born in Netherlands New Guinea shortly after ...
, ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' author *
Jonathan Kvanvig Jonathan Lee Kvanvig (born December 7, 1954) is Professor of Philosophy at Washington University in St. Louis. Kvanvig has published extensively in areas such as epistemology, philosophy of religion, logic, and philosophy of language. Some of his ...
, Professor of Philosophy, Washington University in St. Louis * Beverly Lewis, ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' author * Troy Paino, 16th President of
Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Presid ...
*
Todd Tiahrt William Todd Tiahrt ( ; born June 15, 1951) is an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 1995 to 2011. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected as part of the historic Republican Wave of 1994, defeating 18-ye ...
,
United States Congressman The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, R-Kan * George O. Wood, former General Superintendent of the
Assemblies of God The Assemblies of God (AG), officially the World Assemblies of God Fellowship, is a group of over 144 autonomous self-governing national groupings of churches that together form the world's largest Pentecostal denomination."Assemblies of God". ...
* Richard Grenell, owner of Capitol Media Partners, former spokesman for 2012 Presidential candidate
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American politician, businessman, and lawyer serving as the junior United States senator from Utah since January 2019, succeeding Orrin Hatch. He served as the 70th governor of Massachusetts ...
, served as the U.S. Ambassador to Germany from May 8, 2018, until June 1, 2020, and Acting United States Director of National Intelligence in 2020 * Derrick Clark, former NFL fullback for the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...
and running back for the Rhine Fire of NFL Europe on a
World Bowl The World Bowl was the annual American football championship game of the World League of American Football/NFL Europe. The World Bowl was played each year from 1991 to 2007 (except 1993 and 1994). The game was conceived as the final of the NFL-r ...
champion team


References


External links

*
Evangel Athletics website
{{authority control Universities and colleges in Springfield, Missouri Universities and colleges affiliated with the Assemblies of God Educational institutions established in 1955 Council for Christian Colleges and Universities 1955 establishments in Missouri Liberal arts colleges in Missouri Private universities and colleges in Missouri