Mission University (MU) 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 recorded ...

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

Bible college A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute or theological seminary, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christianity, Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for C ...

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

. Founded in 1950, MU focuses on training Christian professionals and ministers. It offers accredited associate,

bachelor's A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...

, and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

degrees.

History

Mission has its origins as Baptist Bible College in a May 1950 meeting of Baptist ministers at the Texas Hotel in

Fort Worth Fort Worth is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, covering nearly into Denton County, Texas, Denton, Johnson County, Texas, Johnson, Parker County, Texas, Parker, and Wise County, Te ...

. In the summer of 1950 land was bought at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Kearney Street in Springfield, Missouri. This former city park was turned into dormitories, which opened on September 5, 1950. From the founding until 1975,

George Beauchamp Vick George Beauchamp Vick (1901–1975), known as G. B. Vick, or G. Beauchamp Vick, was pastor of Temple Baptist Church of Detroit, Michigan, from 1950 to the 1970s. J. Frank Norris, pastor of Temple Baptist from 1934 to 1950, appointed Vick in 193 ...

, pastor of the Temple Baptist Church of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

(currently NorthRidge Church), was the president of the college. Vick's executive vice president, W. E. Dowell Sr., became president for the following eight years. In 1983, A. V. Henderson led the school for three years. In 1986, Leland Kennedy presided over the institution for 15 years. In 2001, BBC received probationary accreditation from 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 ...

. The Higher Learning Commission: Info on Baptist Bible College
/ref> Mike Randall was installed as the fifth president on February 20, 2002. Accreditation was received in 2005, due in part to Randall's hard work but mostly due to the hard work of Russell Dell who served as Baptist Bible College's academic dean for many years. In 2008, Jim Edge was appointed to office, and resigned after three years. The board of trustees named Ron Sears as interim president and began the search for a new president. In 2012, by a unanimous vote of the trustees, Mark Milioni was named as the new president. Following a decline from its peak enrollment of over 2,600 in the 1970s, Baptist Bible College has continued to see increased enrollment since 2013. In 2016 the school was placed on probation by its regional accreditor and has seen a decrease in enrollment. That probation was lifted in the spring of 2019. On January 25, 2024, the college was renamed Mission University effective immediately, in a press conference on campus.

Academics

Mission, then known as Baptist Bible College, was first accredited by the

in 2001 and is also accredited by the

Association for Biblical Higher Education The Association for Biblical Higher Education (ABHE), formerly The Accrediting Association of Bible Colleges (AABC) is an evangelical Christian organization of bible colleges in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It is a member of the ...

(ABHE). Although the college was placed on probation by the Higher Learning Commission in 2016, it was removed from probation in 2019.

Athletics

The Mission athletic teams are called the Patriots. The college is a member of the

National Christian College Athletic Association The National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA) is an association of Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada whose mission is "the promotion and enhancement of intercollegiate athletic c ...

(NCCAA), primarily competing as an independent in the Central Region of the Division I level. The college has undergone revitalization and expansion of athletics since 2019, including the return of soccer and baseball to the BBC campus in 2023. As of the 2023-24 academic year, Mission competes in ten intercollegiate varsity sports: Men's sports include

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

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 (appro ...

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various Golf club, clubs to hit a Golf ball, ball into a series of holes on a golf course, course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standa ...

, and

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

; while women's sports include basketball, cross country, golf, soccer,

softball Softball is a Variations of baseball, variation of baseball, the difference being that it is played with a larger ball, on a smaller field, and with only underhand pitches (where the ball is released while the hand is primarily below the ball) ...

, and

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 ...

. On October 2, 2023, it was announced that the Patriots would be joining the

National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for higher education, colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic schola ...

(NAIA) as a member of the

American Midwest Conference The American Midwest Conference (AMC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) with 12 member institutions located in Arkansas and Missouri in the United States. History The ...

(AMC) beginning with the 2024–25 athletic year.

Men's basketball

The Patriots men's basketball team won the 2022 NCCAA Division I National Championship by defeating

Lancaster Bible College Lancaster Bible College, officially named Lancaster Bible College , Capital Seminary and Graduate School and shortened to LBC , Capital, is a private Bible college, seminary, and graduate school in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Lancaster Bible Co ...

77–70. The Patriots won the 2021

Association of Christian College Athletics The Association of Christian College Athletics (ACCA) is an organization of collegiate athletics in the United States. It was incorporated to provide an opportunity for smaller Christian college members to compete on an equal level of competition ...

(ACCA) National Tournament against the

University of Los Angeles College of Divinity A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

(ULA) 68-60. The men's basketball team also won NCCAA Division II National Championship titles in 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1984.

Notable alumni

Jerry Falwell Jerry Laymon Falwell Sr. (August 11, 1933 – May 15, 2007) was an American Baptist pastor, televangelist, and conservatism in the United States, conservative activist. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch ...

–

Bachelor of Theology The Bachelor of Theology degree (BTh, ThB, or BTheol) is a two- to five-year undergraduate degree or graduate degree in theological disciplines and is typically (but not exclusively) pursued by those seeking ordination for ministry in a church, de ...

in 1956 * Jerry Prevo – acting President of

Liberty University Liberty University (LU), known simply as Liberty, is a Private university, private Evangelicalism in the United States, evangelical Christian university in Lynchburg, Virginia, United States. It is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Conservativ ...

References

External links

*
Official athletics website
{{Authority control Association for Biblical Higher Education Baptist universities and colleges in the United States Universities and colleges in Springfield, Missouri Bible colleges in Missouri Private universities and colleges in Missouri Universities and colleges established in 1950 1950 establishments in Missouri