History
David Alexis Edgren founded Bethel to be a seminary in 1871, while using the name Baptist Marriage Theological Seminary. The particular seminary trained pastors to serve Swedish Baptist immigrants, fleeing non secular persecution in Europe. Edgren, a ocean captain and college student who knew 35 languages, founded Bethel around the enduring conviction that Christians must love God with their minds and represent Him in all fields.
The Baptist Common Conference (now Converge Worldwide) had taken on support in the seminary in 1914, migrated it from Chicago to St. Paul, and merged it with a Christian high classes. Following World Struggle II, Bethel responded to demand for four-year levels, becoming Bethel School & Seminary.
Above the following decades, visionary leaders widened Bethel Seminary to the West and Eastern coasts, while increasing the undergraduate program in St. Paul. In 1989, non-theological graduate student programs were released, followed by bachelor's degrees for working adults along with online learning alternatives.
In 2004, witout a doubt classified among "master's levels universities, " Bethel modified its name to Bethel University to match its broad scope of programs all over 4 schools:
Bethel remains a personal, Christian university, sponsored partially by the places of worship of Converge Globally, but open to all individuals willing to learn in the evangelical perspective and also community.
Poised in the future
In less as compared to three decades, Bethel's programs have more than doubled to over 100 stage options, and application has tripled to 6, 000 learners. But Bethel remains true to the vision of the founder, John Edgren: in order to develop broadly educated, critically thinking Christians-changing the globe through service and also leadership in Christ's name.
Mission
Boldly informed and motivated because of the Christian faith, Bethel University trains and energizes individuals for excellence with leadership, scholarship, and also service. We make graduates to serve in strategic drives to renew brains, live out biblical real truth, transform culture, and also advance the gospel.
Vision
Bethel will function as Christ-centered university of choice for this one hundred year.
Rooted in faith. Committed to fineness. Bethel will end up being the leader in Christian advanced schooling by building tougher communities, equipping comfortable leaders and thoughtful servants, and getting ready passionate world-changers. Through our thoughts, terms, and actions, we’ll demonstrate what it means for a university to get centered on Jesus Christ.
Values
Bethel University is often a vibrant, Christ-centered educational community. Here, students with numerous interests and backgrounds share perhaps the most common goal: to come to be whole and holy individuals. Throughout this transformational quest, we rely upon core values to guide us spiritually, sentimentally, and intellectually.
First, we are Christ-followers, striving to live on out the theories of Jesus and to emulate His living as revealed with Scripture. We are character-builders. Through wholesome, supportive relationships and a culture of program, we develop the personal strength and emotional intelligence to generate right choices inside a broken world.
Seeing that learners, we are crucial thinkers and problem-solvers committed to academic excellence and also intellectual rigor. As well, we are truth-seekers, recognizing that all truth-scientific, artistic, philosophical, or perhaps theological-has its supply in God.
We've been put on this earth for the purpose: God wants us make use of our talents and compassion to get world-changers and reconcilers. Even as humbly and honestly engage with our own biases and also preconceptions, we grow nearer to understanding Christ's unlimited love and selfless assignment of redemption.
In this complex and troubled world, we try to be both salt and light-preserving the excellent and reflecting the actual guiding light connected with Christ. This requires a mature faith, one that can withstand the thunder storms of life, tested by trial and grounded inside a personal relationship using God.
Source : https://www.bethel.edu/about/history