History
A leader in Christian higher education since 1871.
John Alexis Edgren founded Bethel with the conviction that Christians ought to love God with their minds and represent Him in all fields. He said to:
Measure our performance by what God accomplishes through our graduates after they have been prepared at Bethel to go out into the world to serve.
John Alexis EdgrenBethel founder
Beginning as a seminary
Edgren founded Bethel as a seminary in 1871, with the name Baptist Union Theological Seminary. The seminary trained pastors to serve Swedish Baptist immigrants, fleeing religious persecution in Europe. Edgren, a sea captain and scholar, nearly saw his dream destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire. But the day after the fire, another Swedish immigrant, Christopher Silene, made his way through the smoldering ruins, looking for Edgren. Silene became Bethel’s first student.
Moving to Minnesota
The Baptist General Conference (now Converge) took on support of the seminary in 1914, moved it from Chicago to St. Paul, and merged it with a Christian high school. Following World War II, Bethel answered demand for four-year degrees, becoming Bethel College & Seminary.
Expanding our reach
Over the following decades, visionary leaders expanded Bethel's reach and mission. In 1989, non-theological graduate programs were launched, followed by bachelor's degrees for working adults along with online learning options. In 1994, Bethel Seminary became the first seminary in the country to start offering classes online through a distance learning model called InMinistry.
One university, four schools
In 2004, already classified among "master's level universities," Bethel changed its name to Bethel University to match its broad scope of programs across four schools:
Expanding our kingdom impact
Bethel remains a private, Christ-guided university dedicated to helping students become who they are meant to be. In less than three decades, Bethel's programs have more than doubled to over 100 degree options, and enrollment has grown to more than 4,700 students. Bethel remains true to Edgren’s vision: to develop broadly educated, critically thinking men and women who change the world through service and leadership in Christ's name.
