Mission + Vision
The NationsUniversity mission, building authentic faith and training Christian leaders around the world through affordable, accessible higher education, utilizing distance learning.
The NationsUniversity mission, building authentic faith and training Christian leaders around the world through affordable, accessible higher education, utilizing distance learning.
NationsUniversity is committed to fulfill its mission through quality distance education programs. Building faith is not an emotional experience; it is an educational endeavor, built upon knowledge and understanding.
Developing Christian leaders is likewise a calculated enterprise, constructed on knowledge and sound principles. For a proper foundation to be laid, a serious, high level, and objective presentation of the Christian faith and its rationale are essential. Therefore, the institution is committed to engage each student in a rigorous confrontation with the biblical text.
To build faith by focusing on both knowledge of biblical text and personal spiritual formation. To train Christian leaders by equipping students with the knowledge and skills to serve as Christian leaders.
NationsUniversity had its inception on July 4, 1995, with a conversation between two long-time friends–Richard N. Ady and Mac Lynn. Ady was a missionary and Lynn was a university professor. As they discussed means to take Christian training to seekers and young converts in their own countries, they settled on the idea of creating non-credit seminars that could be conducted by volunteer professionals in the students’ native country. They envisioned setting up seminars where they knew of such interest and recruiting teachers who would pay their own expenses (or find personal support) to teach the seminars.
Over the next several months, several seminars were organized, teachers were recruited, and teaching was conducted. While engaged in the seminars, requests began to be heard for an organized program that could lead to a college degree. Although not originally contemplated, the feasibility was researched. Because the State of Louisiana has a religious exclusion law that allows an institution to issue degrees in religious studies without being subject to the same type of regulation as other disciplines, NationsUniversity secured permission to grant degrees in religious studies on June 18, 1996. The institution was incorporated in Louisiana on July 19, 1996, and granted tax-exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) organization on February 3, 1998. The name was registered with the U. S. government on July 7, 1998, and subsequently renewed through July 7, 2028.
The original plan to carry religious studies to the students began with on-the-field seminars but moved to e-mail and the Internet as these services became available to students. Short- term courses gave way to formalized credit courses that could be conducted through distance-learning. Degree patterns began to develop upon student demand. When the Board of Regents decided to move toward accreditation, the institution undertook a rigorous review to bring its programs, curricula, and student services into compliance with DEAC standards.
Since its original accreditation, NationsUniversity has continued to grow its programs to fulfill its mission and meet the needs of its students. The emphasis on the mission to “train Christian leaders” has grown as certificate programs and courses in Christian ministry, pastoral care, and pastoral ministry have been implemented.
From the beginning, the target student population has been people with one of two interests: those desiring serious study of Scripture and related subjects for (1) personal enrichment and (2) leadership development. In both circumstances, these could not afford the normal expense of a theological education, or they did not have an opportunity geographically near them.
Since its beginning, NU has served over 30,000 students in about 150 nations. Current enrollment is about 1,200 students with about 200 being incarcerated. Except for prison students, all studies are online. The institution uses academically trained professors who volunteer their time to keep tuition and fees low. Students in developing countries are charged no tuition. Degrees offered include the Bachelor of Religious Studies, the Master of Theological Studies, the Master of Divinity, and two certificate programs—all in biblical and religious studies. The school is an accredited member of the Distance Education Accredited Commission (DEAC), the Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA), and a member of State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). John Baxter, Ed.D., is president and CEO. Offices are maintained in New Orleans, Louisiana and Brentwood, Tennessee. See nationsu.edu for details.
Mac Lynn
Chancellor
2023
NationsUniversity is a distance learning (online) institution offering Christian education and does not discriminate on the basis of race/ethnicity, national origin, sex, disability, or age in the administration of admissions policies or employment.
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