Multnomah Bible College and Biblical Seminary
Encyclopedia
Multnomah University is a Christian
educational institution in Portland, Oregon
, United States
. Specializing in Biblical studies
and theology
, Multnomah University consists of an undergraduate liberal arts program at Multnomah Bible College, as well as a masters level program
at Multnomah Biblical Seminary. All students in the undergraduate program receive a bachelor's degree
in Biblical studies/theology, and must also complete a second major or minor. Students at Multnomah Biblical seminary can pursue a graduate certificate, or various master's degrees.
school in the Pacific Northwest
. Mitchell, working with Dr. B.B. Sutcliffe, Dr. Willard Aldrich, and others founded the school that year. The following October, classes began with 49 students and a half-dozen faculty in a former mortuary. In 1943 Willard Aldrich became president of the school, and at age 34 the youngest president of a college in the United States. Willard served as president up until his retirement in 1978. During his time as president Multnomah came to reside on its current campus, and became a degree-granting college. His son, Dr. Joe Aldrich, followed his father as President and was affectionately referred to as Dr. Joe. The Multnomah Graduate School of Ministry was founded as a related institution in 1986 and was renamed later to Multnomah Biblical seminary. In 1993, the college was renamed to Multnomah Bible College and on July 1, 2008, the over-arching name of the entire institution was changed to Multnomah University.
shopping mall in Northeast Portland. In 1952, the school purchased the 17-acre (69,000 m²) former campus of the Oregon Blind Trades School, a branch of the Oregon State School for the Blind
, located at NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street, which is the location of one of the university's current campuses.
In September 2009 Multnomah began offering undergraduate classes at its satellie campus in Reno, Nevada
and plans to begin seminary classes there soon. Multnomah has also recently started offering local courses in Anchorage, Alaska
that coincides with their distributed education initiative "Multnomah Connect", allowing students to receive a 1-year graduate certificate in Bible, a 2-year M.A. in Pastoral studies, or 3-year Master of Divinity.
, Missionary Aviation, Music, New Testament Greek
, Pastoral Ministry, Psychology, and Youth Ministry
.
in counseling, a master of arts in teaching
, and a master of arts in teaching English to speakers of other languages
. Most classes are offered in the afternoon or evening in order for students to work and attend school at the same time.
, and for those pursuing further post-graduate studies a masters of theology. Students at Multnomah Biblical Seminary are offered a standard track (for those without formal Bible and theology education) and an advanced track (for those with formal Bible and theology training) that eliminates one year of graduate studies.
Students in the seminary program are allowed the opportunity for learning in the classroom and practical application through Multnomah’s internship program. Pastoral mentors work with students to help in their ministry training by providing guidance, experience, and push-back.
. The program is unique as it allows students to continue full-time employment while finishing their undergraduate education by attending classes only one night a week, and working with a cohort of other students.
s, and "Mitch the Lion" is the name of their mascot. The school's nickname was formerly the Ambassadors. The school is a member of both the National Christian College Athletic Association
and the Association of Christian College Athletics
. Multnomah’s division II teams are their men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
In their 2010 season Multnomah's Division II Women's Volleyball team made it to the NCCAA championship in Kissimmee, Florida. Out of 37 teams they placed 9th.
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
educational institution in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Specializing in Biblical studies
Biblical studies
Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament and Old Testament, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible, also known as...
and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
, Multnomah University consists of an undergraduate liberal arts program at Multnomah Bible College, as well as a masters level program
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
at Multnomah Biblical Seminary. All students in the undergraduate program receive a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in Biblical studies/theology, and must also complete a second major or minor. Students at Multnomah Biblical seminary can pursue a graduate certificate, or various master's degrees.
History
On February 14, 1936, Rev. John G. Mitchell called a meeting of Portland-area ministers and Christian businessmen to discuss the idea of creating a BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
school in the Pacific Northwest
Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
. Mitchell, working with Dr. B.B. Sutcliffe, Dr. Willard Aldrich, and others founded the school that year. The following October, classes began with 49 students and a half-dozen faculty in a former mortuary. In 1943 Willard Aldrich became president of the school, and at age 34 the youngest president of a college in the United States. Willard served as president up until his retirement in 1978. During his time as president Multnomah came to reside on its current campus, and became a degree-granting college. His son, Dr. Joe Aldrich, followed his father as President and was affectionately referred to as Dr. Joe. The Multnomah Graduate School of Ministry was founded as a related institution in 1986 and was renamed later to Multnomah Biblical seminary. In 1993, the college was renamed to Multnomah Bible College and on July 1, 2008, the over-arching name of the entire institution was changed to Multnomah University.
Campus Locations
The original campus was located adjacent to the site of the present Lloyd CenterLloyd Center
Lloyd Center is a shopping mall in the Lloyd District of Portland, Oregon, United States, just northeast of downtown. It is owned by Glimcher Realty Trust and anchored by Macy's, Nordstrom, Sears, Marshalls and Ross. The mall features three floors of shopping with the third level serving mostly...
shopping mall in Northeast Portland. In 1952, the school purchased the 17-acre (69,000 m²) former campus of the Oregon Blind Trades School, a branch of the Oregon State School for the Blind
Oregon School for the Blind
The Oregon School for the Blind , was a state-run public school in Salem, Oregon, United States, serving blind and vision impaired students of kindergarten through high school grades through residential, day school, and part-time enrollment programs. Opened in 1873, the school was operated by the...
, located at NE 82nd Avenue and NE Glisan Street, which is the location of one of the university's current campuses.
In September 2009 Multnomah began offering undergraduate classes at its satellie campus in Reno, Nevada
Reno, Nevada
Reno is the county seat of Washoe County, Nevada, United States. The city has a population of about 220,500 and is the most populous Nevada city outside of the Las Vegas metropolitan area...
and plans to begin seminary classes there soon. Multnomah has also recently started offering local courses in Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
that coincides with their distributed education initiative "Multnomah Connect", allowing students to receive a 1-year graduate certificate in Bible, a 2-year M.A. in Pastoral studies, or 3-year Master of Divinity.
Rankings
In 2009 Multnomah University was named among the top 25 non-profits to work at in Oregon. The Seattle Met, in their 2008 rankings of Northwest colleges put Multnomah as #6 in the region.Starting Point for Ministries
Over its history Multnomah has been the starting point of a number of independent ministries and businesses including: Mission Portland, International Renewal Ministries, and Multnomah Press (now Waterbrook-Multnomah Publishing Group).Academics
Multnomah is a bachelor’s and master’s level granting institution. Multnomah consists of four separate programs: undergraduate, graduate, seminary, and adult-degree completion.Undergraduate Program
Multnomah University's motto is "If it's Bible you want, you want Multnomah." Multnomah students in the undergraduate program graduate with a Bachelor's degree in Biblical Studies, with the choice of a second major or minor in the following areas: Biblical Hebrew, Educational Ministry, Elementary Education, English Literature, History, Intercultural Studies, Teaching English to Speakers of Other LanguagesTESOL
TESOL may refer to:* The acronym "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages", used in English as a Foreign or Second Language * TESOL Inc., a professional organization based in the United States for people working in this field...
, Missionary Aviation, Music, New Testament Greek
Koine Greek
Koine Greek is the universal dialect of the Greek language spoken throughout post-Classical antiquity , developing from the Attic dialect, with admixture of elements especially from Ionic....
, Pastoral Ministry, Psychology, and Youth Ministry
Youth ministry
Youth ministry, also commonly referred to as Youth group, is an age-specific religious ministry and is the way in which a faith group, or other religious organization involves and engages with the young people who attend its place of worship, or live in its community...
.
Graduate Program
Multnomah offers three non-seminary degrees: a master of artsMaster of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in counseling, a master of arts in teaching
Master of Arts in Teaching
The Master of Arts in Teaching degree is generally a pre-service degree that usually requires a minimum of 30 semester hours beyond the Bachelor's degree. While the program often requires education classes in order to meet state licensure requirements, it emphasizes advanced course work in a...
, and a master of arts in teaching English to speakers of other languages
TESOL
TESOL may refer to:* The acronym "Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages", used in English as a Foreign or Second Language * TESOL Inc., a professional organization based in the United States for people working in this field...
. Most classes are offered in the afternoon or evening in order for students to work and attend school at the same time.
Seminary
Multnomah's Glisan campus is home to Multnomah Biblical Seminary. The seminary offers four different Master degrees as well as a graduate certificate in Bible: a master of arts in Biblical studies, a master of arts in pastoral studies, a master of divinityMaster of Divinity
In the academic study of theology, the Master of Divinity is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America...
, and for those pursuing further post-graduate studies a masters of theology. Students at Multnomah Biblical Seminary are offered a standard track (for those without formal Bible and theology education) and an advanced track (for those with formal Bible and theology training) that eliminates one year of graduate studies.
Students in the seminary program are allowed the opportunity for learning in the classroom and practical application through Multnomah’s internship program. Pastoral mentors work with students to help in their ministry training by providing guidance, experience, and push-back.
Degree completion program
Adult students coming into Multnomah with 48 credit hours or above, and significant professional work experience can enroll in Multnomah’s two-year degree completion programDegree completion program
A degree completion program is an educational program providing a way for learners to get college credit for learning that they acquired through life and work experience. Degree completion programs, unlike diploma mills, work within the established university community to provide accredited degrees...
. The program is unique as it allows students to continue full-time employment while finishing their undergraduate education by attending classes only one night a week, and working with a cohort of other students.
Athletics
Multnomah's athletic teams are nicknamed the LionLion
The lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
s, and "Mitch the Lion" is the name of their mascot. The school's nickname was formerly the Ambassadors. The school is a member of both the National Christian College Athletic Association
National Christian College Athletic Association
The National Christian College Athletic Association is an association of approximately 100 Christian universities, colleges, and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada which see collegiate sports primarily as an opportunity for Christian fellowship and ministry. The national headquarters...
and the Association of Christian College Athletics
Association of Christian College Athletics
The Association of Christian College Athletics is an organization of collegiate athletics. It was incorporated to provide an opportunity for smaller Christian College members to compete on an equal level of competition with schools of like size....
. Multnomah’s division II teams are their men’s basketball and women’s volleyball.
In their 2010 season Multnomah's Division II Women's Volleyball team made it to the NCCAA championship in Kissimmee, Florida. Out of 37 teams they placed 9th.
Notable alumni
- Randy AlcornRandy AlcornRandy Alcorn is an American Protestant author and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries, a non-profit Christian organization dedicated to teaching an eternal viewpoint and helping the needy of the world. He has written several novels, including Deadline, Dominion, and Deception. He received a...
, author - Ferdinand Waldo DemaraFerdinand Waldo DemaraFerdinand Waldo Demara, Jr. , known as "the Great Impostor", masqueraded as many people from monks to surgeons to prison wardens...
, "The Great Imposter" - Bettie PageBettie PageBettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
, model who became a Christian - Dan KimballDan KimballDan Kimball is a pastor, author and was a leading voice in the beginning years of the Emerging Church movement in the USA. Kimball's writings focus on encouraging churches and Christians to creatively make any changes needed in order to break the negative stereotypes of church and Christianity that...
author of The Emerging Church and They Like Jesus But Not The Church, pastor of Vintage Faith Church in Santa CruzSanta Cruz, CaliforniaSanta Cruz is the county seat and largest city of Santa Cruz County, California in the US. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, Santa Cruz had a total population of 59,946...
, CaliforniaCaliforniaCalifornia is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... - Luis PalauLuis PalauLuis Palau, Jr. is an international Christian evangelist living in the Portland area in Oregon, United States. He was born in Argentina and moved to Portland in his mid-twenties to enroll in a graduate program in Biblical studies....
, internationally known evangelist, author - Rick McKinley, author and pastor of Imago Dei Community and co-creator of Advent ConspiracyAdvent conspiracyThe Advent Conspiracy is an international movement centered around bringing a deeper meaning to Christmas. The movement is characterized by its four founding principles: Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All...
. - Linda ChaikinLinda ChaikinLinda Chaikin is a Christian fiction author with a focus on historical fiction. She sometimes publishes using the name L. L. Chaikin.Linda was the youngest of 10 children and her father died shortly after she was born...
, author of Christian fiction
Notable faculty
- Bruce WilkinsonBruce WilkinsonBruce Wilkinson is a Christian teacher and author. He was born in New Jersey and graduated from Northeastern Bible College , Dallas Theological Seminary and Western Conservative Baptist Seminary . He served as a college professor at Multnomah School of the Bible in Portland, Oregon, until...
, author of The Prayer of JabezThe Prayer of JabezThe Prayer of Jabez: Breaking Through to the Blessed Life is an inspirational Bruce Wilkinson published in 2000 by Multnomah Books as the first book in the "BreakThrough" book series...
, founder of Walk Thru the BibleWalk Thru the BibleWalk Thru the Bible Ministries is a non-denominational evangelical Christian educational organization headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.-Overview:Walk Thru the Bible was founded in the USA in 1976 by Bruce Wilkinson... - Rick McKinley, noted Pastor, Author, and Speaker.
- Paul Louis Metzger, noted theologian, founder of The Institute For The Theology of Culture: New Wine, New Wineskins
External links
- Multnomah University (official website)