Messenger College
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Messenger College is the national college of the Pentecostal Church of God located at 300 E 50th St., Joplin, Missouri. A Christian college with programs to serve many people, the institution is accredited through the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools (TRACS) and eligible for all federal student aid programs. Degrees are offered in ministry, biblical studies, education, music and business. Correspondence studies are furnished through the Department of Lifelong Learning.
Messenger College was created in 1987 upon the foundation of two merged collegiate institutions. In November of 1983, the Pentecostal Church of God, the sponsoring organization of two denominational colleges in the United States, elected to merge those institutions into one college in Joplin, Missouri, the host city of its international headquarters. Accordingly, Southern Bible College (Houston, Texas), an accredited institution with the American Association of Bible Colleges, and Evangelical Christian College (Fresno, California), authorized by the California Post-Secondary Education Commission, were closed and the resources moved to Joplin, Missouri, where Messenger College was opened in newly constructed facilities on 16 acres of wooded property across from the international offices of the church denomination. The College opened in September of 1987.
The College requested and, upon review, has been granted transferability of credit status for its general education curriculum by Missouri Southern State College, Joplin, Missouri. This was effective upon notification by MSSC on October 12, 1988. The College was also granted transferability of credit status with five additional regionally accredited institutions. The College is recognized by the Coordinating Board for Higher Education, the State of Missouri. Messenger College has been granted cooperating institution status with Missouri Southern State College in the Cooperative Elementary Education Teacher Certification Program.
Messenger College is a legal entity operating under the statutes of the State of Missouri and the aegis of the Pentecostal Church of God ecclesiastical denomination. The denomination consists of 1,186 churches in the United States. In addition, the denomination’s outreach to Third World nations include 5,400 churches and outstations, 89 schools and training centers, and numerous assistance programs providing food, clothing and related human care outreaches. Messenger College is the denomination’s national collegiate institution in the United States for the education of its ministers, missionaries, teachers, and other professionals to serve its constituency and others in the United States and abroad.
