Ozark Christian College to take over seminary, endowment of closing Illinois university

Oct. 12—A Christian university in Illinois is closing its doors at the end of this school year and turning over the master's degree programs in its seminary and a $3.8 million scholarship endowment to Joplin's Ozark Christian College.

Lincoln Christian University, located in Lincoln, Illinois, announced on Wednesday it will close on May 31, 2024. Its seminary will be acquired by Ozark Christian College.

With the seminary, OCC will take over two master's degree programs from Lincoln: the master of divinity degree and the master of arts degree in biblical studies and Bible and theology. The Joplin college also will merge Lincoln's master in ministry degree with OCC's new master's degree in Christian ministry. All changes, expected to take place in fall 2024, are pending approval from accrediting bodies, including the Higher Learning Commission, the Association of Theological Schools and the Association for Biblical Higher Education.

LCU will also transfer a $3.8 million scholarship endowment to Ozark Christian College on June 1, 2024, as part of the deal.

In a joint statement released Wednesday by LCU President Silas McCormick and OCC President Matt Proctor, McCormick said LCU will stop offering credits and degrees as of May 31, 2024, although some nonacademic activities may continue as the university resolves debts and deals with property and assets.

"There is no small amount of grief behind this news, but it is Christian grief of high order, not without hope," McCormick said. "We are grateful for the continued ministry of Lincoln Christian Seminary in name and with excellence via a sibling who cares deeply about and for us and our mission."

Proctor, in the statement, credited LCU for its work in higher education.

"After a long and fruitful ministry, Lincoln Christian University is saying goodbye, and we at Ozark grieve her departure," Proctor said. "We know well LCU's great kingdom impact, the thousands of 'Lincoln leaders' sent into the harvest fields, and we give thanks for how well our sister school 'fought the good fight.' But before LCU leaves, a baton is passed to OCC. Lincoln began when (LCU founder) Earl Hargrove's famous sermon cast a vision to the Illinois churches: 'The preachers are coming!' Since 1942, that same vision has guided Ozark, and as we now adopt Lincoln's seminary, we carry on that work. The preachers are still coming, and in the midst of sadness, there is hope."

Proctor said OCC will not operate the Illinois campus, nor will it hire anyone from LCU. But the Lincoln seminary will allow OCC to expand its new master's degree program, which started last year and enrolls more than 80 students, and more quickly create a seminary on the Joplin campus, he said.

"'Seminary' is the label most commonly used for an institution offering multiple graduate-level Bible and ministry degrees. Like a medical school or law school, a seminary is a specialized, graduate-level school that focuses on preparing people for a particular vocation — in this case, ministry," Proctor said. "Ozark Christian College remains a single-focus institution, and while our primary business is still teaching undergraduates, a seminary allows us to do at a graduate level what we've been doing since 1942 — training men and women for Christian service. The addition of Lincoln's seminary, then, is simply an opportunity to do more quickly what we were already planning to do."

The seminary will retain Lincoln's name to honor the Illinois university and the donation of its scholarship endowment to OCC.

"We recognize Lincoln's significant financial contribution to Ozark's ongoing graduate studies as they send their $3.8 million endowment to OCC, and it is not uncommon to express gratitude to a benefactor with a school's name," Proctor said. "As LCU closes their academic operations, we hope this name might open a door to those donors who want to continue supporting biblical higher education and the work of preparing men and women for ministry."