Recently, Manna Church was highlighted by CBN for its vision to change the world by planting an expression of Manna Church near every U.S. military base in the world. Manna University is thrilled to celebrate what Manna Church is doing and to support the efforts of Manna Church by providing sound biblical and practical training for ministry in an accredited academic setting. This means that our mission is far more than training pastors for vocational ministry; rather, it’s to equip God’s people for leadership and service, whether they’re involved in vocational ministry or not.
So yes, while Manna University is proud that we have equipped senior leaders for Manna Church in Fayetteville/Ft. Liberty, Sanford, Killeen, Hawaii, Colorado Springs, and beyond, we’re also proud that we’ve equipped members of the body of Christ all along the military highway. At Manna U, as at Manna Church, we believe that the Church is people, so we seek to offer programs that build biblical literacy and develop practical ministry skills necessary to build the body of Christ.
In 1978, Manna Church Pastor Jerry Daley led the charge in establishing Manna Christian College, a university dedicated to training future church leaders. The college shifted its identity several times between 1978 and 2000 to address the changing needs of the local church, shifting its location from Fayetteville to Chapel Hill, NC. After its reorganization as Grace College of Divinity in 2000, the college returned to its original campus, shared with Manna Church, on Cliffdale Road in Fayetteville.
With the addition of a Doctor of Ministry program in 2020, it became apparent that our status would need to shift from that of a college to that of a university. Under the leadership of President Steven Crowther, Grace College of Divinity became Manna University, a name that celebrates our past as Manna Christian College, while looking forward to our future as the training center for countless believers along the military highway.
