Bethany Global University began with 10 students in October 1948. In the early years, graduates of what was then called “Bethany Fellowship Missionary Training Center” served with various missionary sending agencies. Bethany's legacy now includes sending hundreds of missionaries, founding numerous churches, missionary training centers and training church leaders in nearly 40 countries. Bethany Glo
bal University is part of a larger organization known as Bethany International. Bethany International was founded by five families in 1945. These families had entered into a deep, passionate relationship with Jesus, and were seeking to give all they had to God. The possibilities of the sanctified Christian life and the unfinished task of world missions greatly inspired them, but most of their time, energy and money were needed to support their families and maintain their homes. After much prayer and discussion, they sensed God leading them to sell their possessions and pool their resources to acquire a common residence where they could live, worship and work together to fulfill their goal. In 1945, they sold their homes and combined their belongings to support their newly formed organization. The headquarters were established in a large, 30-room home in Minneapolis called “Bethany House.” The purpose of this community life was to reduce unnecessary work and expense entailed in maintaining several households so that more time and money could be given to missions. The name “Bethany” was chosen because it was a place Jesus preferred and would retreat to for prayer and reflection with the Father. Soon they had outgrown both the chapel and the house where they all lived. As a result, in April 1946, they purchased a 62.5 acre farm in Bloomington, MN. Along the way, God had given Pastor Hegre the vision of preparing and sending missionaries throughout the world, spreading the message of Jesus to many distant places. Therefore, Bethany set the faith-filled goal of sending 100 missionaries from their gathering of 50 people. Bethany International has been a flagship of the missions movement around the world for more than 50 years since those early days of faith and sacrifice. It continues to inspire the next generation of missionaries who will usher in the soon return of Jesus. More at http://www.bethanygu.edu/about/history, https://twitter.com/beglobalu, https://www.youtube.com/user/BCOMnetwork, https://www.linkedin.com/edu/bethany-global-university-161135, https://plus.google.com/+BethanyGlobalUniversityMinneapolis
