History
The concept that evolved into NationsUniversity had its beginning on July 4, 1995 with Richard Ady and Mac Lynn. As these two college classmates, co-workers and long-time friends reflected on their interests in worldwide religious education, a simple plan was conceived. The plan was to enlist volunteers who would travel throughout the world at their own expense to conduct seminars and short courses in religious studies.
During the next several months, the men conducted short courses in a few international locations. Eventually, nearly two hundred volunteers were recruited to lend assistance in a variety of tasks. As activity increased, the demand for degree programs also increased. The organization was incorporated in Louisiana on July 19, 1996 as NationsUniversity with a board of three people—Ady, Lynn and Darrell Frazier. The institution was approved by the Board of Regents of Louisiana on June 18, 1996 to grant degrees in religious studies. The name was registered with the U. S. government on July 7, 1998, and subsequently renewed through July 7, 2018. The institution was granted tax exempt status by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)3 organization on February 3, 1998.
At the July 1-2, 1999 meeting of the Board of Directors, the NationsUniversity mission statement was established: “NationsUniversity is a school without walls offering affordable, accessible higher education to build faith and to develop culturally rooted Christian leaders around the world.” The statement was revised on Dec. 5, 2009 to read: “The mission of NationsUniversity is to build faith and to train Christian leaders around the world through affordable, accessible higher education utilizing distance learning.”
From the beginning, NationsUniversity has operated as a distance learning university or a “school without walls.” Such operations enable NationsUniversity to offer courses around the world with minimal expense. NationsUniversity has offered various degree programs throughout its existence, and now offers to new students one Certificate and three Degree programs (1) Certificate in Religious Studies (2) Bachelor of Religious Studies (3) Masters of Religious Studies and (4) Masters of Divinity.
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