Welcome to the energy and excitement that is MidAmerica Nazarene University!
MidAmerica Nazarene University has a rich heritage built upon the strong faith and pioneer spirit of our founders. Thanks to God’s gracious guidance and the contributions of committed faculty, staff, students, parents, churches and donors, MNU has grown from its five original buildings and 263 students to become a beautiful, thriving campus with 23 buildings, an enrollment of 1,500 students, and more than 30,000 alumni. After 50-plus years of growth and change, MNU continues to impact the world for Jesus Christ through servant leaders recognized for their excellence, integrity, and spiritual vitality.
MidAmerica Nazarene University has a rich heritage built upon the strong faith and pioneer spirit of our founders. Thanks to God’s gracious guidance and the contributions of committed faculty, staff, students, parents, churches and donors, MNU has grown from its five original buildings and 263 students to become a beautiful, thriving campus with 23 buildings, an enrollment of 1,500 students, and more than 30,000 alumni. After 50-plus years of growth and change, MNU continues to impact the world for Jesus Christ through servant leaders recognized for their excellence, integrity, and spiritual vitality.
2025 NICHE Best Colleges
2025 NICHE Best Colleges
2025 NICHE Best Colleges
2025 NICHE Best Colleges
2025 Money
2024 Academic Influence
MNU Athletics competes in the NAIA and is a Champions of Character® Five-Star Institution.
A powerhouse competitor in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HEART), MNU has won the Commissioner’s Cup, a symbol of athletic excellence in conference-sponsored championships, for two years in a row.
For more on our accolades, visit our athletics site.
Since the mid-1960s, when a young Nazarene pastor approached a local banker with the idea to propose Olathe, Kansas, as the location for anew Nazarene college to today, MidAmerica Nazarene University has enjoyed strong ties and outstanding support from its hometown. The vision of Pastor Paul Cunningham and local banker R.R. Osborne, imagining what the college could bring to a town of about 15,000, forged support among community members. Land was donated, funding was raised, and the Church of the Nazarene chose Olathe as the site.
Today, thousands of MNU alumni call Olathe and the surrounding Kansas City metro home. They serve their communities as teachers, doctors, nurses, lawyers, police officers, firefighters, business owners, public servants, ministers, and just about any occupation one can think of. Olathe’s current mayor is John Bacon, a 1985 alumnus. His predecessor, Olathe’s longest-serving mayor, was Michael Copeland from the class of 1984. Leadership from MNU alumni can be seen far and wide across the region.
As the university grew, so did Olathe, exceeding 145,000 in2023. With the area’s top public school system, plentiful employment, bustling business, industry and transportation, trails, lakes and parks, and an easy commute to all Kansas City has to offer, Olathe is a great home for many Pioneers.
We believe in the Lord God Almighty, the Creator, and that in Him is perfect love, forgiveness and justice. Jesus Christ is His Son and in coming to earth provided for salvation and demonstrated the qualities of moral perfection for all humanity. The Holy Spirit reveals the truth of Christ’s redemptive work, leads and directs in all our patterns of living, purifies our hearts, and empowers us for service.
Individuals are of infinite worth because they are creations of God. They are integrated and complex spiritual, physiological, psychological, and social beings. Their highest sense of achievement and satisfaction arises from a personal relationship to God and a comprehensive stewardship of life.
The Bible is God’s inspired Word and provides the final authority for instruction and guidance in Christian living. Christ taught us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves. Our concept of service to God and humanity is based on this belief. We further believe in the doctrine of entire sanctification and the dynamic life of perfect love as reflected in Wesleyan theology.
We believe that people function in a society and that laws are needed for the society to operate efficiently. The form of government and the laws developed in the society are important to the individual and the church. We believe that the American form of democratic government is the finest yet achieved, and fully support its ideals. The importance of the individual, the right of all persons to achieve, and the belief in guaranteed civil liberties are central to American heritage, and are in line with the teachings of the Bible.
We believe Christian education provides a foundation for leadership based on a sound philosophy of life, a personal relationship with God and responsible citizenship. We accept the importance of personal inspiration in the educative process and believe that models based on Christ as the master teacher are important in Christian education.
Everything we do at MidAmerica Nazarene University is designed to harmonize with this statement of belief.
