Megachurches Launch Universities as Traditional Christian Colleges Struggle
As a 168-year-old Methodist college closes its doors, megachurches across the South are launching new universities focused on job training over liberal arts.
BIRMINGHAM, ALABAMA — As traditional Christian colleges in the South face closure due to financial pressures, some of the nation’s largest megachurches are launching their own universities, creating a new model of religious higher education that emphasizes job training over liberal arts.
Birmingham-Southern College, a 168-year-old Methodist institution, graduated its final class in May 2024 before shutting its doors permanently. The private liberal arts school had produced members of Congress, famous musicians, Pulitzer Prize winners, and the former executive editor of The New York Times, but could not overcome years of financial losses.
Just 15 minutes southeast in Birmingham’s suburbs, Highlands College was completing its inaugural freshman year that same spring. The private Christian school, which recently received state permission to award bachelor’s degrees, emerged from the nondenominational Church of the Highlands — Alabama’s largest religious congregation and one of the nation’s biggest.
Megachurch Model Gains Momentum
Church of the Highlands claims a weekly attendance of 60,000 across more than two dozen campuses in Alabama and Georgia. The megachurch represents a growing trend of large congregations entering higher education as traditional religious colleges struggle with declining enrollment and rising costs.
Connor Champion, president of Austin Christian University in Texas, exemplifies this new approach. His institution focuses on hands-on job training and church culture rather than traditional liberal arts education.
These megachurch-affiliated schools benefit from built-in student recruitment through their congregations and attract significant donor support from church members. Some institutions are also pursuing access to public funding through state financial assistance programs.
Traditional Colleges Face Existential Crisis
Long-established religiously affiliated colleges like Birmingham-Southern are confronting the same challenges affecting non-religious liberal arts institutions nationwide. Declining enrollment, rising operational costs, and growing skepticism about higher education’s value are forcing closures across the sector.
Many families now question whether steep tuition and fees justify the investment, while others worry about ideological influences on their children during college years. This skepticism has particularly affected smaller private institutions that lack the resources of major universities.
Franchise Model Facilitates Expansion
A franchise-style model developed by a Christian university in Florida has simplified the process for megachurches to establish their own colleges. This approach allows religious organizations to launch accredited institutions more quickly and with less initial investment than traditional university development.
States including Florida, Georgia, and Minnesota have opened their state financial assistance programs to these new Christian institutions, providing additional incentives for megachurches to enter higher education. The funding access represents a shift in how states support religious education.
The contrast between Birmingham-Southern’s closure and Highlands College’s launch illustrates the changing dynamics of Christian higher education, where institutional size and church affiliation increasingly determine survival prospects.
