Closing season

Multnomah University, a Christian college in Oregon, was buckling under financial pressure in 2023 when an apparent solution appeared. Jessup University, a nondenominational evangelical school based in Northern California, agreed to merge with Multnomah and combine assets. The deal would allow Multnomah to continue operating out of its Portland campus under Jessup’s name and oversight.

But the merger went bust. A year after the deal was struck, Jessup announced it would close Multnomah’s campus, citing financial challenges. Now angry Multnomah alumni are pressing Jessup for answers.

Such financial woes have become common among U.S. Christian institutions of higher education. Since 2020, over two dozen Catholic or Protestant colleges have shut down. Though failed schools are found among various states and denominations, many cite the same problem: lack of money.

Trinity Christian College, founded in 1959, held its final commencement ceremony in May. Its 130-acre campus near Chicago is now for sale, with proceeds slated to pay off debts. Other recently closed schools are Judson College in Alabama, The King’s College in New York City, and Limestone University in South Carolina.

Lisa Beatty, executive director of the Association for Biblical Higher Education’s Commission on Accreditation, predicts 25% of private, nonprofit higher education institutions will close or merge within the next 10 years. “Affected institutions are most likely to be small, tuition-driven institutions in the Midwest and Northeast, and many of these will be small Christian institutions,” she said. Demographic changes are fueling the closures, with schools competing for a shrinking number of U.S. college applicants.

Along with program cuts, mergers may be one option for struggling schools to stay afloat. Arizona-based Phoenix Seminary, for example, plans to merge with California’s Biola University, creating the second-largest nondenominational seminary in America.

But a merger may not solve financial problems. Former Multnomah Bible professor Garry Friesen is part of a group of Multnomah alumni and advocates pushing Jessup to release more details about its deal, currently protected by a nondisclosure agreement. The group started investigating legal records and discovered Jessup was some $75 million in debt before acquiring Multnomah. Documents show Jessup also took out loans against Multnomah soon after acquiring the property. “After the campus was fully in their hands, they started putting large loans on it,” Friesen said. “Then shortly after, they said, ‘We’re selling.’” Jessup’s 2025 audit records nearly $96 million in debt.

Jessup did not respond to WORLD’s request for comment. But Jessup President John Jackson, who stepped down last year, previously explained in a public statement that his school gave Multnomah millions of dollars in support months before the agreement was signed, before taking on Multnomah’s remaining assets and liabilities. “Since then, Jessup has continued to fund Multnomah University through the multimillion-dollar deficits of this past year as well,” Jackson said. Jessup put Multnomah’s campus up for sale last summer. The property remained on the market as WORLD went to press.

“Christian higher education institutions need to understand the times,” Beatty said. “Small, faith-based institutions that lean into their unique missions, communicate those missions effectively, recruit mission-fit students, and achieve their intended learning and spiritual outcomes are finding success.”