A dream, a prayer and an Army hospital:
The history of Evangel University
It all started with a dream. A dream and a prayer.
In the early days of the Assemblies of God, there were a few men who dreamed about having a liberal arts college in the Fellowship. While the AG already had several Bible institutes, there was no Pentecostal college where AG students could study for a secular career.
Ralph Riggs, known as “Mr. Education” in the AG, spearheaded the movement to create Evangel, and the resolution passed at the 1953 General Council in Milwaukee.
It was not a simple task. Many in the Fellowship at the time were against liberal arts education and thought the AG should have no part in it. Several earlier attempts to pass the resolution had failed.
Finding land
Once the resolution was passed, a location for the new college had to be found.
Another event in the early 50s secured the land for Evangel. The U.S. government had recently declared the land and buildings of O’Reilly General Hospital, in Springfield, Missouri (where the National Headquarters of the Assemblies of God is located), as excess property. The hospital was built to treat wounded World War II soldiers and was meant to be a temporary site. O’Reilly also served as a veteran’s hospital in the post-war period and was shut down in 1952.
Ralph Riggs, along with several other leaders in the movement, stood on the ground of O’Reilly General Hospital, and prayed, asking the Lord to answer their prayer and let the site be used for Evangel College.
More barriers
Again, there were many barriers. Assemblies of God executives mailed a 51-page application to the Department of Health, Education and Welfare on April 26, 1954. Months went by with no word, and then complicated negotiations ensued. The AG knew that any city, county, state or federal agency that wanted the land would receive preference. Still, they prayed.
Rev. Thomas F. Zimmerman, who wrote the proposal and served as assistant superintendent of the AG, wrote of the final hurdle that threatened the deal. “Some element [in Washington] became afraid that we would not be capable of operating the boilers [at O’Reilly].”
But Zimmerman had an answer for them, “We had picked the man to operate [the boilers] who worked for the government when that whole outfit was being activated—Emmett Davis. When we shared that information, that just cut the ground right out from under them.”
A new beginning
With the boiler problem solved, the AG received the deed to 571/2 acres of O’Reilly property on December 8, 1954. Evangel opened its doors to the first freshman class on September 1, 1955.
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