History

Central Christian College of Kansas began on the plains of Nebraska as Orleans Seminary. Free Methodist preacher Reverend C. M. Damon, and his wife started the school for all grade levels from elementary school through college.

The school was moved to its present location in McPherson, Kansas and took on the new name Central Academy and College.

Central received accreditation from the state of Kansas as a junior college, the first junior college in the state. This lead to Central being known as the oldest junior college in Kansas.

Alpha Kappa Sigma Honor Society was started by President Stoll and Dean Miller to recognize the highest achieving students graduating from Free Methodist Institutions. This award began at Central and Greenville University, and has since been adopted by all of the Free Methodist Colleges.

The College’s name changed to Central College to mark its transition away from K-8 offerings.

J.T. Pyle attended the Free Methodist Church General Conference and was instrumental in convincing the church body to allow the Free Methodist Colleges to allow intercollegiate athletics. At Central, intercollegiate varsity athletics began with men’s basketball & women’s cheerleading, with Howard Krober serving as the first coach.

Wessington Springs a Free Methodist College and High School shut the college’s doors, and then in 1968 closed the high school segment of the institution. Central houses all of the Wessington Springs alumni information and hosts their reunions. Several members of their staff and administration transitioned to Central after the closure, including the Kline Family, Olson Family, and the Odermann Family.

Lead by Coach Jerry Malone, the Men’s Soccer Team won back to back National Championships.

Becoming the father of the bachelor’s program, Professor Johnson led the shift for the institution to offer its first four year ministry degree.

The Class of 1991 marks the first students who graduated from Central with a bachelor’s degree. If you look closely, you will see President Favara graduating with his first of several degrees.

As the college embraced its shift to a four-year institution, it changed its name to Central Christian College of Kansas. As culture was beginning to shift away from a Biblical worldview the Board of Directors, staff, students, and alumni wanted to make sure that this beloved institution did not join the ranks of colleges with a history of Christian values. Central has, is, and always will be a Christian institution, this name change made it clear that we are dedicated to this stance.

Within 10 years after starting its 4-year programs, the college expanded to open the School of Professional Education, which included Dual Credit programs–the Accelerated degree completion programs.

The School of Professional Education expanded to add online offerings. This was initially just an idea that might help provide additional opportunities to our students and some online students but has quickly expanded to the largest segment of campus.

Converted in 2015, because of a large grant by the Windgate Foundation, the Art Building now houses space and equipment for ceramics, stained glass, painting, and drawing.