Maranatha is an institution committed to the principles on which it was founded—the truth of God’s Word and an adherence to Baptist distinctives that set it apart from other Christian colleges and universities.

Maranatha’s theological position and local church emphasis are, and have been, vital. Academically, institutional accreditation and the wide scope of the University’s programs have offered our graduates nearly unlimited career and ministry opportunities.

“I want parents and students to know we will stay true to our foundation, to the fundamentals of the faith that are as important to them as they are to us,” University President Dr. Marty Marriott said. “We will always be Baptist, biblical, dispensational, and evangelistic. We will always emphasize the local church. Those are non-negotiables. There aren’t going to be sudden shifts in what we believe or how we apply those beliefs. We are going to stay the course that has been laid out for us over the last 50 years.”

That course began in 1968, when Maranatha Baptist Bible College was established by Dr. B. Myron Cedarholm and his wife Thelma.

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The Cedarholms helped raise $150,000 to purchase a campus, now valued at $18 million, from the Brothers of the Congregation of the Holy Cross. Watertown resident Elayne Senn first phoned Cedarholm to suggest he consider the grounds of the former Sacred Heart Military Academy.

 

The first payment was made June 1, 1968, and Maranatha Baptist Bible College opened just three months later, on September 10, with 173 students and 27 faculty members. Maranatha awarded degrees to 13 students on May 31, 1969.

The academic offerings, fine arts options, and intercollegiate athletic programs all greatly expanded under Cedarholm, who remained president until 1983. Many of the present campus buildings were constructed, including 6 of the 10 dormitories and the Gymnasium.

During the 1980s and 1990s Maranatha achieved financial stability as well as enrollment growth that expanded nearly every year. No fewer than 39 different building and remodeling projects, including the Cedarholm Library and Research Center, were completed between 1983 and 1998. Maranatha also earned institutional accreditation in 1993, a pivotal moment in the university’s academic history.

Enrollment continued to grow during the first decade of the 2000s, surpassing 900 students in the fall of 2004. The newest major building on campus, the Dining Complex, opened in the fall of 2005. The Global Encounters missions program began in 2006. The later part of the decade saw the addition of Maranatha Online and Maranatha Baptist Seminary. The Army ROTC chapter was established in 2006 and has grown from 6 cadets to 60 in the 2015-2016 school year. A total of 42 cadets, including the 2016 graduates, have been commissioned since 2006.