We see ourselves as partners in your spiritual journey and are committed to helping and challenging you to know how God is revealed through scripture, to be a follower of Christ, and to do whatever mission, vocation, or service God has called you to. All while encouraging you to have a rich, vibrant, academically challenging, and yes, even fun, college experience!

Our professors are not only accomplished scholars but also practicing Christians who teach their areas of expertise and serve as role models for in integrating a life of faith with intellectual pursuits.

Because they know your college years are a significant time of learning, exploration, and experience that is likely to significantly shape your identity, our faculty challenge you to apply your Christian values in ways that are academically rigorous and personally meaningful.

One measure of the value of your college education is how well your education will translate into a job or graduate school opportunity. Messiah students are in demand in both areas.

• Each year, over 400 eager employers and some of the nation’s best graduate schools welcome new Messiah graduates into their organizations. Many of these organizations actively seek out Messiah grads.
• Six months after graduation, 99% of graduates surveyed either are employed, in voluntary service, or attending graduate schools.

As a Messiah student, you’ll be prepared to succeed wherever life after college may take you - a career, ministry, or graduate school.

When asked by an independent consultant in a survey if they would choose Messiah again, 88% of current students and 76% of alumni respondants said, “Yes!”

• When asked why they would choose Messiah again, current students said:
  • Messiah is challenging academically and spiritually
  • I love the people (professors, staff and students)
  • My experience has been positive
  • For its Christian environment
• Our alumni answered:
  • Great teachers/professors
  • Great academics
  • Great school/experience
  • Spiritual Learning

Service Trips is a student-led, student-operated organization. Service Trips teams provide opportunities for students to engage in service over their Fall, January term and Spring breaks; helping the College realize and fulfill its vision for reconciliation in church and society. In turn, teams enable community partners to accomplish projects and tasks in a short amount of time that would otherwise be very time-consuming and expensive.

In Fall 2008, Fall Break trips teams went to:

• Belle Chase, Louisianna - Committee for Plaquemines Recovery
• Franklin, West Virigina - Almost Heaven Habitat for Humanity
• Gilbertsville, PA - Christian Endeavor
• New Albany, PA - The HAFT, Inc.
• Bronx, NY - The Urban Discipleship Center
• Philadelphia, PA - Messiah College Philly Campus

What is your Spirituality Type?

Take our Spirituality Survey to learn more about your spiritualily preferences. For more information about the results, check out pages 14-17 of our Spiritual Formation Booklet!

“When students enroll at Messiah College, I want them to find a place of belonging.” - Kim S. Phipps, Messiah College president

As a first year student, you will live on the same floor and in the same residence hall with other first-year students. When you arrive on campus, you’ll most likely find yourself among a bunch of strangers from a variety of different schools, cultures, and backgrounds. It can be exciting — but also a little overwhelming.

To help make your transition to college life a little easier, Messiah has created a “First Year Experience” where you’ll share many aspects of college life with other students going through similar transitions.

Living in the same residence hall; sharing classroom experiences; reading, discussing, and debating a common text with many of the same students means getting to know people happens quickly and naturally. So getting involved in campus life doesn’t seem quite as intimidating because you’ll be doing it along with a group of people who have already become your friends.

Messiah’s Centennial, 2009-2010

Messiah College received its charter in 1909. Founded by the Brethren in Christ Church, its orientation to Christian service is reflected in its first name—Messiah Bible School and Missionary Training Home. Originally located in Harrisburg, the school was moved to Grantham in 1911 following the construction of Old Main. This building is on land donated by the College’s first president, Samuel Rogers Smith, whose house and various business interests were in the village of Grantham.

In the early years, the school offered a high school curriculum and several Bible programs. By 1921 it had also become a junior college, making it the second junior college in Pennsylvania. To learn more about Messiah’s history, visit our Centennial Website.

Discover for yourself why approximately 2,800 young men and women have chosen Messiah College. We invite you to plan a visit to our campus in Grantham, PA (just ten miles south of Harrisburg) for one of the Open House days listed below.

Check-in for all open house days is at 9:00 a.m. in the main lobby of the Eisenhower Campus Center. The noon meal will be provided FREE to registered guests. Other highlights include campus tours and information sessions on admissions policies, financial aid, academic programs, and campus life. If these dates don’t suit, feel free to contact us and we’ll arrange for an individual visit!

2009-2010 Open House Dates

• Monday, October 12, 2009
• Saturday, October 31, 2009
• Monday, November 9, 2009
• Monday, February 15, 2010
• Saturday, April 17, 2010

Click a date to register!

Culture, Shopping, and Places to Eat On and Off Campus

If your idea of fun has to do with great restaurants, museums, shopping, and cultural events, Messiah is a best-of-both-worlds home base.

You can enjoy living on our beautiful and quiet campus, but you’re also within easy driving distance of several major cities.

Messiah College is located just 12 miles from the state capital, Harrisburg, and within convenient driving distance of Philadelphia, Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and New York City. Read more.

Chapel at Messiah College is a central expression of our identity as a community of Christians with a deep commitment to spiritual growth and academic excellence. Chapel is a required opportunity for exposure to forms of worship, various speakers and ideas which are put together with the intention of affirming our common commitments while they both reflect and challenge individual preferences in style. Though we hope that students will be challenged in their faith through chapel, we realize that spiritual nurture is ultimately a function of each person’s will, preference and responsibility and cannot be subject to requirements. Chapel is required as a common experience. Spiritual nurture is each student’s own responsibility.