Introducing Mid-America’s New Campus

In this Q&A, Discover the vision behind Mid-America’s new campus in Arlington, Tennessee

We are reenvisioning the way that Mid-America will equip the next generation of biblical leaders,” says Mid-America President Dr. Michael Spradlin. “We will never change our mission of training those who will take the Gospel to all the world for Jesus’ sake. But our methods will change. We want to connect more students to their future ministries and callings—faster, more efficiently, more effectively.” Read on for a Q&A about our exciting new campus.
The current campus is wonderful! Why is Mid-America moving?
Indeed, each of Mid-America’s campuses has been an amazing gift from God that met our needs wonderfully well for the period in which we called it home. Our new Arlington campus will actually be Mid-America’s sixth campus in our 53-year history. Our longest-tenured campus homes were our Midtown Memphis campus (21 years) and our most recent campus in Cordova (20 years). But Mid-America has always been much more than a campus. It’s a mission—one that will never change—focused on the Bible, missions, and evangelism. The campus is simply a tool. When God shows us a different tool that will better accomplish our mission, we are open to using it. The decision to move our campus has been saturated in prayer at every step of the way, and we have seen God at work as we have carefully navigated through the process. Mid-America’s leadership team has prayed and discussed, analyzed and prayed some more, and we are 100% convinced that God has led us to our new Arlington campus “for such a time as this.”
What are the benefits of the new campus?
The primary benefits of the new campus are: 1) More efficient stewardship of resources; 2) Enhanced student experiences; and 3) Expanded opportunities for training. By right-sizing our campus to fit the new higher education landscape, we are able to lower the costs of maintaining our campus and offer a more safe and secure environment. Mid-America is aligning our future need for classrooms, offices, and other physical facilities with current trends in education.
Is Mid-America becoming an online only school? What about residential students?
The school will certainly continue to welcome and train on-campus students who choose the residential educational experience. Yet by reallocating resources that were previously used to purchase, maintain, and secure a large and ever-aging physical campus, more funds are available to develop a local, global, virtual campus that is able to deliver more courses to more students in more locations than ever before. Our new Arlington campus will feature state-of-the-art technology, making it possible for students to choose in-person learning, distance learning, or a combination. Students won’t necessarily need to relocate to our area. They can continue to minister on the field where God has currently called them. See maps below where current Mid-America students live.
Is Mid-America in the process of closing?
Absolutely not! To the contrary, our vision is expanding to global proportions! Recent examples of Mid-America’s broadening academic programs include the new Bachelor of Science in Pre-Law and Public Policy introduced during the Fall 2025 semester and the Bachelor of Arts in Communication introduced in Fall 2023. These kinds of new degree programs for both ministry and marketplace help Mid-America bring a biblical worldview to reach an ever-expanding generation of biblical leaders. Also, Mid-America has always been a leader in online education and was one of the first seminaries to offer all our degrees 100% online. Our new campus will enable us to continue that leadership as we upgrade our online learning experiences with the latest technology.
Is Mid-America having money problems?
As our founder Dr. B. Gray Allison put it, “Yes, of course we’re having money problems. We’ve had money problems since the beginning!” Mid-America has always been a faith-based, God’s-hand-to-our-mouth ministry. That will likely never change, and we thank God for keeping us dependent on Him. He has always provided right on time. That’s the Miracle of Mid-America! We need your support now just as always, including funds for ongoing needs in view of our new campus. Consider investing in our new campus and expanded vision today!
When will Mid-America move to the new campus?
We are on schedule to be ready at our new Arlington campus to begin the Spring 2026 semester, which starts on January 20, 2026.
How has the news of the new campus been received by students, faculty, staff, and donors so far?
The feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. Friends of Mid-America understand the many benefits of the new campus, the expanded impact it will have for the sake of the Gospel, and the prayerful process by which we’ve arrived at this new milestone. The Mid-America family has celebrated the news and supported our school as they always have.