Manhattan Christian College Enters a New Leadership Chapter
As Manhattan Christian College prepares to celebrate its centennial, longtime president J. Kevin Ingram is retiring after more than 25 years of leadership service to the college. The article reflects on Ingram’s journey, his impact on Christian higher education, and the college’s search for its next president.
- J. Kevin Ingram is retiring after two decades as president of Manhattan Christian College.
- His leadership emphasized people, ministry preparation, alumni relationships, and Christian higher education.
- The Board of Trustees has begun the search for the college’s next president.
By Dave VanDonge
There are few gifts to the Kingdom of God that have a longer ripple effect than preparing men and women for ministry.
Every sermon preached…
Every missionary sent…
Every student discipled…
Every marriage restored…
Every church planted…
For nearly 100 years, Manhattan Christian College has faithfully been doing exactly that.
As Manhattan Christian College prepares to celebrate its centennial, it also marks another significant milestone. After two decades as president—and more than 25 years serving the college in leadership—J. Kevin Ingram is retiring, closing one remarkable chapter while helping position the college for another.
Kevin Ingram’s Journey to Manhattan Christian College
Kevin’s story is one only God could write.
Growing up in Mobile, Alabama, he admits he wasn’t headed toward ministry. After flunking out of the University of Alabama, he found himself running a jackhammer in the Alabama heat. It was there, in the middle of what probably felt like a detour, that God began redirecting his life.
A trip to Israel stirred something deeper. A relationship with then-president Bill Lown opened an unexpected door. Kevin called on a Friday asking if he could attend Manhattan Christian College. By Saturday the car was packed, and by Monday he was sitting in class.
One decision. One act of obedience.
God has a way of changing lives through moments that seem ordinary at the time.
As a student, Kevin traveled the country singing with Triumphant Sound and the Celebration Singers. Along the way he met Lisa, the woman who would become his wife and faithful ministry partner for more than four decades.
Following graduation, Kevin served churches in Oakley and Great Bend, Kansas, before returning to Manhattan Christian College in 1999. What began as serving alumni and churches eventually led to fundraising, institutional leadership, and finally, in 2006, to becoming the college’s president.
A Legacy of Leadership and Ministry Preparation
The years that followed were marked by significant achievements.
Campus buildings were renovated. New facilities were constructed. Academic programs expanded. The campus footprint increased. Student life evolved. Athletics entered a new era.
But if you asked Kevin what mattered most, he wouldn’t begin with any of those.
He would begin with people.
For nearly twenty years, Kevin became one of Manhattan Christian College’s greatest ambassadors. Week after week, church after church, he traveled thousands of miles encouraging pastors, reconnecting with alumni, sharing the vision of Christian higher education, and inviting churches to invest in raising up the next generation of leaders.
He understood something every healthy church understands:
Leadership doesn’t happen by accident.
Someone has to invest.
Someone has to teach.
Someone has to believe in young men and women before they believe in themselves.
That has been Manhattan Christian College’s mission for nearly a century.
Kevin also invested beyond the campus, serving the Manhattan community through civic leadership while representing Christian higher education nationally. Whether serving on nonprofit boards, encouraging fellow college presidents, or volunteering as chaplain for Kansas State football, he consistently modeled servant leadership wherever God placed him.
His legacy will certainly be seen in buildings and programs.
But it will be felt most in people.
It will be seen in the pastor faithfully preaching God’s Word this Sunday.
In the missionary serving across the world.
In the worship minister leading God’s people.
In the counselor pointing someone to Christ.
In the business leader serving Jesus and others in the marketplace.
In the countless graduates who are making disciples in places most of us will never see.
That’s the beauty of Higher Christian education.
Its greatest impact is never confined to a campus.
The Search for Manhattan Christian College’s Next President
As Manhattan Christian College enters its second century, the mission has never been more important. Our culture desperately needs biblically grounded, courageous, humble leaders who love Jesus, love his Word, and love his Church.
The Board of Trustees has begun the search for the college’s next president—not simply to fill a position, but to identify the leader God is preparing to help write the next chapter of Manhattan Christian College’s story. The Board of Trustees invites nominations and applications from qualified leaders who are passionate about biblical higher education, and equipping the next generation of Christian leaders. For more information about the position or to recommend a candidate, visit the college’s webpage (mcc.ks.edu/jobs/).
For one hundred years Manhattan Christian College has existed to prepare leaders for Christ’s church.
Thanks to Kevin Ingram’s faithful leadership, it is well positioned to continue doing exactly that for the next hundred.
Author: Dave VanDonge
Dave VanDonge is senior pastor of Legacy Christian Church in Overland Park, Kansas. With decades of ministry experience, he has served in significant leadership roles at large and growing churches, including Christ’s Church of the Valley in Phoenix, Arizona, and NewPointe Community Church in Dover, Ohio. Dave also serves on the Christian Standard Advisory Board.
