History
Bethany University is the oldest of the several Assemblies of God institutions of higher education. It was founded in 1919 as Glad Tidings Bible Institute to be the training school for an inner-city ministry in San Francisco conducted by Robert and Mary Craig. Through the next three decades the church and school enjoyed an international reputation as a strategic source of Christian workers.
Since 1947 the university has been the official leadership program for the Northern California and Nevada District of the Assemblies of God. The school was relocated to its present site in Scotts Valley in 1950 and became a four-year, degree granting institution in 1955. Bethany was accredited with the Senior Commission of the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) in 1966. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing recognized Bethany's teacher education program in 1968.