Bethel University was established back in 1842 in McLemoresville, Tennessee. The State of Tennessee authorized it in 1847 and Bethel started off as an institute for the Cumberland Presbyterian Church to train male pastors. However, when the campus moved to McKenzie in 1872, the institution started taking in women students as well.
With the launch of the success program in 1997, the demand to be admitted in the institution grew manifold.