Private Christian university in Illinois that ceased operations in 2024, now operating as Lincoln Christian Institute.
Lincoln Christian University provided four-year, co-educational Bible college offerings leading to Bachelor's degrees. The graduate seminary, which opened in 1951, offered Master's degrees including a Master of Divinity. The university also provided continuing education programs at its various extension sites and online. In October 2023, the university announced it would cease academic operations on May 31, 2024, primarily due to long-term declining enrollment.
LCU was founded in 1944 as Lincoln Bible Institute, aligned with the Restoration Movement. In 1993, it became affiliated with Eastern Christian College (renamed Lincoln Christian College-East Coast), which later closed in 2005. The institution changed its name to Lincoln Christian University in September 2009. Recent campus improvements included new athletics facilities in 2006 and new housing in 2007. Following its closure, the university adopted the name Lincoln Christian Institute on June 1, 2024, focusing on non-credit education for churches and church leaders.
Lincoln Christian athletic teams were known as the Red Lions. The university was a member of NAIA as an independent within the Continental Athletic Conference from 2014–15 to 2021–22, and competed in the NCCAA Division I North Central Region. Previously, the Red Lions competed in NCAA Division III within the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference from 2006–07 to 2007–08. The university offered seven varsity sports including men's baseball, basketball, and soccer; women's basketball, soccer, and volleyball; and co-ed eSports. The varsity athletics program was discontinued at the end of the 2021–22 school year.