Minnesota shooting suspect attended Dallas religious school, school confirms

Vance Boelter, the man suspected of fatally shooting a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband Saturday, attended Christ For The Nations Institute in Dallas in the late 1980s, a school official told The Dallas Morning News on Monday.

Christ For The Nations Institute is an inter-denominational Bible college in Dallas with Pentecostal, charismatic and evangelical roots, according to a 2024 student handbook. The college offers a one-year program in Biblical studies, a two-year associates program in practical theology and a three-year bachelor of practical ministry degree.

Boelter was “enrolled as a student at CFNI from 1988 until 1990, when he graduated with a Diploma in Practical Theology in Leadership and Pastoral,” the college said in a news release on its website.

“We are absolutely aghast and horrified that a CFNI alumnus is the suspect. This is not who we are. This is not what we teach. This is not what we model. We have been training Christian servant leaders for 55 years and they have been agents of good, not evil,” the college said.

Christ For the Nations Institute “unequivocally rejects, denounces, and condemns any and all forms of violence and extremism, be it politically, racially, religiously or otherwise motivated. Our organization’s mission is to educate and equip students to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ through compassion, love, prayer, service, worship, and value for human life,” the college said.

“These core Christian values and principles, which we highly esteem and embrace, are in stark contrast to the hateful beliefs, behavior and actions now being attributed to Mr. Boelter,” the college said.

The school, which is not accredited, has partnerships with Dallas Baptist University, Grand Canyon University, The King’s University, Oral Roberts University and Messenger College. Those partnerships allow Christ For The Nations Institute students to transfer at least some of their credits if they continue their studies at one of the partner schools.

Notable students at Christ For The Nations Institute include former Gateway Church elder Thomas Miller, according to his LinkedIn, and Kevin Jonas Sr., the father of the Jonas Brothers, who met his wife at the school, according to People magazine.

Boelter was charged with murder after police arrested him Sunday near his home following a nearly two-day search, according to The Associated Press. He is accused of posing as a police officer and fatally shooting former Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, in their home early Saturday in the northern Minneapolis suburbs.

Authorities say he also shot Sen. John Hoffman, a Democrat, and his wife, Yvette, at their home in a nearby neighborhood.

Friends and former colleagues interviewed by the AP described Boelter as a devout Christian who attended an evangelical church and went to campaign rallies for President Donald Trump.

He held deeply religious and politically conservative views, telling a congregation in Africa two years ago that the U.S. was in a “bad place” where most churches didn’t oppose abortion, according to the AP.

His friends also said that he didn’t talk about politics often and didn’t seem extreme, according to the AP.

In its news release on Monday, the college addressed a slogan used by its founder, Gordon Lindsay: “Every Christian should pray at least one violent prayer a day.”

“Known for a devoted life of prayer, Gordon Lindsay, who passed away in 1973, often shared this slogan privately and at public Christian gatherings,” according to the college’s news release. “By ‘violent prayer’ he meant that a Christian’s prayer-life should be intense, fervent, and passionate, not passive and lukewarm, considering that spiritual forces of darkness are focused on attacking life, identity in God, purpose, peace, love, joy, truth, health, and other good things.

“As a Christian institution that deeply values prayer and worship unto God, Christ For The Nations Institute continues Gordon Lindsay’s slogan of encouraging our students to incorporate passion in their prayers as they contend for what God has for them and push back against evil spiritual forces in our world,” the college said.

“Ephesians 6:12 is a central Bible verse, which explains our position, ‘For we do not fight against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world…against evil spirits in the heavenly places.’ Christ For The Nations does not believe in, defend or support violence against human beings in any form. We therefore strongly disavow any attempt to align Mr. Boelter’s ungodly thoughts and actions with our biblical teachings,” the college said.

On the school’s campus in Southern Dallas, Monday marked the start of the second week of the Youth For The Nations summer camp, according to volunteer Victoria Nunez.

A group of volunteers with megaphones and brown T-shirts waited outside a building on the institute’s campus, ready to welcome back campers returning from the camp’s first day. Younger campers attending the school’s Kids For The Nations camp followed volunteers into the building in single-file lines.

“Welcome!” volunteers shouted through their megaphones.

Staff writer Timia Cobb contributed to this report. Adrian Ashford covers faith and religion in North Texas for The Dallas Morning News through a partnership with Report for America.