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Western Evangelical Seminary formed as a corporation in May 1945 when 131 ministers and laymen met to establish an institution united under an interdemoninational commitment to the Wesleyan-Arminian tradition. The corporation formed originally under the name Western School of Evangelical Religion and was supported by the following denominations who supplied members for the Board of Regents of the new institution: Church of the Nazarene, Evangelical United Brethren Church, Free Methodist Church, Oregon Yearly Meeting of Friends Church, and Wesleyan Church.

First classes were held in September 1947, on the Jennings Lodge Campground near Milwaukie, Oregon. Accreditation through the American Association of Theological Schools, Berkeley, California, came in the early 1950s. Western Evangelical Seminary became the official name in July 1951 and at the same time land was purchased nearby the site that provided classroom and administrative space. The campus was moved to a location near Tigard, Oregon in the early 1990s. The seminary was acquired by George Fox University in 1996 while maintaining representation on the board from the Evangelical Church, the Free Methodist Church, and the Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends Church. In 2000 the Board of Regents of Western Evangelical Seminary officially changed the name to George Fox Seminary.