Covenant College 
The information on this page was last updated 2/11/2025. If you see errors or omissions, please email: [email protected]
Summary
Covenant College is a Christ-centered institution of higher education, emphasizing liberal arts, operated by a Board of Trustees elected by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), and exists to provide post-secondary educational services to the denomination and the wider public.
The College is committed to the Bible as the Word of God written, and accepts as its most adequate and comprehensive interpretation the summary contained in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms.
The focus of Covenant College is found in its motto, based on Colossians 1:18, "In all things Christ preeminent." Acknowledging Christ preeminent as the creator of all things, as the redeemer of people fallen into sin, as the touchstone of all truth, and as the sovereign ruler over all areas of life, the College strives to discern and to unfold the implications of His preeminence in all things. To serve this end, we seek to appropriate the mind of Christ as the biblical perspective from which we characterize and respond to reality. In attempting to make such a biblically-grounded frame of reference explicit and operative, we are committed to excellence in academic inquiry, and we seek to define all areas of the College's structure and program according to this understanding of our purpose.
We seek to implement our purpose in view of our belief that all human beings are created in the image of God and are, therefore, spiritual, moral, social beings who think, act, value, and exercise dominion. Because we are called to reflect in finite ways what God is infinitely, we attempt to institute programs designed to offer all students the opportunity to discover and give expression to their potential in each facet of their redeemed humanness.
Contact information
Mailing address:
Covenant College
14049 Scenic Highway
Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Website: covenant.edu
Phone: 706-820-1560
Email: [email protected]
Organization details
EIN: 430719506
CEO/President: Dr. Brad Voyles
Chairman: Craig Wood
Board size: 25
Founder:
Ruling year: 1957
Tax deductible: Yes
Fiscal year end: 06/30
Member of ECFA: Yes
Member of ECFA since: 2021
Purpose
The mission of Covenant College is to explore and express the preeminence of Jesus Christ in all things. We educate Christians to engage culture and cultures, to examine and unfold creation, and to pursue biblical justice and mercy in community.
Mission statement
We challenge one another to explore and express Christ's preeminence in all things.
Statement of faith
The following Community Statement of Beliefs represents the Board of Trustees' common understanding of how the truth of Scripture applies to several points of contemporary significance. We employ this Statement in the oversight of the mission and program of Covenant College.
While this Statement is not Holy Scripture, we do believe it is faithful to God's Word and reflects the Reformed tradition as found in the Westminster Standards. Since Covenant College aims to be biblically based as well as mindful of our rich Reformed heritage, this Statement is an attempt to keep our community faithful, promoting general harmony even among the diversity of opinions represented in our community. Therefore, good faith assent to this Statement will be a factor in the hiring, evaluation, and promotion of faculty. If a faculty candidate or faculty member finds himself or herself in disagreement with the Statement in some particular, he or she will be asked to explain the nature of the disagreement. The Board of Trustees retains ultimate and final authority to judge the limits of tolerable exception.
Revelation -
God has graciously disclosed his existence and power in the created order, and has supremely revealed himself to fallen human beings in the person of his Son, the incarnate Word. Moreover, this God is a speaking God who by his Spirit has graciously disclosed himself in human words: we believe that the very words of Holy Scripture have been given by God in the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments, which are both record and means of his saving work in the world. These writings alone constitute the inspired Word of God, which is utterly authoritative in all that it affirms, without error in the original writings, complete in its revelation of his will for salvation, sufficient for all that God requires us to believe and do, and final in its authority over every domain of knowledge to which it speaks. We confess that both our finitude and our sinfulness preclude the possibility of knowing God's truth exhaustively, but we affirm that, enlightened by the Spirit of God, we can know God's revealed truth truly. The Bible is to be believed, as God's instruction, in all that it teaches; obeyed, as God's command, in al that it requires; and trusted, as God's pledge, in all that it promises. As God's people hear, believe, and do the Word, they are equipped as disciples of Christ and witnesses to the gospel.
Creation and Humanity - We believe that God freely and joyfully created all things from nothing by the power of His word. We believe that the rich diversity of the living world is rooted in historical supernatural creative acts recorded in Genesis 1 and 2. All things are subject to his will and all his creatures are the beneficiaries of his continual care according to his eternal purposes. We believe that God created human beings, male and female, in his own image and this makes them unique with respect to all other life in the created order. We affirm that the creation of human beings was a special creative act of God. Adam and Eve belonged to the created order that God himself declared to be very good, serving as God's agents to care for, cultivate, and govern creation, living in holy and devoted fellowship with their Maker. Men and women, equally made in the image of God, enjoy equal access to God by faith in Christ Jesus and are both called to move beyond passive selfindulgence to significant private and public engagement in family, church, and civic life.
Adam and Eve were made to complement each other in a one-flesh union that establishes the only normative pattern of sexual relations, such that marriage ultimately serves as a type of the union between Christ and his church. In God's wise purposes, men and women are not simply interchangeable, but rather they complement each other in mutually enriching ways. God ordains that they assume distinctive roles which reflect the loving relationship between Christ and the church, the husband exercising headship in a way that displays the caring, sacrificial love of Christ, and the wife submitting to her husband in a way that models the love of the church for her Lord. In the ministry of the church, both men and women are encouraged to serve Christ and to be developed to their full potential in the manifold ministries of the people of God. The distinctive Church office of elder is given to qualified men as outlined in Scripture.
Dignity of Human Life -
We believe that the God who created all things is the Giver and Sustainer of life. Therefore, we must value, honor, and protect life, especially human life, which was made in God's image. This means that the Church should do all it can to cultivate life. For
example, we strongly oppose abortion since it devalues and destroys human life. At the same time Christians should actively seek to provide for, protect, and nurture those who face the temptation to abort their baby. Similarly, since God created the entire human race in all its diversity we must seek the welfare of human life among the variety of races, cultures, and lands foreign to our own. All human life from all nationalities should be valued and protected. Finally, as an outworking of the dignity of human life, and since God does not show favoritism, we must seek justice with mercy for all; one life cannot be deemed more worthy than another simply because of one's race or financial means. Wherever injustice and oppression are found - whether in the state, church, school, or general society - they should be opposed with justice and mercy instituted in their stead, redeeming the sinful corruption of human institutions for the greater glory of God.
Donor confidence score
Transparency grade
A
To understand our transparency grade, click here.
Financial efficiency ratings
Sector: Colleges/Universities
| Category | Rating | Overall rank | Sector rank |
| Overall efficiency rating | | 737 of 1131 | 90 of 128 |
| Fund acquisition rating | | 1048 of 1131 | 120 of 128 |
| Resource allocation rating | | 462 of 1131 | 45 of 128 |
| Asset utilization rating | | 472 of 1131 | 61 of 128 |
According to the organization's Form 990, it received $889,821 in government grants in 2023.
Financial ratios
| Funding ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Return on fundraising efforts Return on fundraising efforts = Fundraising expense / Total contributions | 14% | 36% | 24% | 26% | 18% | 35% |
Fundraising cost ratio Fundraising cost ratio = Fundraising expense / Total revenue | 2% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
Contributions reliance Contributions reliance = Total contributions / Total revenue | 16% | 15% | 17% | 16% | 20% | 11% |
Fundraising expense ratio Fundraising expense ratio = Fundraising expense / Total expenses | 2% | 5% | 4% | 4% | 4% | 4% |
Other revenue reliance Other revenue reliance = Total other revenue / Total revenue | 84% | 85% | 83% | 84% | 80% | 89% |
| Operating ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Program expense ratio Program expense ratio = Program services / Total expenses | 84% | 86% | 87% | 87% | 89% | 88% |
Spending ratio Spending ratio = Total expenses / Total revenue | 98% | 107% | 96% | 100% | 95% | 97% |
Program output ratio Program output ratio = Program services / Total revenue | 83% | 92% | 83% | 87% | 85% | 86% |
Savings ratio Savings ratio = Surplus (deficit) / Total revenue | 2% | -7% | 4% | 0% | 5% | 3% |
Reserve accumulation rate Reserve accumulation rate = Surplus (deficit) / Net assets | 1% | -4% | 2% | 0% | 3% | 2% |
General and admin ratio General and admin ratio = Management and general expense / Total expenses | 14% | 9% | 9% | 9% | 7% | 8% |
| Investing ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Total asset turnover Total asset turnover = Total expenses / Total assets | 0.53 | 0.53 | 0.51 | 0.45 | 0.49 | 0.51 |
Degree of long-term investment Degree of long-term investment = Total assets / Total current assets | 2.74 | 3.47 | 3.55 | 3.31 | 3.88 | 3.28 |
Current asset turnover Current asset turnover = Total expenses / Total current assets | 1.45 | 1.85 | 1.81 | 1.48 | 1.90 | 1.68 |
| Liquidity ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Current ratio Current ratio = Total current assets / Total current liabilities | 8.23 | 13.62 | 11.56 | 15.15 | 11.34 | 7.26 |
Current liabilities ratio Current liabilities ratio = Total current liabilities / Total current assets | 0.12 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.07 | 0.09 | 0.14 |
Liquid reserve level Liquid reserve level = (Total current assets - Total current liabilities) / (Total expenses / 12) | 6.98 | 6.00 | 6.05 | 7.55 | 5.76 | 6.16 |
| Solvency ratios | Sector median | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
Liabilities ratio Liabilities ratio = Total liabilities / Total assets | 23% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 4% | 7% |
Debt ratio Debt ratio = Debt / Total assets | 11% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% |
Reserve coverage ratio Reserve coverage ratio = Net assets / Total expenses | 151% | 182% | 189% | 216% | 197% | 183% |
Financials
| Balance sheet | |||||
| Assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Cash | $2,187,366 | $4,317,937 | $4,293,107 | $3,650,247 | $1,429,077 |
| Receivables, inventories, prepaids | $1,778,344 | $1,397,248 | $1,121,458 | $827,951 | $1,648,987 |
| Short-term investments | $24,747,529 | $22,891,470 | $26,586,466 | $20,835,967 | $27,054,928 |
| Other current assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total current assets | $28,713,239 | $28,606,655 | $32,001,031 | $25,314,165 | $30,132,992 |
| Long-term investments | $16,504,764 | $16,402,878 | $15,994,170 | $12,745,911 | $6,437,185 |
| Fixed assets | $54,486,109 | $56,465,113 | $57,874,201 | $60,195,527 | $62,378,789 |
| Other long-term assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $24,175 |
| Total long-term assets | $70,990,873 | $72,867,991 | $73,868,371 | $72,941,438 | $68,840,149 |
| Total assets | $99,704,112 | $101,474,646 | $105,869,402 | $98,255,603 | $98,973,141 |
| Liabilities | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Payables and accrued expenses | $1,817,570 | $1,866,492 | $1,642,910 | $1,069,933 | $1,771,054 |
| Other current liabilities | $289,937 | $607,393 | $469,985 | $1,161,965 | $2,376,869 |
| Total current liabilities | $2,107,507 | $2,473,885 | $2,112,895 | $2,231,898 | $4,147,923 |
| Debt | $299,986 | $259,963 | $295,139 | $289,894 | $542,438 |
| Due to (from) affiliates | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Other long-term liabilities | $280,585 | $516,333 | $833,233 | $1,170,122 | $1,796,339 |
| Total long-term liabilities | $580,571 | $776,296 | $1,128,372 | $1,460,016 | $2,338,777 |
| Total liabilities | $2,688,078 | $3,250,181 | $3,241,267 | $3,691,914 | $6,486,700 |
| Net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Without donor restrictions | $59,699,926 | $63,177,966 | $66,430,220 | $67,206,920 | $65,600,881 |
| With donor restrictions | $37,316,108 | $35,046,499 | $36,197,915 | $27,356,769 | $26,885,560 |
| Net assets | $97,016,034 | $98,224,465 | $102,628,135 | $94,563,689 | $92,486,441 |
| Revenues and expenses | |||||
| Revenue | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Total contributions | $7,349,533 | $9,293,033 | $7,732,076 | $10,332,332 | $5,762,357 |
| Program service revenue | $41,766,867 | $41,403,736 | $38,393,270 | $39,162,725 | $43,628,224 |
| Membership dues | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Investment income | $503,050 | $3,297,193 | $1,214,514 | $1,096,929 | $2,482,769 |
| Other revenue | $70,161 | $88,595 | $43,769 | $132,781 | $179,726 |
| Total other revenue | $42,340,078 | $44,789,524 | $39,651,553 | $40,392,435 | $46,290,719 |
| Total revenue | $49,689,611 | $54,082,557 | $47,383,629 | $50,724,767 | $52,053,076 |
| Expenses | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Program services | $45,829,562 | $45,134,255 | $41,341,601 | $42,879,819 | $44,754,379 |
| Management and general | $4,786,334 | $4,438,766 | $4,184,450 | $3,424,382 | $3,861,718 |
| Fundraising | $2,625,016 | $2,269,173 | $1,971,892 | $1,815,612 | $2,018,306 |
| Total expenses | $53,240,912 | $51,842,194 | $47,497,943 | $48,119,813 | $50,634,403 |
| Change in net assets | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 |
| Surplus (deficit) | ($3,551,301) | $2,240,363 | ($114,314) | $2,604,954 | $1,418,673 |
| Other changes in net assets | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Total change in net assets | ($3,551,301) | $2,240,363 | ($114,314) | $2,604,954 | $1,418,673 |
Compensation
| Name | Title | Compensation |
| Dr J Derek Halvorson | President | $301,917 |
| Marc Erickson | VP for Development/CCF Pres. | $211,166 |
| Jeff Sandhoff | Major Gift Officer | $183,080 |
| Dr Brad Voyles | VP for Student Development | $156,860 |
| Fred Verwoerd | VP Operations & Finance, CFO (part year) | $143,687 |
| Brian Fikkert | Professor of Econ. & Community Dev. | $136,245 |
| Marshall Rowe | Regional Director of Development | $129,456 |
| Dr Kelly Kapic | Professor of Theological Studies | $115,051 |
Compensation data as of: 6/30/2023
Response from ministry
No response has been provided by this ministry.
The information below was provided to MinistryWatch by the ministry itself. It was last updated 2/11/2025. To update the information below, please email: [email protected]
History
Since 1955, Covenant College has provided a first-rate, life-changing college education. From humble beginnings in Pasadena, California, Covenant is now blessed with hundreds of acres atop beautiful Lookout Mountain, Georgia, an excellent faculty, and students eager to prepare for extraordinary callings in ordinary places. Take a look back at the growth of the College through the decades, and join us in giving thanks to the Lord for his gracious provision and preeminence in all things.