2023 President’s Report to the PCA 50th General Assembly
Overview
Fathers and brothers, it is wonderful to be with you and have the opportunity to share about the important work occurring at your denominational seminary. With you, we celebrate the 50 years of ministry God has given to the PCA. We are grateful that God, in his infinite wisdom, brought Covenant Theological Seminary into what was still a new, dynamic, and rapidly growing denomination.
Throughout our almost seven decades of ministry, we rejoice in the legacy of pastoral faithfulness by our graduates, the instruction of our faculty, the oversight extended to Covenant through its Board of Trustees, and the leadership given by the Presidents serving before me: Drs. Robert Rayburn, Will Barker, Paul Kooistra, Bryan Chapell, and Mark Dalbey.
I also want to thank you—the pastors, elders, churches, and presbyteries of the PCA—for your patience, encouragement, and support. Over the past two years I have had the privilege of visiting your congregations, sessions, and presbyteries. I have been uniformly welcomed and I have appreciated your sincere questions. The PCA and Covenant Seminary share a long history of partnership, and we are working hard to strengthen the bonds of trust that unite us in the proclamation of the gospel.
It has been two years since I became President, and I’m pleased to say that our team is fully engaged in the work before us as an institution. Let me share with you some highlights of that work.
Enrollment Trends and Prioritizing Recruitment of Pastor-Minded Students
First, enrollment is turning around. This news applies more broadly to all degree programs, but it is also specifically true for the MDIV degree program.
In 2 Timothy 2:1-2, we read words that have long been a guiding light for us at Covenant Theological Seminary:
You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also.
– 2 Timothy 2:1–2
As the denominational seminary of the Presbyterian Church in America, Covenant serves a crucial role in this stewardship by identifying, training, and sending out called and qualified gospel ministers. This is the primary purpose for which we were founded, and it remains the primary purpose for our existence today.
Though we also prepare counselors, educators, and other ministry leaders to serve and support Christ’s church and kingdom, the continual strengthening and sharpening of our focus on pastoral training is and always will be our highest priority.
As I reported a year ago, though, Covenant has not been immune to enrollment distress. For more than adecade, Covenant experienced a sharp decline in its MDIV degree programs. Due to the hard work and commitment of our enrollment team, I am glad to announce that Covenant is reversing this trend, and we are expecting a significant increase in new, MDIV students, both in our residential and hybrid degree offerings. Indications are that Covenant will record an 80% or higher year-over-year increase in its MDIV programs. More broadly, we are also tracking ahead of the recent past in almost every recruitment category and degree program. As a result, we are anticipating a 50% increase YOY in this fall’s class.
Other potential highlights include:
• Our applications are the highest they’ve been in 7 years.
• Our MDiv applications have doubled since this time last year.
• Our total admits are 40% over last year.
• Our enrolled summer students are also 40% up from last year.
A critical component of this renewed emphasis has been refocusing on our core mission in St. Louis. We still believe that residential study under the daily teaching and mentorship of godly pastor-scholars is the most strategic way to train pastors and ministry leaders for the church. Consequently, recruiting students to St. Louis for a traditional, residential experience is receiving renewed emphasis.
One current residential MDiv student, who came to campus after being an online student last fall, said this about the benefits of doing seminary residentially:
It is a once in a lifetime opportunity to be taught under professors who are experts in their fields of study. In person education is not only an excellent opportunity to learn, but also to grow in your relationship with God, Christlike character, personal relationships, and future ministry potential. It combines learning and spiritual formation in a way that online education is not able to emulate.
— Mike Caponigro, MDIV Scheduled to graduate in 2024
Theological Preparedness
Next, I’d like to address the issue of theological preparedness. The last few years have witnessed a fair amount of controversy in the PCA, some of which has centered around perceptions of Covenant Seminary that have often been inaccurate or distorted. Yet amid the misinformation and our efforts to correct the distortions there have been some legitimate elements of concern regarding the issue of theological preparedness that we have taken to heart and are working to address.
To this end, last year I led the Seminary to conduct an email survey of our alumni from the last 25 years. To discuss these issues further, I also hosted a Theological Summit, which was attended by alumni representing the past four decades. These efforts have been overwhelmingly positive to alumni, faculty, and staff, and we hope they will benefit our students for generations.
Among many important results coming out of these discussions, two are noteworthy.
• Theology Exam – First, similar to its Bible Content exam for incoming students, Covenant Seminary plans to introduce a theology exam for graduating MDIV students to help them better prepare for their licensure/ordination exams. In doing this, Covenant hopes to not only better prepare our graduates, but to also ensure that these graduates will be competent for the task of pastoral ministry in the PCA.
• Missional Theology Name Change – Another key outcome related to this discussion surrounded the Seminary’s division of Missional Theology. As was announced earlier this year, I determined it would be wise to rename this division to the Division of Theological Studies.
Back in 2016, the Division of Missional Theology was created to encompass our departments oriented specifically to theological inquiry, with the intent of recognizing the missionary impulse at the heart of all Christian theology, as stated in the Great Commission in Matthew 28, commanding the church to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Though the concept and intent of the name was biblical, the term “missional” itself became a source of confusion and concern among many both inside and outside our denomination. The most serious source of confusion was the inaccurate notion that Covenant had ceased to teach systematic theology. (In fact, our systematic course sequence remained unchanged.)
For these reasons, I and our faculty ultimately agreed that a different term was needed to communicate more succinctly the primary nature of the division while still conveying the broadness of the areas it encompasses. Thus, the name Division of Theological Studies was chosen. This division continues to comprise the departments of Systematic Theology, Historical Theology, Apologetics, Christian Ethics, and World Mission. Except for the name, nothing about the various interlocking departments contained within the division has changed or will be changing.
Moreover, let me reassure you Covenant has always been and continues to be solidly committed to a biblical and Reformed understanding of the Christian faith, which is gladly shaped by and submitted to the Westminster Standards as the doctrinal standards of the PCA. We are eager to impress upon our students the beauty of Scripture’s unifying thread of grace as emphasized in biblical theology while equally prioritizing the traditional loci of systematic theology. We believe excellent theological preparation is fundamental to our overall institutional mission, as we seek to train pastors, counselors, and other ministry leaders for Christ’s church and kingdom.
MAC Degree Receives Full Accreditation from CACREP
Turning to the counseling department at Covenant, we are giving thanks to God that our 75-credit hour Master of Arts in Counseling (MAC) degree was given full accreditation by CACREP—the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs—and the accreditation is for the maximum term of 8 years. This news means that current and future graduates of the program will have more options for licensing in states other than Missouri. The announcement is the culmination of a long process of preparation and review led over the last few years by Dr. Jeremy Ruckstaetter, Associate Professor of Counseling and Interim Co-Chair of the Counseling Department, and the Seminary’s Counseling faculty.
Financial Outlook
In regard to the financial situation at the Seminary, I’m pleased to report that things are stable now but look to improve significantly in the next two years, as we capitalize on strengthening enrollment.
As a result of enrollment declines, the Seminary has experienced a significant amount of financial stress. Thankfully, strong cash reserves and the Seminary’s endowment, which is valued at just over $40.2 million, have mitigated the negative impact of those declines. With rebounding enrollment, the Seminary anticipates its tuition revenue growing in the years to come.
Generous unrestricted giving to the Seminary further strengthens this picture. In 2022, the Seminary received unrestricted contributions in excess of $2.4 million, which was a record for non-campaign years. Now on the cusp of concluding FY 23, the good news continues, and I’m pleased to report that we expect to repeat last year’s record, which represents 120% of our annual goal.
In addition, the Seminary has recently launched a relatively quiet capital campaign, which has been named Bridge the Gap and seeks to generate $1.5 million in additional revenue over three years to provide strategic resources, catalyzing future growth and moderating deficit spending. I’m pleased to announce that this effort is off to a fantastic start. The Seminary has already received $961,000 in gifts and pledges, which is 64% of our goal.
Stewarding Our Relationship with the PCA
As you know, I have made it a priority to cultivate a strong relationship with the PCA. As the denominational Seminary for the PCA, we are grateful for the stewardship extended to us and for the opportunity to partner withour denominational agencies and churches. Moreover, it is not enough that we serve the future ministry leaders of our denomination. We want to remain vitally connected to our graduates currently serving our churches through continuing education initiatives and regular ministry conferences.
As part of this emphasis, I’m pleased to announce the return of the Lifetime of Ministry Conference, which will beheld November 3–4, 2023, in St. Louis. Dr. Carl Trueman, renowned historian and author of The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self, and Covenant’s Chair of Systematic Theology, Dr. Robbie Griggs, are slated as featured speakers. As we know, the level of cultural turbulence surrounding the church and its ministry leaders is at an all-time high. Much of that anxiety surrounds the issue of sexuality. Drs. Trueman and Griggs will offer some historical and pastoral insight to help church leaders seeking to address this challenging topic in our current cultural moment. Registration is limited, so please make it a priority to sign up on Covenant’s website now.
Conclusion
Fathers and brothers, there is so much more that I could say, but I need to draw these comments to a close. The main thing is this: be encouraged! Despite the internal and external challenges of this moment in the church, Covenant is on the rise! We are grateful for your partnership, beautifully demonstrated by your prayers, contributions, encouragement, and so much more. Please do not be a stranger. Let us get to know you and let us know how we might better serve you as we together seek to train the next generation of pastors, counselors, and ministry leaders.
