By Leonardo Blair, Senior Reporter Friday, December 05, 2025

Through a partnership with Southeastern University in Lakeland, Florida, the more than 10,000-member Elevation Church in North Carolina has announced plans to launch Elevation College in the fall of 2026.

"This is for traditional college-aged students who feel called to ministry and want to earn an accredited degree from Southeastern University while gaining hands-on experience at Elevation Church," the church shared just over a week ago on Instagram.

The church offered to send out early interest forms to individuals who want to connect and "get early access to application info."

Southeastern University is a private Christian university affiliated with the Assemblies of God. Elevation Church already partners with the university for its Elevation Church Ministry Leaders Series. The program focuses on helping ministry leaders become more effective "with in-depth training in interpreting Scripture and biblical context."

Although Southeastern University is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, the school states on its website that it welcomes "students from all Christian backgrounds and denominations."

"Our campus includes many Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, etc., as well as nondenominational students. Everyone shares a strong commitment to knowing Christ and making Him known, and we celebrate our theological similarities while appreciating our differences," the university explains.

The university also extends its reach across the U.S. through its SEU Ministry Network and has established what it says are mutually beneficial partnerships with more than 200 churches. The partnerships pair "higher education with practical, hands-on training led by the local church."

"Any student looking for a Christ-centered education and who has interest in the degrees and opportunities at your site could be a good fit for enrollment. SEU partner sites are also a popular alternative to community college for 'traditional' college age students (recent high school graduate/young adult)," the university website states.  "Student [sic] who complete their degree at your partner site receive an SEU diploma."

In June 2023, Elevation Church withdrew its affiliation with the Southern Baptist Convention after more than 20 years of cooperation with the nation's largest Protestant denomination.

While Elevation Church did not appear to make the decision public, a copy of a letter published online suggests the church informed the SBC Executive Committee that its withdrawal from the denomination was "effective immediately."

While Elevation Church did not state a reason for its disaffiliation with the SBC, some Southern Baptists, like Denny Burke, professor of biblical studies at Boyce College, surmised it was likely due to a vote by messengers at the SBC Annual Meeting in New Orleans to ban women from serving as a "pastor of any kind."

"I was today years old when I learned that Steven Furtick's Elevation Church was a part of the SBC. They are SBC no more," tweeted Burk. "Reading between the lines here, I suspect that this is a consequence of the clarity from messengers at the New Orleans convention."