Less than two years after attempting to quietly withdraw from the Southern Baptist Convention, Steven Furtick’s Elevation Church has announced a new academic partnership that steers the megachurch further toward the charismatic and Pentecostal mainstream and away from its Baptist roots.

In an announcement framed as a “surprise” for its congregants, the Charlotte-based megachurch revealed plans to launch “Elevation College” in fall 2026.

The new academic venture is not an independent startup but a “strategic partnership” with Southeastern University, a private Christian university in Lakeland, Fla., affiliated with the Assemblies of God.

The move highlights a growing trend in theological education where local churches act as “teaching hospitals” while established universities provide the accreditation “covering.”

But for Elevation, which spent two decades downplaying its previous denominational affiliations, the partnership signals a theological pivot. The move aligns the church more closely with Furtick’s Pentecostal preaching style than the cessationist leanings of the SBC — and of the very professors he sat under while studying for his master of divinity degree at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Ky.

The partnership utilizes a model championed by the Association for Biblical Higher Education and the Association of Theological Schools, both of which have seen declines in traditional residential enrollment while hybrid and church-based partnerships surge.

Under this arrangement, Elevation College will effectively function as an extension site. Students will gain “hands-on experience” within the Elevation ecosystem — learning the church’s specific culture of leadership, worship and media — while earning accredited degrees granted by SEU.

According to MinistryWatch, SEU has aggressively pursued this model, boasting more than 200 partner sites nationwide. The university notes that while it is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, it is open to students of all denominations.

Critics of this model argue it can foster theological insularity. Unlike a traditional seminary where students might encounter professors from diverse traditions, church-based schools run the risk of becoming “echo chambers.” In these environments, the curriculum often reinforces the host church’s brand and leadership style rather than offering broad, critical engagement with theological texts and traditions.

For nearly 20 years, Elevation Church was the SBC’s best-kept secret. Despite being one of the largest contributors to SBC baptism numbers, Furtick and his leadership team rarely publicized their affiliation.

To the average attender or online viewer, Elevation was simply “Elevation” — a brand unto itself. The church operated with a functional autonomy that kept its denominational ties invisible to the public eye.

That tenuous and secret relationship finally snapped in June 2023 after the SBC’s move to expel Saddleback Church and Fern Creek Baptist Church for allowing women in pastoral roles. At that time, Elevation sent a letter to the SBC Executive Committee withdrawing its affiliation “effective immediately.”

The church gave no official reason, but the timing was unmistakable. Holly Furtick, Steven’s wife, is a co-founder and frequently preaches at the church — a practice now explicitly banned by the SBC’s tightening standards on women in ministry.

By partnering with SEU, Elevation aligns itself with a tradition that structurally resembles the SBC but theologically diverges from it. Like the SBC, the Assemblies of God emphasizes the “sovereignty” of the local church, allowing congregations like Elevation to maintain their brand autonomy.

However, the partnership offers a new pathway for credentialing. SEU’s programs frequently provide the academic requirements for licensure and ordination within the Assemblies of God. This creates a potential pipeline for Elevation leaders to gain credentials outside the Baptist sphere, solidifying the church’s drift toward Pentecostalism.

This drift mirrors Furtick’s own theological trajectory. While he holds a master of divinity from Southern Seminary, his preaching and public associations have increasingly leaned toward the charismatic. Furtick has famously referred to controversial Pentecostal preacher and Dallas-based television personality T.D. Jakes as a spiritual father, frequently hosting the oneness-adjacent Pentecostal bishop at Elevation events.

Furthermore, Elevation Worship — the church’s massive and tentacular music arm — has played a key role in mainstreaming Pentecostal theology into the Contemporary Christian Music scene. Songs focusing on “breakthrough,” “miracles,” and the visceral experience of the Holy Spirit dominate Christian radio, creating a “worship experience” that is far more experiential than creedal or liturgical.

While the new college offers students an immersive experience in megachurch ministry, questions regarding governance and finance remain. Elevation Church does not file a Form 990, a standard disclosure for most nonprofits but not required of churches.

While Elevation never has been accused of criminal financial mismanagement, watchdog groups like MinistryWatch long have criticized the church for its lack of financial transparency, particularly regarding executive compensation.

If Elevation indeed wants to operate under SEU’s auspices, accreditation standards will likely force the church to revise its financial practices, as Christian accreditors have little patience for financial obscurity. Some of these standards, such as those from the Association for Biblical Higher Education (which accredits Christian undergraduate programs), require an independent board, a CFO, and an annual audit made available to board members who cannot be employed by the church.

This article originally appeared at Baptist News Global and has been reprinted with permission.

David Bumgardner is a writer, theologian, and educator living in Columbus, Ohio.