CDunerCOVENANT Winter, 1979 Table of Contents 4 Letters From the Presidents 7 Statement of Purpose 8 A God-directed Faculty 9 Students With Purpose 12 The Facility 13 Stewardship 13 The PCA and Covenant College 15 Administration and Board of Trustees Covenant College discriminates against no one in regard to sex, handicaps, race, ethnic or national origin. 7-78: a landmark year for Covenant College. It was a year of record enrollment, of record giving ... a year of build· truction and campus develo ar whe a new denomination oward joint governance of the precedented growth. It was also sition from one president to another. us in reviewing this year of abundant Looking back over the past year has the greatest meaning in the cont xt of the previous thirteen year . Covenant College moved to Lookout Mountain in 1964 with 145 students, a large hotel to be renovated, 27 acres of land and a mountain ized mortgage. Cov nant College stand today a a great witness to the vitality of the Christian faith and God's faithfulness. It stand b cause of the continuous support and hard work of many great and generous people-friends, faculty, taff, tru tees, student and churches. The college has h Id firm to th faith on which it was founded. It grew and prospered during th turbulent i ties and early seventies. The a sets were increased from $425,475 to $2,875,000. Major new building - library, dormitory, physical education, and now the chapel-fine art --have been added to land holdings now totaling more than 1,000 acres. Phy ical education playing fields, art facilities and parking area have al o been add d. Accreditation ha b n achi ed, library re ourc expanded, faculty and tudent body nlarg d and the quality of all academic programs upgraded. All accumulated op rational indebtedne ha be n paid off and a modest ndowment of $300,000 e tablished. A ma t r plan for the future phy ical growth of the coll ge ha been developed and revised. Th respon e and generou outpouring of friend , foundations and churches in upport of the work of faculty, staff, trust es, parents and alumni have been a great bl ing to me through the year . Th Lord ha blessed u all in our efforts to establish and maintain a Chri tian college. It has and will continue to demand the be t that all of us can bring. A I close my term as President, I commend the college and its future to all of you; I encourage you to give the same high level of support by your influence, your gifts and your prayers that I have received. You, the college and the Lord's work have been great blessings to all the Barn s family. May we go fo,rward with faith and with confidence. ~]J Marion D. B mes Past President, 1965-78 4 I can only rejoice a I am reminded of the Lord' goodne s to Cov nant College over the past years. I thank Him for His continual faithfuln s . Although l watched the 1977-7 year unfold as pr sid nt-elect, l took a vital interest in everything that happened during the past year. ow it is time to look for ard, and many alumni and friends f the c llcge ha e asked me what I believ the future direction of the coll ge should be. This question come as areas urnnce that th se alurnni and friend ar still cone rncd about the di tinctively hristian education vvhich Cov nant offer . By God' grace, I hope to hold firmly to the tat m nt of purpo c of the college and to consi t ntly \,vork out th implication of our nwtto, "In all thing ... Chri l pre-eminent," (Col. 1:1 ). I will att mpt to continue to maintain our stance as a college committ d to an evangelical, Reformed doctrinal po ition. Th Bib] will continue to be vie\ cd as the in pi red word of God and will b the ource of truth by which the college e aluat s all di cipline , is u , and tr n d . The basic po iti n which the college has taken over the years have resulted in growth and great bles ing. I beli ve that the Lord will continue to bl our ffort a we eek fir t Hi kingdom and His righteousness. I will be working to in ere a e enrollment and to keep steady the flow of gifts and grants for the operating budget. These two aspects of our work, student recruitment and financial development, present tremendou challenges. I urge your prayer support and personal involvement in both areas. Jesus said that if our faith is a a mustard seed, we will have the power to move mountains. Our mustard seed should blossom as we look at the Lord's goodness and faithfulness in the past. The blessings of the 1977-78 year should remind us that the Lord is able to provide abundantly for His people. I hope that you will become increasingly acquainted with the Lord's work here at Covenant College, and I invite your full participation in the important months to come. //L~rE:hPresident, 1978- 5 At Covenant, where we are continually thrown on the Lord's mercies, we are reminded constantly that we must remain faithful to the Christian purpose with which the college began. This is not possible without the energetic work of faculty members and students, as they seek to improve an ever expanding academic program. Keepi.'1g to a statement of purpose is a constant challenge; it requires daily discipline and enduring commitment. We must regularly check to see if we are fulfilling om purpose--our reason for being here. The following goals a.re outlined in the Covenant College Statement of Purpo e, and there are two things at Covenant which make this statement workable: The first is that the statement is based 011 Biblical truth. The statement of purpose begins, "The college is committed to the Bible as the Word of God written." Th.rough the truth of the Scriptures we can see all other areas of life. The statement goes on to list four basic aims of the college: 1) to see the creation as the handiwork of God; 2) to acknowledge the fallen nature of ourselves and of the rest of creation and to respond in view of tJ-te renewal which begins with Christ's redemption; 3) to reclaim the creation for God and redirect it to the service of God and man; 4) to think as Christians about culture; Important goals? Yes! They provide Covenant's reason for existence! They are based on Scriptural truths! But how to reach these goals? This leads us to the second point: The statement of purpose is workable because God enables His people to do His will. Day by day through the last year, we saw Him sustain His work. Whether it was through a stirring chapel speaker, a devoted teacher, an aspiring student, a careful administrator, or a faithful friend of the college, God was our enabler1 The purpose of Covenant College is stated in its motto-"That in all things Christ might have the pre-eminence" (Col. 1:18). We acknowledge Christ pre-eminent as the creator of all things, as the redeemer of men fallen into sin, as the touchstone of all truth, and as sovereign ruler over all areas of life. Join with us in seeing how the Lord enabled His work to be done in an exciting way at Covenant College in 1977-78. 7 A God-directed faculty ... The essence of a college or university in the June. Nine students, under the leadership of Dr. European tradition consists of the college library and Michael Rulon, Associate Professor of Psychology at the college faculty. Although we are not ready to limit Covenant, traveled 8,800 miles to several western it quite that much at Covenant, we can see the states to visit psychological clinics, hospitals, and a importance of a highly qualified, God-fearing faculty psychology convention. They visited a number of at a Chri tian college. college and university campuses along the way. In 1977-78 we saw our profe or having an effect Students, some of whom represented colleges other on our students' lives. In the Covenant classroom, than Covenant, earned six hours credit for the trip, ideas were offered and con cience molded. and Dr. Rulon anticipates further use of the "moving A 1975 alumnus, now a mi ionary in Chile, said clas room." this about hi years at Covenant. "It created a mind Dr. Paul Gilchrist, Associate Professor of Biblical et for me . It was a ensitizing thing, and it gave me a Studies, spent a fall semester sabbatical studying in whole different perspective on life-especially my I rael. Year-long sabbaticals for 1978-79 were granted mi sion work. ow I notice things others don't to Mr. Craig Parker, Assistant Professor of Music, notice." ow this graduate will be a different kind of and Dr. Henry Krabbendam, Associate Professor of mi ionary becau e of hi year at Covenant, and he Biblical studies. Due to these vacancies on the faculty, credit it to one Biblical tudie profes or. more part-time professors have been sought out. The Thi te timonial is consi tent with our idea that re ult has been a bolstering of our business what is really important i the teacher student admini tration program.