Elevation Church announces launch of college program set to begin in 2026

Elevation Church, the evangelical, nondenominational megachurch led by Pastor Steven Furtick, recently announced its plan to start its own college program in 2026.

Elevation College is a partnership between the church and the Florida-based Southeastern University. The program is intended to help traditional-aged college students who feel “called to ministry” receive their degrees while getting experience at Elevation Church, according to an Instagram post from the church.

The university’s chief of staff, Patrick Fitzgerald, told Ministry Watch that the partnership with Elevation Church is not their first.

“We believe Elevation College has the potential to become one of our largest and most premier Network Campuses — but this model is not new for us; we have been doing this at scale for years,” Fitzgerald told the publication.

Applications for the program open in January 2026.

Elevation Church did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.